Celebs Who Can't Stand Tiger Woods

"The world's first billionaire sportsman," is how 60 Minutes Australia described Eldrick "Tiger" Woods in 2019. The prolific professional golfer and pop culture phenomenon appeared on numerous ads for brands such as ESPN, Gatorade, Nike and EA Sports' video game series Tiger Woods PGA Tour. And this success was predicted when he was just a kid. Tiger's father, Earl Woods, brought him to the The Mike Douglas Show where Tiger, at age 2, wowed the world with his golf swing. At 14, Tiger told World Trans Sport that he could be "a Michael Jordan" of golf and surpass Jack Nicklaus. Facing discrimination as a youngster, Tiger aimed to break barriers by winning a Master's Tournament.

But things went drastically off course when Tiger's infidelity to his then-wife Elin Nordegren was exposed. The 2009 scandal revealed he allegedly slept with over 120 woman, the public shame of which sent him to sex addiction rehab. His image and endorsements took a hit. On the fairway, he wasn't the same as injuries mounted. Amazingly, Tiger bounced back, taking home the Calamity Jane trophy in 2018, winning his fifth Master's Tournament in 2019, and tying Sam Snead with his 82nd PGA Tour win the same year. Michael Jordan told The Athletic it was the "greatest comeback [he's] ever seen."

Tiger's now out of the rough, with Forbes listing his 2020 earnings (through July) at $62.3 million. Nonetheless, there are celebrities who Tiger drives bunkers.

In 2009, comedians had a field day when Tiger Woods' cheating scandal broke the news. Comedian George Lopez was no exception. The Lopez Tonight host proceeded with jokes and skits centered around the golfer's controversy. However, there was a time where Lopez did stick up for the embattled athlete midway through a monologue on his TBS talk show. "There's 10 women. At some point, the women have to take responsibility. It is not all his fault," Lopez said during a December 2009 monologue. Ask Lopez about Woods today and he will probably be singing a different tune.

In 2016, the five-time green jacket winner hit the green with then President-elect Donald Trump two days before Christmas. Prior to the presidential election, Lopez voiced his displeasure with the Republican candidate, telling Bloomberg Politics Trump being elected "would be a significant issue for people of color." So when TMZ asked the comic for his thoughts about the golfing buddies, Lopez replied: "That's just a couple of white dudes playing golf." G. Lo elaborated, saying, "All the golfers are Republicans, everybody knows that. So Tiger is a Republican and Tiger voted for Trump... I didn't vote for Trump, so I wouldn't golf with him."

Lopez was not afraid to take away Woods' person of color card for the golfer who once classified his ethnic background as "Cablinasian," or "ca- Caucasian, bl- Blak, i- Indian, Asian."

Steve Williams, longtime caddie for Tiger Woods (1999-2011), chose Woods as his best man. In 2018, Williams told PGA of Australia that Woods is "probably the greatest player that's ever played the game," but things weren't always gravy between the golfer and caddie.

In the wake of Woods' 2009 cheating scandal, Williams told Woods he would have to re-earn his respect. Instead, Woods fired Williams in 2011, citing "time for a change" (via The Washington Post), after which Williams told The Telegraph, "I have been incredibly loyal, and then to have this happen, basically you could say I've wasted two years of my life." Williams later told In Depth with Graham that those two years were "a difficult time" as people felt he knew of Woods' marriage infidelity. Williams quickly moved on from Woods, caddying Adam Scott for his WGC Bridgestone Invitational win — an event Williams won seven times with Woods — and told CBS Sports "I've been a caddie for 33 years and that's the best week of my life."

Later, Williams reportedly said he wanted to "shove" Scott's win up Woods' "black a**," according to ESPN. Woods defended Williams against allegations of racism, but told reporters the comment was "hurtful" and one Williams "shouldn't have made." Through Williams's 2015 autobiography Out of the Rough: Inside the Ropes with the World's Greatest Golfers (via Los Angeles Times) Williams wrote "It was like I was [Woods] slave."

Williams may not be racist but he was definitely bitter with Woods.

Comedian Jordan Peele once portrayed Tiger Woods in a Mad TV skit. As a filmmaker, Peele is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed movie Get Out, which won a 2018 Academy Award and landed three additional nominations. The socially conscious film is a clever critique on racism, and it effectively coined a new term — "the sunken place" — to describe systemic inequities in American culture. "The Sunken Place means we're marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us," Peele tweeted in 2017.

So when Tiger Woods and President Donald Trump were making headlines for an anticipated golf outing in 2017, Peele took a shot at the 11-time PGA of America Player of the Year. The Emmy-winner compared Woods to what characters in Get Out experienced, tweeting: "Now you're in The Sunken Place." The Urban Dictionary further elaborates this term symbolizes "the metaphorical place a person goes to when they are compliant to their own oppression" and it applies to "anyone who chooses to stay silent in the face of discrimination or injustice, usually of their own."

It seems very unlikely the US filmmaker and Woods will share a tee time anytime soon.

Elin Nordegren met Tiger Woods at the 2001 Open Championship. The Orange County, Calif., native married the Swedish model in 2004. According to the Los Angeles Times, their wedding ceremony in Barbados cost $1.5 million. The couple would have two children before their divorce in 2010. Thanksgiving 2009 permanently rocked the relationship, when Nordegren allegedly saw a racy text from Woods' mistress Rachel Uchitel, according to the Daily Mail. TMZ reported Nordegren "scratched" up Woods' face, after which Woods tried to flee in his Cadillac Escalade, but Nordegren struck the SUV with a golf club until Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. 

By 2014, Nordegren told People that she had "moved on" and was "in a good place." As far as Woods, she wished him well in his relationship with then-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn, and said that he "is a great father" and "our relationship is centered around our children." But just one year later, Nordegren low key roasted Woods during a commencement speech. She recalled that when she enrolled at Rollins College in 2005, she said she was 25, an immigrant, and married with no children. "Today, nine years later, I am a proud American. And I have two beautiful children," she said, followed by an applause break and then this perfectly-timed zinger, which sparked laughs and even more applause: "But I'm no longer married." 

Queens, N.Y. native Nas is as bold as they come. The rapper has sold over 25 million records and is known for his searing diss tracks, which means a name drop by this 13-time Grammy Award nominee is not always a good thing. Tiger Woods felt exactly how a Nas shout-out could sting in 2004, with the release of "These Are Our Heroes." Through the Nasir Jones Production track, the artist compares several Black athletes and entertainers, who have conformed to the masses, as slaves trying to please their masters, some of whom, like Woods, he calls out by name.

Four years after the track's release, Nas backed his opinion, citing the professional golfer's reaction to a commentator. In 2008, Golf Channel commentators Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman were talking about how dominant Woods was compared to his competition. As Faldo suggested that competitors should gang up on Woods, Tilghman interjected "lynch him in the back alley" and smiled. Tilgham was suspended for the remark, however, Woods' agent Mark Steinberg said (via ESPN), Woods and Tilghman are friends and "we know unequivocally that there was no ill intent in her comments." Nas thought otherwise. "Tiger Woods standing up for this white lady, who said something about him being lynched, is a coon move to me," Nas told HipHopDX. "God bless the brother. I like to see him doing his thing, but that's a flaw in his character. That's an issue I would have with Tiger Woods."

Joslyn James claims she was romantically involved with Tiger Woods for three-years, thinking she was the only mistress. The adult entertainer revealed to Inside Edition (via Daily Mail) that she was twice impregnated by Woods without him knowing. Shortly after the adult actor heard rumors there were other mistresses, the scandal broke the news. The other woman scorned then released a string of racy text messages from Woods telling Associated Press (via ESPN): "I just wanted the public to know and the truth to be out there. ... If I would have known everything that was going on, and wasn't being lied to, I would have done things differently."

Known as mistress #8, James went on to tell KTLA 5 that Woods is "an addict to being unfaithful and deception." She even held a press conference bashing Woods' 2010 public apology, saying, "He's still a big fat liar," and rather than focus on returning to golf, he should be "repairing the relationships" with his family and "the others he hurt throughout this."

James told RedTube, in 2011, that breaking off the relationship felt like ending a "marriage." "[Woods] was the only person that I was involved with. ... Finding out that he was involved with all the other girls — knowing that he didn't use protection with me — probably not with them...I don't feel he really cared about anybody," James told interviewer Allan Lake, adding "He's definitely not my favorite person but I don't hate him."

In December 2009, Roseanne Barr didn't hold back when bashing Tiger Woods on The Wendy Williams Show. The comic, who admitted she had been cheated on before, shared a list of things she'd do to Woods had she been Elin Nordegren during the cheating scandal.

Barr told Wendy Williams: "I will wait until that f-er fell asleep and then I would hit him with a bag of dirty sweat socks right in the kisser. I would put ex-lax in his soup... I would then hunt down some of those ho-stesses that slept with my husband knowing full well that he was a married man and I would call them lowdown street you-know-what... Then, I would file for divorce, take half the guy's money, kick his butt to the curb but even if he was to buy me a 900-karat diamond to wear on my finger signifying his humiliation, a heartbroken apology of fidelity and trust, and take his rotten butt back but again I would say, 'Hey, shove it Tiger. I ain't one of your no class h**s and then I will walk out and hit his car with a golf club and then leave with the dogs and his kids and his mother." 

She sure doesn't seem forgiving towards adultery, however, the Roseanne star has since endured her own public shaming scandal that forced her off of the show she created. We wonder if she's now singing a different tune?

Reality star Jaimee Grubbs is unfortunately better known as mistress No. 2 in the Tiger Woods cheating scandal than she is for starring on VH1's Tool Academy. The former cocktail waitress publicly leaked a voicemail to implicate Woods' adultery. "I just did everything on emotion when I first reacted," Grubbs told Extra. Initially receiving the voicemail was a "reality check," she said, realizing she was "not the most important person to him." The Maxim model revealed to KTLA 5 that Woods promised her he would break things off with his wife to only be with her — and through other actions, he appeared to be honest. "If I was with him and he was texting, he'd physically show me who it was so I never thought he was lying to me," Grubbs said, and when asking Woods did he have other mistresses on the road, he said, "No, I'm too busy. I don't have time for that. I just like being with you." 

The brunette also described the honorary Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient to Wendy Burch as "manipulative" saying: "He's very good at playing the person that you want him to be." For instance, Woods wouldn't drink or party to match Grubbs' vibe. "You have these other women that say they met him in Vegas, and he was a party animal and got drunk. I mean there are so many sides to him that I didn't know — that I couldn't even tell you the person he is." 

Rachel Uchitel shot to unfortunate fame when the New York Post ran her image on a cover during the 9/11 terrorist attack, in which she appeared crying for her fiancé, who died "in the south tower." By the decade's end, her face would be all over tabloids as "mistress No. 1" in the Tiger Woods cheating scandal. Uchitel told Juicy Scoop w Heather McDonald, "I was branded, really, as 'the victim,' and then 10 years later I was branded the villain." She said she resented the double-standard as "Tiger gets to win awards or win his different tournaments. He gets to come out of things and have mishaps, and get up again, and people want to cheer for him. But the women don't get that so much, not just with him, but with any scandal, and that's not really fair."

According to TMZ, Uchitel canceled a tell-all press conference in 2009 after allegedly agreeing to keep the affair confidential in exchange for a $10 million settlement, most of which she then reportedly gave back after a dispute from Woods' lawyer about whether or not she violated the terms of the agreement. While the details of that alleged agreement remain hidden, as of this writing, Uchitel is set to be featured in the two-part HBO documentary series, Tiger in which she will "[break] her silence for the first time.

Something tells us she's not going to sing Woods' praises in that one. 

According to ESPN, FOX Sports' Rob Parker was both suspended and eventually let go from ESPN after making comments questioning the "blackness" of NFL athlete Robert Griffin III and comparing him to Tiger Woods.

The topic of Griffin III wanting to dissociate himself as an African American football player was brought up on the Dec. 13, 2012 episode of ESPN's program First Take, during which Parker asked, "Is he a brother or is he a cornball brother?" Parker would define a "cornball brother" as someone who "is Black ... but not really down with the cause. He's not one of us." After bringing up how the quarterback had a "white fiancé" and was rumored to be a Republican, he tossed Woods name into the equation saying: "We did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like, 'I don't want to be, uh, I got black skin but don't call me Black.' So people got a little — wondered about Tiger Woods early on."

Considering that Woods was married to a white woman, has associated with republican President Donald Trump, and called himself "brown" in a press conference, does that mean that by Parker's criteria, Woods is a "cornball brother?"

The rivalry between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia dates back to the 1999 PGA Championship. After Woods won at Medinah, he continued to flourish on the green and as a public figure. Meanwhile, Garcia stayed relevant by mouthing-off about Woods, which he cranked up considerably in 2013.

In a 2013 press conference, Woods' nemesis perpetuated a stereotype associated with Black people when answering whether or not he'd invite his rival to dinner, saying (via ABC World News), "We will have him 'round every night. We will serve fried chicken." Woods fired back at Garcia's racial slur on Twitter: "The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate..." Woods added a second tweet: "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made." Garcia apologized, saying (via The Guardian) "I obviously was caught off guard by a question, but don't get me wrong, I understand my answer was totally stupid and out of place."

A reporter asked Woods, would he consider contacting Garcia to bury the hatchet? Woods bluntly (via The Guardian) said "No," and when answering a journalist's question as to "why don't you like Tiger Woods?" Garcia responded (via SNTV), "There's people that you connect with and there's people that you don't. ... He doesn't need me in his life, I don't need him in mine." Twenty-one years in the making it is safe to assume this feud between Woods and Garcia will never end.