Unexpected celebrities fired
Public celebrity dismissals will always cause controversy and surprise. We can’t believe that the powerful people of Hollywood can be fired just like you and me. However, it does happen and sometimes over the most shocking reasons.
No matter what the job entails, no one owns that position. If a company is restructuring or the employee can no longer do the function of the role, then the job is taken away. While this is painful for employees who may have been in that role for years, no one is immune to change.
This article will go through some shocking celebrity dismissals. Circumstances where the rich also learned that they don’t own that role, or character, or franchise. Therefore, changes were made with some more public than others.
Mandalorian actress fights Disney in unfair dismissal
In recent news, actress Gina Carano had fought and settled against entertainment giant Disney, and production company Lucasfilm. Gina Carano was hired to act in Star Wars spin off show “The Mandalorian”. The show went on to be a commercial success, even winning Emmys.
Amidst the show’s success, Gina Carano was dropped from the show due to social media posts from 2021. The posts likened being Republican in the current climate as being Jewish during the Holocaust. Disney denounced these posts, labelling them as “abhorrent and unacceptable”.
Disney is known for their family friendly content and avoiding public controversy or politics. Therefore, these posts would not have aligned with the Disney brand and created a liability. As such, Gina Carano was fired from the Mandalorian in 2021. Furthermore, her own spin off show was cancelled.
Celebrity fights dismissal
In 2024, Gina Carano had sued Disney for wrongful termination and discrimination on the basis of her sex. Gina Carano argued that the grounds of the discrimination was because her male co-stars would speak out about controversial topics and face no consequences.
Gina Carano’s action against Disney was also supported by billionaire Elon Musk. Amongst the news, it was found that the actress had made other controversial posts online. Including topics such as wearing masks during the Covid-19 pandemic, and false alarms of voter fraud during the 2020 American presidential election.
In the end Gina Carano and Disney were able to resolve their differences and come to a resolution. The public is not privy to the specific nature of the settlement. However, it appears that there was a positive resolution. With a spokesperson from Lucasfilm speaking highly of the actress and their opportunities to work together in the future.
Ned Fulmer cheating controversy
Ned Fulmer is an internet and YouTube celebrity that made a name for himself with “the Try Guys”. This group originated on Buzzfeed and then went out on their own. Now having millions of fans all over the world. Ned Fulmer’s distinct personality was being the “wife guy”. He would have a running commentary on how much he loved his wife.
However, in 2022 Ned Fulmer was caught cheating on his wife with a subordinate. This information went viral and broke the internet. Some fans were shocked, and others less so. The couple was found together in New York. Fans were quick to notice that things were out of place. Ned had not been in a number of recent YouTube videos, and it was clear that something was happening in the background.
When fans turned to the Try Guys, they revealed that Ned Fulmer had been fired from the Company. As he was a part owner, and the scandal involved a subordinate, the dismissal was handled strategically. The cheating and dismissal shocked fans. It is unclear whether the subordinate was fired, however she was not seen on the channel again.
Scandal breaks the internet
The channel had to handle this celebrity dismissal appropriately. There was respect to the power dynamic between a subordinate and her boss. Therefore, the dismissal and negotiations were handled privately. There were many ways that the scandal could have long lasting legal effects for the business.
The group had been best friends for years. They all had a vested and financial interest in their relatively new business. Ned was married with children, and the other woman was in a 10-year relationship. The controversy even caught the attention of sketch comedy show SNL, entering mainstream media.
The scandal clearly created a liability for the business. Ned would have had to be removed to protect the image of the business. They are a family friendly channel, who would not have survived the internet’s cancel culture if they had protected Ned.
Since the scandal, the Try Guys have gone on to continue their online success. Furthermore, the scandal has recently resurfaced online as Ned Fulmer has re-entered the internet with a new podcast.
Can I be fired for cheating?
For the average employee, cheating is typically not a valid reason for dismissal in Australia. While many people would consider cheating and adultery as immoral, rarely will it affect the workplace. An employer should not be privy to your home issues unless it directly affects work. Furthermore, their personal beliefs, that are separate from workplace policy and procedure, are irrelevant to workplace management.
There are exceptions to this rule. Issues may arise if both spouses work in the same workplace. Or the cheating/separation causes a conflict of interest. Furthermore, the person who cheated is unlikely to receive any special leniency if their actions cause their performance to be negatively affected. While cheating may not result in dismissal, poor performance or causing conflict in the workplace can be valid reasons for dismissal.
Furthermore, employees do have protections against being discriminated against due to their marital status. Therefore, someone should not be treated worse or less favorably because they are divorced, single, married etc. Therefore, companies cannot have workplace policies that allow them to fire individuals who are going through divorce, for example.
Australian journalist wins unlawful termination
Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf was dismissed within 3 days within her 5 day casual contract with the ABC in late 2023. The decision to remove her was done after she had shared a post by Human Rights Watch about the conflict in Gaza.
The ABC stated that Ms. Lattouf had breached their social media policy. However, Ms. Lattouf had said that she was never instructed to not post her opinions online, only advised. Furthermore, she argued that the decision to terminate her was motivated by her Middle Eastern heritage. Therefore, an act of discrimination.
The Fair Work Commission supported Ms. Lattouf that she was unlawfully terminated due to holding a political opinion. Breaching her workplace rights. However, denied that there was any discrimination.
Earlier this year the journalist was originally awarded $70,000 in compensation for her non-economic loss. Most recently, the ABC was also ordered to pay an additional fine of $150,000 to Ms. Lattouf. Totaling $220,000.
The fine was awarded partly because it was found that the ABC had agreed to the termination in order to please pro-Isreal lobbyists. Undermining the trust that Australian had placed into the network to be an editorially independent network. Furthermore, that they had wasted taxpayers money in the fight against Ms. Lattouf.
Termination amidst the MeToo movement
A termination that shocked viewers of traditional media was host Matt Lauer. In 2017 Mr. Lauer was fired from the morning talk show “Today” on NBC amidst allegations of inappropriate behavior. The dismissal occurred only two days after the initial complaint was made.
NBC News announced that Mr. Lauer had been dismissed after a female colleague had made a detailed complaint of sexual harassment. The individual’s identity has been kept secret. The network made a statement that this was the first complaint in his 20 year tenure. However, they did not believe that the sexual harassment was an isolated incident.
Other members in the media had come out to state that it was common knowledge that Mr. Lauer was dangerous. Further allegations arose that the network was aware of the conduct. Furthermore, Harvey Weinstein used the knowledge to blackmail the network to not expose his own sexual misconduct at the time.
There were additional allegations from at least 10 other colleagues of Mr. Lauer. Including allegations of sexual nature and that there was an abuse of power. Mr. Lauer did eventually make a public apology, stating that he was “embarrassed and ashamed”.
What is the MeToo movement?
The sudden termination occurred after approximately a month into the takeoff of the #MeToo movement. It is assumed that the movement had given individuals the confidence to break their silence and make their complaints.
The movement was famously catalyzed by allegations against Harvey Weinstein. However, a number of other high-profile individuals were also held accountable. This caused a domino effect that broke the stigma on speaking or complaining about sexual harassment for fear of retaliation.
Not only were perpetrators being held reasonable, but the larger companies that protected them as well. The walls that protected powerful men from being held accountable for their actions had been removed. Now, companies were made to care about their public image and harboring sexual harassers. The movement prompted legislative change in America.
Australian celebrity dismissed after sexist sport commentary
Earlier this year, radio host and actor Marty Sheargold was “fired” from his radio position at Triple M after he made sexist comments against the beloved female soccer team, the Matildas. Making the comment “You know what they remind me of? Year 10 girls,”.
The host continued to say that he would rather hurt himself than watch the girls play in next year’s Asian Cup, which will be hosted in Australia. The commentary was made during prime time with millions of listeners tuning in at the time.
The comments sparked a lot of controversy for its harmful and hateful speech. Eventually the host did apologize for his words and called it “comedy”. Triple M also made a comment that they support all women and men’s sports and their views do not align with the host’s words.
These actions do incite confidence into Australian viewers that public figures will be kept accountable for their words and actions. Diminishing and supporting hateful speech against innocent and marginalized groups should not be supported or taken lightly.
Learn from their mistakes
These above examples highlight some shocking ways that celebrities and public figures have been dismissed. On occasion the dismissal was shocking, and on others shocking action that caused the dismissal.
Often celebrities exist in a different world from regular employees. Therefore, it’s unlikely that any of these examples will be applicable to an office job or hospitality job. However, it is important to keep in mind what we say and how we treat others.
Many celebrity stories warn us of the dangers and protections we have when speaking up on certain topics. There will always be controversy and issues around the world, however it’s up to the employee whether that should be part of their workplace and the risks associated.
Have you been dismissed?
A Whole New Approach can help you stand up for your rights so that you don’t have to do it alone. Call us if you have faced any of the following: unfair dismissal, adverse action, discrimination, harassment, or bullying. We have spent almost 30 years helping thousands of Australians seek justice through the Fair Work Commission. AWNA are not lawyers. However, we are the nation’s leading representatives and workplace commentators.
We operate in every Australian state and territory. We offer a no-risk, no-fee service. But act fast, as Fair Work claims must be lodged within 21 days of your dismissal or unlawful termination.
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