2025’s biggest celebrity cancellations: From Nicki Minaj’s MAGA backlash to David Harbour’s cheating drama, 7 star scandals fans couldn’t ignore

2025 was the year the internet had no chill. One wrong tweet, one offhand comment, or one surprising public move, and celebrities found themselves trending for all the wrong reasons. Fans rallied, sharing screenshots, clips, and dragging stars online, prompting mass unfollowings and proving once again that in the age of social media, fame comes with zero immunity.

Nicki Minaj lost roughly 10 million followers after appearing on stage with Erika Kirk, while mid‑year was dominated by Landon Nickerson’s cheating scandal. Stranger Things star David Harbour also sparked controversy when his former wife, Lily Allen, seemingly alluded to infidelity on her 2025 album, West End Girl. Here’s a look at some of the biggest celebrities cancelled by the internet in 2025.



Nicki Minaj kicked off one of the wildest cancellation moments of 2025 after a recent surprise appearance at the conservative Turning Point USA AmericaFest event, where she publicly praised former President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance during an on‑stage conversation with Erika Kirk.



The move shocked fans who had long embraced her as a groundbreaking hip‑hop icon, sparking a massive backlash online as clips and reactions spread across social platforms. In the days that followed, Minaj deactivated her Instagram account after reportedly losing millions of followers, a decision many interpreted as a response to the intense criticism from fans who felt betrayed by her political alignment.





Doja Cat has always been her own brand of chaotic, and in 2025 that energy finally boiled over in a way that left even her most loyal fans scratching their heads. The trouble began online, with Doja lashing out at admirers who had affectionately labelled themselves her “Kittenz”. She told them they didn’t get to name themselves, insulted fan accounts, and even called a fan “creepy” for using her real name as a username, all of which played out on platforms like Threads and X, culminating in the deactivation of major fan pages and plunging her Instagram numbers as fans unfollowed en masse.



Grace under pressure is a star quality, but what happens when an artist snaps at a front‑row fan mid‑show? That question haunted Burna Boy’s No Sign Of Weakness tour in late 2025. At a show in Colorado, the Nigerian superstar stopped his own performance when he noticed a fan sleeping in the front row, told security to remove her, and refused to continue until she was gone, which instantly went viral.



Fans called it disrespectful and tone‑deaf, questioning why someone who charges premium ticket prices would shame a paying fan for being tired.



One of the most viral relationship scandals of the year involved YouTube personality Wizard Liz, who publicly accused her fiancé, Landon Nickerson, of cheating while she was pregnant with their first child in May 2025. Liz’s raw and unfiltered posts, filled with heartbreak and betrayal, captured the attention of millions online and sparked a massive wave of cancellation calls against Nickerson.



Despite the controversy, Wizard Liz and Landon are continuing to co-parent their child, who was born earlier this month.



One of the most explosive online backlashes of the year centred on Twitch streamer Mizkif, who faced a wave of sexual assault, abuse, stalking, and harassment allegations from fellow creator and former girlfriend Emiru, who went live on October 25 and detailed her claims, saying the incidents were part of a larger pattern of mistreatment.



Emiru’s livestream quickly went viral across Twitch and X, igniting fierce debate as fans, fellow creators, and commentators weighed in and called for accountability, with some urging platform bans and denouncing his behaviour as part of a toxic culture in the livestreaming world. Mizkif denied the allegations and responded publicly, but the controversy snowballed as OTK — the content collective he co‑founded—confirmed he was no longer affiliated amid the fallout, and other creators criticised his past actions and online conduct, igniting a mass boycott across social media.



Even fashion wasn’t safe from 2025’s cancel culture cyclone. In July 2025, Sydney Sweeney headlined an American Eagle campaign with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” but online controversy erupted over the difference between “jeans” and “genes”, arguing that the campaign’s wording and imagery—featuring a blonde, blue‑eyed Sweeney—carried undertones of racial superiority and eugenics that touched a nerve in a politically charged social climate, sparking heated debate across TikTok and X.



Months later, Sweeney finally broke her silence in early November, telling People magazine that she did not support the political views some people had connected to the campaign and that she had taken part simply because she loved the jeans and the brand. She admitted that her earlier silence had “widened the divide” rather than eased tensions. Despite her clarification, the controversy lingered and was widely discussed as one of the year’s most headline-grabbing celebrity moments.



One of the more talked‑about Hollywood scandals of 2025 involved Stranger Things star David Harbour, whose personal life became fodder for fans and critics alike after his ex‑wife Lily Allen released her album West End Girl on October 24, 2025. The record’s raw, breakup‑themed lyrics appeared to allude to infidelity and emotional betrayal during their marriage, with several tracks hinting that Harbour may have breached the terms of their open relationship — something that sent social media into a frenzy as fans dissected every line and compared it to real‑life details of their split.



At the same time, Harbour faced additional scrutiny when Stranger Things co‑star Millie Bobby Brown was reported to have filed a formal harassment and bullying complaint against him ahead of production on the show’s final season, leading to months of headlines and speculation about on‑set tension. While neither Harbour nor Netflix publicly confirmed the full outcome, reports indicated that the matter was resolved behind the scenes before the Season 5 premiere on November 26, 2025.