Celebrities wouldn't look and sound nearly as good if it wasn't for the crew members
that make show business possible.
Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped stars from kicking, burning, or even headbutting their
support staff.
Here are a few stars who didn't treat their crew members with the respect they deserved.
Behind that toothy grin, Tom Cruise has an intensity matched by few of his peers.
It's hard to forget his sofa-jumping antics on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," or his passionate
speeches in defense of Scientology over the years.
In 2020, the crew on "Mission: Impossible 7" was treated to the spectacle of the A-lister
flying into a frenzy once again.
To be fair, Cruise was trying to make a valid point: the star had become increasingly annoyed
at crew members who were failing to stick to social distancing rules in the midst of
a worldwide pandemic.
Unfortunately, his message got lost in a foul-mouthed rant that gave his "Tropic Thunder" character,
Les Grossman, a run for his money.
To make matters worse, the whole thing was captured on tape.
In an audio recording that managed to find its way to The Sun, Cruise can be heard giving
the crew their own mission — with no choice but to accept it.
He yelled, in part,
"We are the gold standard.
They're back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us, because they believe
in us and what we're doing.
I'm on the phone with every f---ing studio at night, insurance companies, producers and
they're looking at us and using us to make their movies.
We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf---ers.
I don't ever want to see it again.
Ever!"
The mother of all on-set meltdowns occurred during production on "Terminator: Salvation,"
when a director of photography had the sheer audacity to briefly step in front of Christian
Bale's line of sight.
Some critics would argue the Welshman's subsequent rant was more entertaining than anything in
the 2009 Schwarzenegger-less sequel, but the man on the receiving end, Shane Hurlbut, was
unlikely to have seen things that way.
As the millions who've listened to the recording obtained by TMZ already know, Bale demanded
that Hurlbut immediately leave the set before unleashing a volley of foul-mouthed abuse,
screaming,
"Am I gonna walk around and rip your f---ing lights down in the middle of the scene?
Then why the f--- are you walking right through?
Ah da da da da, like this in the background.
What the f--- is it with you?
What don't you f---king understand?"
Bale later apologized for his outburst, claiming that, contrary to what listeners of the recording
might think, he doesn't see himself as superior to anyone else.
Bale called in to Los Angeles radio station KROQ to say,
"Nothing could be farther from the truth.
I am a lucky man, I never forget that and that is why I put so much into what I do,
and why I care so much about it and why sometimes that enthusiasm just goes awry."
In 2020, fans of The CW's Arrowverse shows were shocked at the news that Ruby Rose, the
titular star of "Batwoman," would not be returning for a second season.
Exactly what happened remains disputed: Rose claimed that a toxic work environment left
her with no option but to walk away, but according to various co-stars and crew members, it was
Rose that was actually responsible for all the toxicity.
Alexander J. Baxter, a production assistant on the show, claimed that Rose's allegations
were off the mark, telling CBR:
"The production company was professional, dialed in and in every way fantastic."
Baxter was less complimentary, though, about the leading lady:
"Then came Ruby Rose.
[...] She stormed off set, she yelled at people, and whenever she interacted with any of us
production assistants, we were disregarded as the trash we picked up.
She was a dictator to work for, and having been nothing but a production assistant eager
to get into the industry, she made me consider quitting."
Baxter concluded by describing the inaugural "Batwoman" season as a, quote, "reign of cruelty."
He wasn't the only name to speak up against Rose, either: her co-star, Camrus Johnson,
aka Luke Fox, tweeted,
"It is VERY hard to be fired when you're the lead.
Imagine what you have to do for that to happen."
Perhaps we can cut Julia Roberts some slack for allegedly acting so monstrously on the
set of "Hook."
After all, she went straight into the shoot of Steven Spielberg's adaptation of "Peter
Pan" immediately after breaking up with Kiefer Sutherland just two days before they were
due to tie the knot.
Still, many behind the scenes on the 1991 adventure film weren't in such a forgiving
mood at the time.
Indeed, some members of the crew gave Roberts the nickname "Tinkerhell" due to her bad behavior
during the shoot.
Even the usually diplomatic Spielberg appeared to acknowledge that there was some bad blood
on set during an interview for "60 Minutes."
"It was an unfortunate time for us to work together, but I think that Julia is a really,
really good actress."
However, when asked if he would work with her again, the director was evasive.
"Would you have any hesitation about working with her again?"
"This is a '60 Minutes' question, isn't it?"
Roberts herself claimed she wasn't aware of her unfortunate nickname during the shoot,
but believed it was entirely unjustified.
She told Entertainment Weekly,
"I'm a normal person.
I mean, if I sit in my trailer for six hours doing nothing, I'm going to say: 'What the
f--- is going on?'"
In the same year that he was accused of domestic abuse against his ex-wife Amber Heard by The
Sun, Johnny Depp was also said to have acted violently toward a location manager on the
set of the crime drama "City of Lies."
The one-time heartthrob's public image took yet another hit in 2018, when allegations
emerged that he'd tried to punch the unnamed crew member before offering him $100,000 to
fight back.
An anonymous insider told Page Six that the trouble began when Depp took over directorial
duties from Brad Furman for one particular scene, which ended up running way over schedule.
After being told he needed to wrap things up, the Hollywood star — who was reportedly
inebriated at the time — responded by squaring up and shouting,
"Who are you?
You have no right."
After the location manager replied that he was simply doing his job, Depp apparently
tried to punch him in the chest before others pulled him away.
Furman later insisted the incident had been blown all out of proportion, but considering
that Depp was also then at the center of lawsuits involving his ex-security guards and one-time
management team, the rumors didn't exactly seem too outlandish for reality.
Rumors had swirled for years that Ellen DeGeneres wasn't the type of kindly fairy godmother
she portrayed herself to be when the cameras stopped rolling, but it wasn't until 2020
that the comedian was forced to respond to such allegations publicly.
DeGeneres issued a full apology after BuzzFeed published two damaging reports about the toxic
atmosphere behind the scenes of her hit daytime talk show.
Although she wasn't involved directly in these particular accusations of, quote, "racism,
fear, and intimidation," she was still accused of being complicit for allowing such a culture
to develop at her workplace.
However, DeGeneres was mentioned by name in a Twitter thread full of horror stories — many
of which were told by her former employees — that went viral earlier in the year.
The multiple Emmy winner allegedly doesn't allow staff members to look her in the eye,
often takes credit for others' work, and has a history of ableism.
The thread racked up dozens of different tales from those who had experienced the other side
of Mrs. Nice Guy.
The ridiculously temperamental David O. Russell has become just as renowned for his outbursts
at various Hollywood stars as he has for his award-winning films.
There's the famous clip in which he berated and threw things at Lily Tomlin on the set
of "I Heart Huckabees."
He regularly made Amy Adams cry with his demands during the filming of "American Hustle."
George Clooney even claims that he was head-butted by the short-fused director while shooting
the Gulf War drama "Three Kings."
Russell doesn't just go after his stars, however: the Hollywood hothead has also been accused
of treating plenty of behind-the-scenes staff like disposable tools.
While recalling his own experiences in "Three Kings," Clooney told Playboy that the filmmaker
shoved an extra, reduced a script supervisor to tears, and left a camera-car driver red
in the face.
Clooney wasn't having it, though:
"I told him, 'You can yell and scream and even fire him, but what you can't do is humiliate
him in front of people.
Not on my set, if I have any say about it.'"
It's always disappointing when a star who's brought so much joy to our screens — see
everything from "Wayne's World" to "Shrek" to "Austin Powers" — turns out to be a bit
of a jerk in real life.
But yes, Mike Myers has been outed as a colleague from hell by multiple sources over the years.
In an interview with The AV Club, Myers' "Cat in the Hat" co-star Amy Hill described her
time working with the Canadian actor on the 2003 Dr. Seuss adaptation as, quote, "horrible"
and "nightmarish" — probably even more nightmarish than the movie itself!
The director of the 1993 dark comedy "So I Married an Axe Murderer," Thomas Schlamme,
has also spoken of Myers' "difficult personality" to the Los Angeles Times, and according to
Page Six, staffers at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will likely be in agreement.
"He's just so awful, this guy is just so mean and vile.
Just a horrible, horrible dude."
During a 2008 appearance on the NBC talk show to publicize his box office flop "The Love
Guru," Myers made multiple specific requests for pre-show refreshments, ranging from Twizzlers
to Silk non-dairy creamer to raspberry seltzer.
When the drink he was provided wasn't his brand of choice, the former "SNL" star apparently
threw a tantrum.
Val Kilmer's erratic behavior on the set of the remake of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" has
become the stuff of legend in the years since the film's release.
After arriving for the hugely problematic shoot two days late, the actor proceeded to
make life hell for both the director he eventually helped to oust, Richard Stanley, and his replacement,
John Frankenheimer.
Kilmer especially despised Frankenheimer, who he considered unworthy of his respect.
Kilmer repeatedly recited lines that were meant for other characters, refused to join
in with rehearsals, and frequently feuded with equally troublesome co-star Marlon Brando.
"Kilmer didn't like Brando, Brando didn't like Kilmer, they all didn't like Frankenheimer,
Frankenheimer didn't like them."
Most infamously, however, was the time he left one particular crew member with a painful
memento — a cigarette burn.
There's still a debate about whether the incident in question was an accident or not.
Tim Zinnemann, the film's executive producer, told Entertainment Weekly,
"Val was sort of teasing him with the end of his cigarette and burned this guy's sideburn.
The guy was upset, naturally."
However, another witness argued that Kilmer's intentions were more malicious, saying,
"He burned that cameraman right on his face, and no, he wasn't fooling around.
It was intentional."
Kilmer — who was served divorce papers while on set — explained his side of the story
in the 2021 documentary "Val," but no mention was made of the cigarette incident.
After rumors swirled for years, a whole host of "Glee" actors — including Samantha Ware,
Amber Riley, and Heather Morris — confirmed in 2020 that Lea Michele was far from a positive
force during the show's six season run.
The star was effectively canceled by her former colleagues amid numerous accusations of racist
microaggressions, workplace bullying, and just general all-around terrible behavior.
Michele didn't just target those she swapped lines with, though: several other cast and
crew members came forward during the pile-on.
One background actor even claimed that the singer would regularly tell those behind the
scenes how to do their jobs, and that she once held up a shoot for more than an hour
by throwing a tantrum.
Michele later issued an apology on Instagram for her previous conduct, but seemed more
concerned with using the opportunity as a teachable moment than offering genuine remorse,
adding,
"We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect
my own shortcomings."
Nia Long's behavior toward the crew of the hit musical drama "Empire" was apparently
so ill-mannered that an official complaint was lodged against her.
The actor, who played Giuliana 'Giusi' Green during season 3, was said to have been particularly
unprofessional when dealing with the hair and makeup team.
An anonymous insider told TMZ,
"She was extremely disrespectful...
at times deciding she didn't like her look at the last minute and then chewing them out."
According to reports, Long was called out for her attitude to those behind the scenes
by co-star Taraji P. Henson, sparking a feud that became so intense, producers started
thinking about shooting their joint scenes separately.
The trouble-making actor allegedly had problems showing up to the set on time, and even threatened
to file a lawsuit after the assistant director failed to give her the send-off she felt she
contractually deserved.
Unsurprisingly, Long denied all knowledge of such conduct and the complaint lodged against
her, with a representative for the actor issuing a statement claiming,
"Nia has always, and continues to be, a consummate professional on set."
Vin Diesel is always talking about how the "Fast and Furious" franchise is steeped in
the concept of family.
However, his equally big-necked co-star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson brought such claims into
question in 2016 when he made a since-deleted Instagram post about his fellow cast members,
which read,
"Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't.
The ones that don't are too chicken s--- to do anything about it anyway."
The former WWE star later admitted that he shouldn't have gone public with his unfiltered
thoughts, which were shared in the wake of rumors that he and Diesel had to be separated
during press commitments for "The Fate of the Furious."
However, Johnson told Vanity Fair that he still stands by his opinions, and that he
received a lot of support for speaking out about his long-running castmate.
The actor said,
"It caused a firestorm, yet interestingly enough [...] [it was] as if every single crew
member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note."
It's not clear what Diesel did to make those behind the scenes firmly Team Rock, but with
the pair seemingly unable to patch up their differences, expect plenty more tidbits about
his on-set behavior to emerge in the future.
Thomas Gibson appears to have been something of a Jekyll and Hyde character during his
turbulent stint on "Criminal Minds."
After the actor, who played Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, was finally fired in
2016, several unnamed staffers told Variety that they'd always viewed him as an amiable
family man.
However, another staffer saw things very differently, commenting,
"It's like a dark cloud has been lifted off that show.
You never knew which Thomas Gibson was going to show up."
Assistant director Ian Woolf and writer/producer Virgil Williams were just two figures behind
the scenes who found themselves on the receiving end of Gibson's darker side.
In 2010, Woolf was shoved by the star following a dispute over safety concerns.
Six years later, Williams was reportedly kicked by Gibson while filming an episode that the
actor was also directing.
The kick was the final straw that led to his firing — Gibson had previously been given
a warning after being charged with a DUI.
Crew members, who no doubt believed he should have been gone long before then, were also
said to be peeved at Gibson's demands: the actor insisted the filming schedule should
revolve around his traveling from the show's Los Angeles studios to his San Antonio home.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite stars are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.