Controversial Things Celebs Have Said & Done During Natural Disasters

Celebrities have a tendency to express their opinions about a wide variety of topics beyond their various showbiz endeavors. Whether it's weighing in on politics, religion, fashion — pretty much anything — there are many fans who love to hear their favorite stars tackle these and other subjects. On the other end of the spectrum, though, there are those who believe that famous folks should stay in their respective lanes, suggesting actors should stick with discussing acting, musicians music, athletes sports, and so on. 

That said, numerous celebrities have taken to social media during natural disasters to send their support to those affected, sometimes donating much-needed cash, other times offering thoughts and prayers. But every once in a while, a celeb will say or do something during one of these devastating incidents that falls so flat that controversy inevitably erupts. When that happens, PR damage control follows, resulting in mealy-mouthed apologies and quickly deleted social media posts. Read on for a rundown of controversial things celebs have said and done during natural disasters.

Prior to his death in 2022, envelope-pushing comedian Gilbert Gottfried maintained two somewhat parallel careers as both an edgy stand-up comic and a mainstream voiceover actor. He was known for supplying the voice of Iago the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin" and, perhaps even more famously, the squawking, talking duck in TV commercials for the Aflac insurance company. But it was as an envelope-pushing comic that Gottfried took to X (then known as Twitter) to joke about a devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, taking thousands of lives. 

"Japan is really advanced," he tweeted (via The Hollywood Reporter). "They don't go to the beach. The beach comes to them." He wasn't done, following up with several more cringe-inducing jokes, including, "Japan called me. They said 'maybe those jokes are a hit in the US, but over here, they're all sinking.'" As THR noted, his comments were met with outrage, with Gottfried relentlessly criticized for making light of a massive tragedy while it was still underway. 

Also unamused were Gottfried's bosses at Aflac, who handed him a pink slip. "Gilbert's recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac," company exec Michael Zuna said in a statement, as reported by TMZ. The day after his firing, a chastened Gottfried issued a statement to THR. "I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan," he wrote. "I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families."

Once a teen idol while starring on the sitcom "Growing Pains," these days Kirk Cameron has become better known for whipping up controversy by expressing his extreme religious beliefs. In August 2024, for example, he sparked outrage by claiming that children sent to public school would emerge as Marxists, drag queens, and exotic dancers. And back in 2017, Cameron appeared on video via Facebook to share his thoughts about Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, two devastating storms that came one after another. 

"How should we look at two giant hurricanes coming back-to-back like this?" Cameron mused in the video. "Do we write them off as coincidence? Do we write it off as a statistical anomaly? Wow! Who would've thought? Is it just Mother Nature in a bad mood? I don't know how you think about it but I think it could be something much more than all of that." Cameron then offered his own theory: That the devastating storms that destroyed billions in property and cost numerous lives were a divine message. "There's a purpose," he said. "And we may not always understand what that purpose is, but we know it's not random and we know that weather is sent to cause us to respond to God in humility, awe, and repentance."

As E! News noted, Cameron's post generated thousands of responses, many critical of his beliefs. "Amazing," wrote one commenter. "He actually thinks a god murders people with weather events, in order to teach them humility. Kirk has an impressively twisted mind."  Another was just as blunt: "Kirk, with all due respect, you are out of your ever lovin mind!!!"

Another celebrity who believed that natural disasters were the wrath of the Almighty was televangelist Pat Robertson. During an episode of his "700 Club" TV show, he made the audacious claim that his fervent prayers were answered, changing the course of a hurricane that was headed for his television studio. A clip of Robertson's statement was made public by People for the American Way — the organization founded by famed television producer Norman Lear — after the televangelist's 1987 announcement he was throwing his hat in the ring for the 1988 presidential race. 

In the clip, Robertson claimed that he and his team prayed for Hurricane Gloria to veer in a different direction. "Something unusual happened," Robertson intoned, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. "The storm in a sense broke off." According to Robinson, that was what convinced him he should run for president. "It was extremely important," he said, "because I felt, interestingly enough, that if I couldn't move a hurricane, I could hardly move a nation."

Of course, that pales in comparison to the time Robertson claimed that Orlando, Florida would be plagued with terrorist attacks, hurricanes, earthquakes, and even a meteor strike if Disney World continued to fly rainbow flags and welcome LGBTQ+ visitors. "I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you," he said, as reported by The Advocate.

Oprah Winfrey has owned a palatial vacation home on the Hawaiian island of Maui for decades. When it was hit by a devastating wildfire that burned down the historic town of Lahaina, displacing thousands of locals, Winfrey sprung into action to lay some philanthropy on the victims. Joined by fellow Hawaiian mansion-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the two filmed a video for social media in which they announced the formation of the People's Fund of Maui. As they explained, they were kicking off the fund with a combined donation of $10 million and urged fans to send their own donations as well. 

While that seemed to be a generous gesture, many balked at being asked to give when they were living from paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, $10 million is a pittance for Winfrey, whose net worth is estimated at $3 billion. Appearing on "CBS Mornings," she addressed the backlash, describing "being terrorized and vilified online" over the Maui Fund. "I was so excited about it, and then I got up the next morning, and I saw all of this vitriol, and I was, like, 'Whoa, what happened here?'" she recalled.

Johnson also confronted the criticism via a video he posted to Instagram. "I understand money ain't falling out of the sky, and it's not growing on trees ... the last thing you want to hear when you are living from paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money, especially when the person asking you for money already has a lot of money," he said. "So I get it. I understand ... lesson learned."

Makeup artist and social media influencer Jaclyn Hill has garnered millions upon millions of views for the tutorials she posts on her YouTube channel. Her popularity, however, took a hit when she decided to make light of Hurricane Helene after the storm hit Florida and North Carolina with a fury in September 2024, destroying numerous homes and leaving more than 200 people dead. In a video she posted to social media — which she subsequently deleted — Hill explained that she used to live in Tampa before moving to California and had been receiving hurricane updates on her phone, with texts urging her to evacuate. 

"And I was like, I already did that six months ago!" she quipped with a chuckle. She then proceeded to compare the earthquakes she'd experienced while living in California to the hurricanes that regularly slam the Gulf Coast. "Yeah, earthquakes are so much worse than hurricanes, there is actually no comparison," Hill continued. "I've gone through so many hurricanes, earthquakes are a thousand times worse," she later added. Hill was understandably deluged with backlash over comments deemed to be wildly out of touch. "Jaclyn Hill should be called out for her insensitive video about the hurricane in Florida," declared one critic on TikTok.

Sofia Vergara has a substantial following on Instagram, boasting more than 35 million followers. As those followers know, the former "Modern Family" star enjoys sharing snippets of her fabulous life online. That habit, however, came to bite her in the butt when she shared some photos of herself and pals partying up a storm at her vacation home in the Caribbean — dubbed Casa Chipi Chipi — in 2019. 

In the caption to those Instagram pics, Vergara wrote, "Esperando a Dorian." Translated from Spanish to English, it reads "Waiting for Dorian," referencing Hurricane Dorian, which was on a path to slam into several islands in the Caribbean. Some of her followers were not amused by her Marie Antoinette-like callousness to the impending arrival of a powerful storm set to destroy property and take lives. "Sofia do you understand how many people lose their lives or lose their homes or their children and family [to] hurricanes?" one of her followers commented, as reported by Yahoo! Lifestyle. "I really don't think it's something to joke about especially before it hits. So not funny." Another issued an even more succinct comment: "No need for your privileged and tone-deaf statements. Get a grip."

Vergara was apparently either unaffected by or unaware of that criticism when she shared a followup post. It featured a photo of herself and her guests safely ensconced within a private jet, about to soar away to safety. "Bye bye Dorian," she wrote in the caption. 

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is not particularly well liked. As his one-time fellow senator, "SNL" alum-turned-politician Al Franken, wrote in his book "Giant of the Senate": "I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz."

In 2021, when Cruz's district in Texas was hit with a freak cold snap, he responded by heading to Cancun on vacation, where he planned to soak up the sun while his frigid constituents shivered. When the deep freeze proved to be even worse than predicted, the backlash was so severe that he cut his trip short and returned to his home state. "Look, it was obviously a mistake and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," he said in an interview with KTRK, as reported by The Texas Tribune.

When a subsequent cold front threatened his state, Cruz hoped to do some damage control with humor. However, he clearly wasn't reading the room when he took to X (then Twitter) to joke about his controversial vacay. "Texans, with the freeze coming, wrap your pipes, cover your plants, stay off icy roads & keep your family safe," he tweeted. "And, if it gets too damn cold, join me in Cancun!" Adding to the tone-deafness of the tweet, his words were accompanied by a GIF of Aidy Bryant playing Cruz in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, with Bryant-as-Cruz sporting cornrows and clutching a tropical cocktail.

Oprah and the Rock weren't the only celebs to be taken to task for comments about the Maui wildfire. Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks also shared her thoughts on the tragic blaze that wiped out an entire town and cost more than 100 lives, offering a lengthy response to the disaster on Instagram. Lamenting the loss of Lahaina, Nicks also told her followers that her niece and her family had been vacationing in her home in Maui when the fire hit and were left without power. 

"This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families," she wrote. "My truth was that I wanted a house here just so I could spend time in Lahaina walking the streets; visiting the art galleries — sitting on the rock wall — most all the opals I wear on my fingers came from a store on Front Street. I hope the sweet lady who owned that store was able to grab all her opals and run. I hope she made it out."

Nicks' remembrances of better times were slammed for being privileged and out of touch, and she was criticized for taking a tragic situation and making it all about herself. "I really like you Stevie, but this is coming off as so self-centered," read one comment, as documented by the New York Post. Another comment pointed out that her niece's ruined vacation was hardly comparable to losing one's ancestral home.

Insensitively joking about the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan cost Gilbert Gottfried a lucrative job, but he wasn't the only celebrity to spark backlash during that tragedy. Outspoken rapper 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, was likewise quick to see the humorous side of a devastating natural disaster that left more than 2,400 dead and a half-million homeless. At the time, tsunami warnings were also issued for the California coastline.

"It's all good, 'til b****** see their Christian Louboutins floating down da street," he wrote in a tweet he later deleted, as reported by The Standard. "S*** gone get crazy," . He then added a followup (also deleted) tweet: "Wave will hit 8am them crazy white boys gonna try to go surfing."

After the rapper's tweets began being reported by news agencies — and definitely not in a positive light — he backtracked. "Some of my tweets are ignorant," he tweeted, reported BET. "I do it for shock value. Hate it or love it. I'm cool either way." He then added, "Nah this is nuts but what can anyone do about it. Let's pray for anyone who has lost someone." 

Ric "Nature Boy" Flair has been a professional wrestling icon for decades. But he managed to step in it badly when he made a ham-handed attempt to assist victims of Hurricane Milton, which caused at least 24 deaths and damage estimated at up to $34 billion. Following the storm's devastation, he took to X to issue an unexpected apology, sharing his regrets that he wasn't at his home in Tampa when the hurricane hit. 

"Am So Sorry For Everything, All The Suffering, And All The Hardships People Are Going Through In Tampa Where I Live," he wrote in a tweet (via Sportskeeda) that he later deleted, apologizing for being in Las Vegas at the time. "I Can't Give You $100,000, But I Will Donate $1,000 Dollars To Whatever Charity You Would Like, And I Will Supply Tampa With All The @woooooenergy Drinks That Are Needed To Keep Everyone's Energy Up." Not unexpectedly, Flair's puny donation and offer to send his branded energy drinks to hurricane victims fell flat. 

When he was hit with backlash on social media, Flair not only deleted the tweet, but responded by issuing a somewhat unrepentant response. "I'm So Sick Of All The Haters When I'm Just Trying To Help Out & Not Make A Dime For It!" he wrote in a followup tweet. "Forget The Energy Drink, Let's Play The Game Of If You Can Match My Donation Of $1,000. And Please Try To Show Up With Your Real Names."