One minute they’re hot, the next they’re being cancelled — here are all the celebrities the public waved goodbye to and are leaving behind in 2024.
From Diddy’s ongoing controversy to Phillip Schofield’s unwanted TV comeback and Gregg Wallace’s MasterChef allegations, here is everyone who’s had a bad 2024.
Cancelled Celebrities: Phillip Schofield
Just when the public thought they had seen the last of Phillip in 2024, he made an unexpected TV comeback in September this year.
The former This Morning host, who quit ITV after admitting to having an affair with a much younger colleague, returned to our screens for Channel 5’s Cast Away.
The show followed Phillip around on a remote island for ten days and detailed the challenges of isolation. Within the three episodes, the 62-year-old opened up about his fallout with ITV, the affair, and struggling with mental health.
Still, Phillip’s vulnerability wasn’t good enough as critics and viewers slammed the show.
“Well that was the most boring hour of television I’ve ever watched on Channel 5 and he is still as annoying as we all already knew,” one X user wrote.
“Okay now fade away into obscurity and never come back,” another shared.
Huw Edwards
Once upon a time, Huw Edwards served as one of the main presenters on BBC One’s News at Ten. Now, he’s known for being disgraced.
However, before Huw was totally cancelled, he announced he had resigned from the BBC in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors.”
The news followed from the allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit images. In July 2023, his wife, Vicky Flind, revealed he had been “suffering from serious mental health issues”.
After admitting charges of making indecent images of children, Huw was sentenced to six months in September, suspended for two years.
In a statement, the BBC stated they were “appalled by his crimes”. They added: “He has betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him.”
Gregg Wallace’s MasterChef scandal
It’s been one thing after another for MasterChef host Gregg Wallace.
In November, the 60-year-old announced he would be stepping down from the show. This revelation arrived following allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 people.
Gregg’s lawyers deny that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. However, Gregg has “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process” as the investigation takes place.
Amid the scandal, Rod Stewart responded to the news via his Instagram page, stating that he “humiliated” his wife, Penny Lancaster, on Celebrity MasterChef. The Hot Legs hitmaker insulted Gregg by calling him a “tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully”.
Hitting back at the headlines and allegations, Gregg insisted the complaints came from a “handful of middle-class women of a certain age”.
Cancelled Celebrities: Diddy
Rapper and business mogul Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, has remained in the headlines throughout 2024 for all the wrong reasons.
The hitmaker, who helped develop the legendary artists Usher and Mary J. Blige, faced lawsuits related to sexual assault. On September 16, he was arrested at a hotel in New York.
Denying all charges, Diddy faces a criminal trial having been denied bail at $50m (£37.8m). However, more allegations have continued to emerge, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In October, Diddy’s mother, Janice Smalls Combs, released a statement via her attorney.
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” she wrote.
“To bear witness to what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words,” Janice continued.
“Like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence. I am not here to portray my son as perfect because he is not. He has made mistakes in his past, as we all have.”
Graziano Di Prima
Italian dancer Graziano Di Prima was immediately axed from Strictly earlier this year after initially being confirmed for the 2024 series. He first joined the show in 2018.
However, following allegations of misconduct against him, Graziano revealed he would not be returning to Strictly. His spokesperson confirmed that he once kicked his 2023 dance partner Zara McDermott in rehearsals. “There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right,” they stated.
In his own statement, Graziano said he “deeply regrets” the events leading up to his exit. He also accepted that his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime”.
Jermaine Jenas
One minute Jermaine Jenas was busy presenting BBC’s The One Show and Match of the Day, and then the next he was completely removed from the network.
In August, Jermaine was sacked from the network after he was accused of sending “inappropriate messages” to two female colleagues. Jermaine has been married for 13 years and shares a child with his wife, Ellie Penfold.
Responding to the news, Jermaine stated there were “two sides to every story” and was letting his “lawyers deal with it”. However, the BBC confirmed he would not be returning to their presenting line-up.
Amid the controversy, Ellie spoke out, stating the past few months had been “incredibly hard”.
“Naturally this has been hard for me but my only concern has been our children and that will not change,” she told The Sun. “Now I just want to move forward.”
From bad to worse, it was revealed months later that Jermaine had been replaced by Nicki Shields as host for Formula E after ITV signed a deal to broadcast the season.
Cancelled celebrities: JK Rowling
JK Rowling feuded with Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe regarding transgender identity and rights in 2024.
The best-selling author called out “celebs” who she claimed had “used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors”.
In 2020, Emma and Daniel previously spoke out against JK’s stance on gender identity. After raising her concerns about gender identity services for those under 18, JK took to X earlier this year to share a report, which said the evidence on medical intervention in gender care against children was “remarkably weak,” and described it as a “watershed moment”.
In response to JK sharing the report, one user replied: “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them…”
JK saw the message and responded with: “Not safe, I’m afraid.
“Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”
In April, JK listed and misgendered several transgender women on X. This was in response to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 going into effect.
Justin Timberlake
Singer Justin Timberlake was arrested for driving while intoxicated over the summer.
Pleading guilty to a lesser offense of “driving while ability impaired,” he was given a 25-hour community service. Justin also received a traffic violation fine worth $500 and a 90-day license suspension.
As reported by Page Six, when the Cry Me A River hitmaker was being arrested, Justin seemed more bothered about something else. Muttering under his breath, he allegedly said: “This is going to ruin the tour.”
“What tour?” the policeman asked. “The world tour,” he responded.
Never mind the people, you could have ruined Justin!
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