15 Celebrities Who Defended Each Other And Restored My Faith In Hollywood

We’ve read a lot about celebrity feuds and scandals that dominated the headlines. Those are interesting to read for some people, but me personally, I like to read more about the wholesome side of Hollywood–where celebs stand up for each other when the hate gets too loud. So of course I went online and found some good moments, which I think you should know too.

Here are 15 times celebrities openly stood up for each other:

1. During the promotion of the film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke, one particular interviewer managed to get on the wrong side of both actors when he made a rather insensitive remark about the actress’s appearance. And like the gentleman he is, Cumberbatch had a swift response for the interviewer.

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2. The Stranger Things cast is known for their close friendships with each other over the five seasons they filmed, and for having each other’s backs. A perfect example of that close relationship is this awkward moment at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con panel with the cast as they prepared for the release of season two. As the host was introducing actor Finn Wolfhard, he added an unnecessary and inappropriate comment on the actor’s last name, comparing it to that of a porn actor (keep in mind, the actor was only 14 years old at the time). The comment clearly made the teen actor uncomfortable, and his senior costars, Joe Keery, who plays Steve, and David Harbour, who plays Jim, tried to help him with comforting words (before glaring at the host), as seen in the moment below.

3. I love Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in The Birdcage—their impeccable comedic timing and acting were so entertaining to watch! Robin Williams was always known for his well-timed humor and kind demeanor that won our hearts (rest in peace, king)—but what made me fall in love with him more was how he stood up for his co-star in an awkward moment on The Oprah Show in 1996. At the time, Lane had still not revealed that he was gay and was not ready to speak about it on the show, something that he reiterated to Williams. So when Oprah asked, “Were you afraid of taking that role and being typecast in people forever saying, ‘Are you, are you not?’ Is he, is he, honey? I don’t know.” Lane was taken aback, and before he could answer, Williams stepped in with his classic humor, saying, “Girl, you changed just in the middle of that sentence!”

The crowd, as usual, erupted in laughter, and the awkward moment passed.

In an interview on the Today Show in 2023, Lane reflected on this moment and said, “I don’t think Oprah was trying to out me, but I said to Robin beforehand, ‘I’m not prepared. I’m so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television; I’m not ready.” To which Robin Williams replied, saying, “Oh, it’s alright; don’t worry about it, we don’t have to talk about it, we won’t talk about it.”

He thanked Williams for how he “swooped in and diverted Oprah and went off on a tangent and protected me, because he was a saint.”

4. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger’s Batman and Joker are forever iconic. Although Heath Ledger unfortunately passed before he could see the final outcome of his work, the actor would win a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, rumors about his approach to the character and his obsession with the dark side overshadowed his performance in the film and cast a negative light on him as an actor. In 2008, Christian Bale came to the actor’s defense and stood for his late friend’s talent. He said, “I hope in a small way that The Dark Knight can be a celebration of his work. Not like the hideous circus after he died, which I felt was an invasion of a private life. This movie is not a personal home video. This is what he did. I hope people will embrace that in the correct fashion.”

5. In 2022, the Netflix show Heartstopper became a massive hit online for its wholesome portrayal of navigating one’s sexuality and the chemistry between the lead actors Joe Locke and Kit Connor. Following the release of the show, many fans started to relentlessly question Kit Connor’s sexuality. He was 18 years old at the time, and after a lot of online pressure, he was forced to come out. In an X post, the actor wrote, “Back for a minute. I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself…” Olivia Colman, who played Connor’s mother in the show, stood up for the young actor and slammed social media users for pressuring the actor. She told Variety, “I am so proud of him, but I am not proud of how people bullied him. I think people should be allowed to have their own journey.”

Further complimenting the actor on his maturity, she said, “But I’m incredibly proud of him as a young man to deal with all of that and be in the spotlight. It’s unfair. But he’s amazing. He’s a very beautiful human being.”

The creator, writer, and showrunner of the show, Alice Oseman, also came to defend the young actor, stating, “I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed as FUCK. Kit, you are amazing.”

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6. Tyler Perry and Janet Jackson starred in the film Why Did I Get Married in 2007. This film was released three years after Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and even though time had passed, the media was still interested in knowing what Jackson had to say about the incident. So when Perry and Jackson appeared on a live interview on the CW Morning Show and the hosts repeatedly asked Jackson questions about the halftime show, Perry decided to step in and shut down the line of questioning, redirecting the conversation back to the film.

Throughout the interview, viewers could tell that Jackson was uncomfortable, while Perry kept the conversation focused on the film. Following the interview, the local Sacramento station faced heavy public backlash and later issued a formal apology to Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, and the viewers.

7. Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to sexist questions and interviews about Black Widow and her role in The Avengers. But at some point, it is bound to get tiring. During this 2012 press conference for The Avengers in London, Robert Downey Jr. was asked a deep, philosophical question about his character, whereas Johansson was asked a superficial question about following a diet for Black Widow. The actress’s expression was enough for us to understand that she was fed up with such questions, but, in the suave Iron Man fashion, RDJ came in and pointed out the double standard in the questions.

8. Katherine Heigl had a negative reputation in 2006 for being “tough” to work with on set and for “betraying” the Grey’s Anatomy team by declining her Golden Globe nomination in 2007. These were a few incidents that set her career back in the industry and impacted her image in Hollywood. She had starred opposite Josh Duhamel in the dramedy Life As We Know It, and in a 2023 podcast interview, the actor had nothing but good things to say about her. He defended her and her reputation, saying he had great experiences working with her.

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9. Halle Bailey starred as Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. While many of us were excited, some were not so thrilled over the casting of a Black actor, and tweeted their anger using the hashtag #notmyariel. The backlash became so loud that both the actress and the actor playing Prince Eric, Jonah Hauer-King, responded to the haters. The actress stated that she did not pay attention to the comments but that “it’s important to have a strong support system around you.” While the hate comments were building, Hauer-King focused on the positive ones and stood up for Bailey. He said, “[The negative critiques] became more and more ridiculous the more I worked with her, the more I realized how incredible she was and how born she was for the role.”

Furthermore, he commented, “It’s fascinating that people didn’t mind all of the changes that were made from the original story.”

He praised his costar for her bravery and maturity, saying, “I was so impressed that [Halle] deals with everything with such graciousness and elegance.”

10. In 2014, actress Jennifer Lawrence’s nude photos were stolen and leaked to the press, resulting in a major scandal. The actress would go on to comment on the scandal later in the year, saying, “It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime.” She stated, “Every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry. I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for.” At the time, her co-star from the film series The Hunger Games, Josh Hutcherson, was asked about the scandal and if he had spoken to the actress. The actor then stood up for the actress, stating that they are actors who don’t want to be involved in a scandal, and that it was truly unfair.

11. Xóchitl Gómez was 14 years old when she starred in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as America Chavez. But soon after the film’s release, she found herself targeted by online trolls. The film had been banned in a number of foreign countries due to the minimal amount of LGBTQ+ content, and because those moments were tied to Gomez’s character, she became the target of online hate. Benedict Wong, who plays the Sorcerer Supreme, strongly supported and stood up for the young actress. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “For someone so young to join the MCU at 14 years of age, full credit to Xóchitl. As anyone would be, there was kind of a rabbit in the headlights at first, but she’s grown and grown into this amazing character that everyone is going to see.”

12. Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore have been best friends since the 2000s. So when an interviewer badmouthed Barrymore in front of Diaz, she did not take it lightly. During an interview on the Kyle & Jackie O Show, the co-host Kyle Sandilands made a comment about Barrymore. After Jackie O pointed out that Diaz’s on-screen daughter in Sex Tape, Giselle Eisenberg, resembled Barrymore in the film E.T., and Diaz agreed, Sandilands commented, “Let’s hope she misses out on the Drew Barrymore drug years, because those were a great thing to watch, but not so good to be in, I’d imagine.” This did not sit well at all with Diaz, who responded back saying, “I’m sure, Kyle, you’ve never been through a drug phase, have you? Or alcoholism or anything like that? Pretty clean; always did it right? Congratulations.”

But he didn’t stop there and continued to address the actress, bringing up her relationship with Benji Madden, which she is very private about.

When Jackie O tried to bring the conversation to the co-star Jason Segel, Diaz ended the interview saying, “We’re having to go now. Sorry, they’re wrapping us up.”

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13. Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake were promoting their film Friends With Benefits in Moscow in 2014. When a Russian reporter asked Timberlake why he was making movies instead of focusing on music, Kunis immediately stepped in and fired back at the reporter in Russian. She even stopped Timberlake from answering in the midst of the reporter’s questions and, in the end, asked the reporter herself why she was reporting on the event, calling out the double standards. While the singer was confused in the moment due to the language barrier, after learning what the actress said, he jokingly called her his “bodyguard.”

14. In 2014, a raw recording of Britney Spears’ “Alien” was leaked to the public and immediately went viral. People criticized her voice for not using auto-tune, while her producer, William Orbit, clarified that the singer was just warming up her voice in the leaked clip. When Zoe Saldaña, the singer’s co-star in the film Crossroads, was asked by a fan on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen whether she had attended the singer’s Vegas show and heard her leaked vocals, the actress responded that the criticism was mean. She stood by the singer, saying that no singer would appreciate such an incident, and praised her humble nature.

15. Shameless has been one of the best dramas that gave us spectacular performances by the lead actors, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White, and William H. Macy. So when the contract negotiations came around for season 8, Rossum demanded equal pay with her co-star, Macy–and more—after years of being paid less than her male co-star. By season 7, the show was in the top 5 cable dramas and was highly successful. The eighth season would not begin until Rossum’s contract was confirmed. While it took time for the studios to come to terms with Rossum’s demands, reports stated that she had received an equal pay offer from the studio. Throughout this entire conversation about equal pay, Macy came and fully supported Rossum in her demand, saying it was “about fucking time.” He said, “She works as hard as I do. She deserves everything.”

Later, the actress stated that she had always felt supported by Macy, and the two would continue to star together on the show through season 9.

It’s a refreshing sight to see our favorite celebrities standing up for each other and for what is right, without being dragged into endless drama. If we missed out on any other moment like the above, let us know in the comments!

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