Most Controversial Celebrity Halloween Costumes Over the Years: Julianne Hough, Ashley Benson and More

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Most Controversial Celebrity Halloween Costumes Over the Years: Julianne Hough, Ashley Benson and More

Just a bunch of hocus pocus? When it comes to celebrity Halloween costumes, not every idea is a winner — and some outfits result in major backlash from fans. Julianne Hough received mixed reviews when she dressed up as Uzo Aduba’s Orange Is the New Black character, Crazy Eyes, in 2013. In addition to the orange jail jumpsuit and Crazy Eyes’ iconic knotted hairstyle, Hough wore an I.D. card with the character’s name on it and painted her face brown, which led to some people accusing the dancer of wearing blackface. "I am a huge fan of the show Orange Is the New Black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created," Hough wrote via social media in October 2013, apologizing for her costume choice. "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize." Orange Is the New Black’s Laverne Cox exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2013 that she “wasn’t offended” by the Dancing With the Stars alum’s costume, noting that Hough might not have known how it could be perceived by others. "I thought it was a shame that she is in this country, that she would wear blackface and not understand the historical implications of that,” Cox explained. “I don't think Julianne is making a specific informed choice to comment on blackness. I just think it's out of this ignorance. That's really sad." Aduba, for her part, addressed the controversial costume in November 2013, telling E! News that she didn’t hold any grudge toward Hough. "I think maybe it was an unfortunate event, but she apologized, and I feel like we can all move on," the actress said at the time. [jwplayer GyHe2u1p-zhNYySv2] The Footloose actress spoke about her costume mishap two years later, while posing for Allure’s April 2015 cover. “Ignorance is sometimes not bliss … It was all out of fun and respect for the character,” Hough said at the time, reflecting on the poor choice. “I don’t even know how to talk about it because it’s such a sensitive topic. It makes me so sad to think that I was that dumb. I learned a big lesson.” The Safe Haven star again addressed her past conflict in September 2021 after coming under fire for her participation in the upcoming series, The Activist, which was originally supposed to be a competition show where activists battled it out and were judged by a celebrity panel. (CBS has since announced it is reworking the premise.) “Wearing blackface was a poor choice based on my own white privilege and my own white body bias that hurt people and is something I regret doing to this day,” Hough wrote via social media at the time, after one fan brought up the costume controversy. “However, the regret that I live with pales in comparison to the lived experiences of so many. My commitment has been to reflect and act differently. Not perfectly, but hopefully with a more developed understanding that racism and white supremacy is harmful to ALL people.” Scroll down to see which other celebrities have received backlash for their Halloween costumes — including Chris Brown, Ashley Benson and more: [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock(3)

Most Controversial Celebrity Halloween Costumes Over the Years: Julianne Hough, Ashley Benson and More

Just a bunch of hocus pocus? When it comes to celebrity Halloween costumes, not every idea is a winner — and some outfits result in major backlash from fans. Julianne Hough received mixed reviews when she dressed up as Uzo Aduba’s Orange Is the New Black character, Crazy Eyes, in 2013. In addition to the orange jail jumpsuit and Crazy Eyes’ iconic knotted hairstyle, Hough wore an I.D. card with the character’s name on it and painted her face brown, which led to some people accusing the dancer of wearing blackface. "I am a huge fan of the show Orange Is the New Black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created," Hough wrote via social media in October 2013, apologizing for her costume choice. "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize." Orange Is the New Black’s Laverne Cox exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2013 that she “wasn’t offended” by the Dancing With the Stars alum’s costume, noting that Hough might not have known how it could be perceived by others. "I thought it was a shame that she is in this country, that she would wear blackface and not understand the historical implications of that,” Cox explained. “I don't think Julianne is making a specific informed choice to comment on blackness. I just think it's out of this ignorance. That's really sad." Aduba, for her part, addressed the controversial costume in November 2013, telling E! News that she didn’t hold any grudge toward Hough. "I think maybe it was an unfortunate event, but she apologized, and I feel like we can all move on," the actress said at the time. [jwplayer GyHe2u1p-zhNYySv2] The Footloose actress spoke about her costume mishap two years later, while posing for Allure’s April 2015 cover. “Ignorance is sometimes not bliss … It was all out of fun and respect for the character,” Hough said at the time, reflecting on the poor choice. “I don’t even know how to talk about it because it’s such a sensitive topic. It makes me so sad to think that I was that dumb. I learned a big lesson.” The Safe Haven star again addressed her past conflict in September 2021 after coming under fire for her participation in the upcoming series, The Activist, which was originally supposed to be a competition show where activists battled it out and were judged by a celebrity panel. (CBS has since announced it is reworking the premise.) “Wearing blackface was a poor choice based on my own white privilege and my own white body bias that hurt people and is something I regret doing to this day,” Hough wrote via social media at the time, after one fan brought up the costume controversy. “However, the regret that I live with pales in comparison to the lived experiences of so many. My commitment has been to reflect and act differently. Not perfectly, but hopefully with a more developed understanding that racism and white supremacy is harmful to ALL people.” Scroll down to see which other celebrities have received backlash for their Halloween costumes — including Chris Brown, Ashley Benson and more: [podcast_block]

Credit: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic

Heidi Klum

In 2008, the queen of Halloween upset Hindus when she dressed as Goddess Kali, a sacred Hindu deity.

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Adrianne Curry

The VH1 star dressed up as Amy Winehouse and referred to the late singer’s drug and alcohol issues by pretending to shoot up with a faux syringe in 2009.

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Heidi and Spencer Pratt

In 2009, the Hills couple dressed as controversial TLC exes Jon and Kate Gosselin. Their costume included eight baby dolls, and, of course, an Ed Hardy shirt.

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Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi

The Jersey Shore alum went as a missing girl in 2010.

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Paris Hilton

The heiress and DJ went as a sexy Indian in Native American garb in 2010 to a Playboy party.

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Chris Brown

In October 2012, the troubled artist dressed up for Halloween with some friends as members of the Taliban. After obviously upsetting some, Brown semi-apologized, saying during an interview with Power 106 that it was simply a costume and that “we dress our kids up as satans, demons, little goblins, and all this other s—t.”

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Rihanna

The same year her now ex-boyfriend Chris Brown caused a frenzy, Rihanna also turned heads as she dressed up as marijuana for Halloween in 2012 and carried a weed bouquet.

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Julianne Hough

In October 2013, Hough opted to dress as Crazy Eyes from Orange Is the New Black for a Halloween party and upset fans when she wore blackface along with her orange jumpsuit. "I am a huge fan of the show Orange Is the New Black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created," Hough wrote on Twitter days later, apologizing. "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."

Credit: Courtesy of Khloe Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian and Scott Disick

Kardashian was bombarded with hate after she captioned a photo of herself dressed as a cat and Disick as an Arab sheik “sheik p—y” on Instagram in October 2014. 

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Lily Allen

The British singer dressed as a gynecologist in 2014 to mock producer Dr. Luke and Kesha’s ongoing sexual assault lawsuit.

Credit: Courtesy of Ashley Benson

Ashley Benson

The Pretty Little Liars star got slammed on Instagram after she posted a photo of herself dressed as a lion and referenced poached animal Cecil the Lion in 2015. Benson later apologized, explaining that her management captioned the photo with her permission.

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Harry Hamlin

The Veronica Mars alum sparked controversy in 2015 when he attended Casamigos’ Halloween party dressed as the Sex Pistols’ late rocker Sid Vicious and wore a shirt with a swastika on it. His wife, Lisa Rinna — who was dressed as Vicious’ girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, at the bash — later apologized for the shirt.

“If I hurt you ❤️ we were being authentic to the characters of Sid and Nancy for our Halloween costumes,” she wrote via Instagram in November 2015. “It hurt and angered many of you and we are deeply sorry for that. That was never our intention. We did not mean to offend. With love, Lisa and Harry.”

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Hilary Duff and Jason Walsh

In October 2016, Duff and her then-boyfriend took their relationship public at the Casamigos Halloween Party, and their outing caused quite the stir — but not for the reason they anticipated. The pair were slammed on social media for cultural appropriation after she dressed up as a sexy pilgrim and he wore a Native American chief costume. The Lizzie McGuire alum later apologized on Twitter, writing, "I am SO sorry to people I offended with my costume. It was not properly thought through and I am truly, from the bottom of my [heart] sorry."

Credit: Courtesy of Luann de Lesseps/Instagram

Luann De Lesseps

The Real Housewives of New York City star dressed up as Diana Ross for Halloween in 2017, but when the episode aired and showed her wearing dark face makeup, she was flooded with negative comments.

“I’m horrified!” the TV personality said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in April 2018, explaining that she was wearing bronzer but was not intentionally doing blackface. “I never meant to hurt anybody’s feelings. I love Diana Ross and I totally respect Diana Ross. It was really kind of a tribute to her, and it was Halloween.”