We all hoped that 2021 would be less of a dumpster fire of a year than 2020 was, but the jury may still be out on that particular question. While some celebrities had a terrific 2021, there were others who are probably counting down the days until the calendar turns to 2022 because this year was just not their year. While it may be some speculation on our part (we don't have an actual hotline to talk to celebrity therapists about how their clients are really feeling, but man we wish we did!), it is safe to say that some of these stars are wishing for a do-over of 2021.
It should also be noted that sometimes celebrities (just like the rest of us) have terrible years due to circumstances outside their control. Their partner cheats, their movie bombs, they go viral for all the wrong reasons. But other times the fact that they had a bad 2021 is largely a result of them making terrible — and sometimes criminal — decisions. So while it could seem a bit mean-spirited to admit, the truth is that we have tons of sympathy for some of the celebs on this list and zero sympathy for others. Spoiler alert: We're not sad that prison is the 2022 plan for people who harm children. (Yes, we're talking to you, Josh Duggar.)
Scroll on for the end-of-year wrap-up list that nobody really wants to be on!
Travis Scott
Honestly, 2021 could have been a great year for rapper Travis Scott. He has a new baby on the way with girlfriend Kylie Jenner and he was planning some major concerts. All of that is overshadowed, of course, by the tragic events of his Astroworld Festival, which resulted in the deaths of 10 people. He's now facing several major lawsuits and backlash from many who believe he didn't take care to ensure his fans were safe in the concert arena.
Josh Duggar
Josh Duggar was arrested on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography in April 2021. The former 19 Kids and Counting star has since been found guilty and faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years or more. Ironically, while 2021 was a bad year for him, it might also represent the last time he breathed free air for a long, long time. We're not at all sad to see that!
Khloé Kardashian
Ah, poor Khloé Kardashian. Another year of being regularly mocked on social media for her ever-changing face (Is it plastic surgery? Aggressive contour? A heavy hand with the filters and Photoshop? All of the above?). And another year of dealing with the fallout from her on-again/off-again boyfriend Tristan Thompson's inability to keep it in his pants. On the plus side, the reality star still has little cutie True to keep her company in 2022.
John Mulaney
John Mulaney is one of the most popular working stand-up comedians around, and his Netflix specials have been wildly popular, thanks in part to the loving and funny ways he described his relationship with his former wife, Anna Marie Tendler. John started 2021 in rehab (we applaud that!) and then emerged and seemed to immediately fall into a relationship with actress Olivia Munn. The reaction of his fans to the news that he was divorcing his wife and was expecting a baby with Olivia was shock, disappointment, and a lot of mental math to see if he was a cheater.
J.K. Rowling
It's hard to imagine a modern author who has gone from so beloved to so controversial in such a relatively short period of time. J.K. Rowling has been accused of having transphobic views due to controversial tweets she has made and she has faced backlash from Harry Potter cast members, LGBTQIA+ organizations, and the general public for repeated statements against full inclusion of trans people. Even real-life Quidditch leagues are considering name changes for the sport to distance it from the embattled author.
Alec Baldwin
The idea that all publicity is good publicity for a movie is almost certainly not going to be true for Rust, starring Alec Baldwin. An on-set incident involving a prop gun left a crew member dead, and it is still being determined what role Alec played in the horrifying shooting. It is questionable if the movie will ever be completed or released or if Alec will face any criminal charges or lawsuits as a result of the incident.
Chrissy Teigen
The internet's queen of oversharing and Twitter using has been Chrissy Teigen for the last few years. While she's had previous controversies on Twitter (she loves to clap back at haters and former presidents), this year she was accused of cyber bullying after old tweets and messages of hers were revealed. These messages showed some real cruelty, especially to a very young Courtney Stodden. (Chrissy tweeted in 2010 that she "hated" Courtney and hoped she'd take "a dirt nap.") The cookbook author apologized and has largely stopped tweeting, but her reputation as the funny, relatable social media celeb may be permanently damaged.
Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt turned from Marvel superhero to king of cringe in 2021. He made a series of posts on Instagram about his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, that were widely mocked (saying she was as valuable to him as his favorite baseball card is awkward) and perceived as a knock to his ex-wife, Anna Faris. And when he thanked Katherine for giving him a "healthy" daughter, it raised eyebrows about the fact that his first child, Jack, was a preemie and suffered significant health challenges as baby. Chris was also inexplicably cast as Nintendo's Mario character despite very much not being Italian, something that left video game fans cold.
Sharon Osbourne
It's expected that talk show hosts will have strong opinions and may say provocative things to spark conversation, but Sharon Osbourne crossed that line in 2021. She was fired from The Talk for using racial slurs against former cohosts and making homophobic remarks about Sara Gilbert.
Sia
Singer Sia courted controversy and backlash this year when her first movie Music debuted. She cast dancer Maddie Ziegler to play a nonverbal autistic character, something that frustrated disability advocates who wanted to see actual autistic people represented instead. She then made things worse by sharing some comments about Maddie that struck people as potentially problematic, including that the then-underage Maddie had frequent sleepovers with the fortysomething singer and that Maddie was her muse. The movie flopped, and Sia's been largely out of sight for most of the year.
Armie Hammer
Let's recap Armie Hammer's 2021. He was accused of being a serial cheater, his wife filed for divorce, texts and messages allegedly from him were leaked that revealed he has extremely dark sexual tastes, he was accused of being abusive, he was accused of being a rapist, and he lost all of his upcoming movie roles along with his agent and PR staff. So basically a totally epic career-ending year for an actor who stood on the cusp of being the next big rom-com star.
Katie Couric
Everyone hopes that a celebrity memoir will have some fun, dishy, gossipy moments, but people were surprised at how candid and, well, kind of mean Katie Couric came across in her 2021 book Going There. She poked fun at Martha Stewart's prison stint, appeared to throw shade at former female coworkers and Prince Harry, and even shared an unflattering story about the late RBG. She sold some books, but lost lots of fans along the way.
Jim Bob Duggar
Suffice it to say, Jim Bob Duggar did not have a good year. The 19 Kids and Counting patriarch saw two of his children (Josh and Jana) face criminal charges and his eldest child is now a convicted felon facing a lengthy prison sentence. TLC canceled all Duggar shows, and several of his other children and their spouses have begun to publicly criticize him — a huge shift given the "father knows best" values they were raised with. He was also hoping to be elected as state senator in Arkansas, but was crushed in the Republican primary. He looks to be ringing in 2022 as an unemployed guy with a super dysfunctional family.
Jake Gyllenhaal
To be fair to Jake Gyllenhaal, he didn't really do anything wrong in 2021. It's just that Taylor Swift released her epic 10-minute version of and short film set to All Too Well, which reminded everyone that Jake was probably a pretty big jerk to a 20-year-old Taylor when they dated and that he never returned that damn scarf! It was likely a long November for him as he faced all sorts of reminders about why dumping a songwriter is a bad idea.
Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump was fired from his most recent job in 2021 (his electoral loss was the biggest on record for an incumbent president since the wildly unpopular Herbert Hoover was defeated following the Great Depression) and the former reality star still can't even get his public respect, Twitter account, or professional reputation back.
Jen Shah
We all love some messy Real Housewives drama, but seeing a cast member basically get arrested on screen is more than almost anyone would have expected. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah was indicted for her alleged role in a telemarketing fraud and the Bravo cameras captured all the drama. She may be on the hook for some major financial damage in 2022.
DaBaby
While rapper DaBaby had some highlights in 2021 (including his collaboration with Dua Lipa on her big hit "Levitating"), he was widely called out and rightly criticized for making some homophobic statements during a concert. He ended up losing some endorsement deals and his slot in high-profile concerts like Lollapalooza. He was also arrested in January 2021 for charges related to carrying a loaded weapon in a public place.
