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outh Korean singer Park Jae-sang, popularly known as Psy, probably did not think that his 2004 musical attack on America’s actions in Iraq would come back to haunt him.

Yet haunt him it did. According to CNN, just two weeks before he was scheduled to perform at a Christmas charity concert in Washington for US President Barack Obama, footage was discovered of Psy singing a rap song calling for US soldiers in Iraq and their “daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers” to be killed “slowly and painfully”.

Quite predictably, the American public reacted with outrage. A petition calling for Psy’s removal from the Christmas concert gathered nearly 500 signatures. Social media users responded with equal negativity, especially
on Twitter.

Psy was quick to apologize. Afterwards, he was able to continue his Dec. 9 Christmas performance as scheduled.

It was a quiet ending to what could have been an explosive scandal. Psy managed to get through that controversy with his status relatively unharmed.

Most celebrities aren’t as lucky. Some faced career-damaging consequences on account of similar remarks or actions. Here are five famous examples. Needless to say, all of them, except one, were followed by public apologies.

Mel Gibson

It is hard to single out a Mel Gibson moment that encapsulates his hullabaloo-ridden public life.

He has as many gaffes to his name as he does awards. His misdeeds run the gamut, from homophobia to violence, sexism, racism and xenophobia.

Gibson’s most famous misdeed was in 2006, when he exploded in an anti-Semitic tirade during his arrest for driving under the influence.

“The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” he infamously said, as quoted by The New York Times.

Sharon Stone

One would think that the Earth, being an inanimate object, does not have any political views.

Yet this is exactly what Sharon Stone was suggesting when she said that a 2008 earthquake in China that killed more than 67,000 people was the result of bad karma over the Chinese government’s treatment of Tibet.

The fallout? For one, fashion brand Christian Dior dropped the actress from its advertising in China. A major cinema chain in China also stopped screening any films starring her.

Ted Danson

A prestigious 30-year career marked by 15 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations has not been without its hitches.

In 1993, Danson appeared at a New York City comedy roast in honor of then-companion Whoopi Goldberg in blackface. He also delivered a monologue filled with racial jokes and slurs, resulting in censure from the city’s mayor and a talk show host.

Goldberg herself, ironically, wasn’t offended.

Michael Richards

A stand-up comedian is doing his or her job to get laughs. Having a silent audience – or worse, a hostile one – can be a soul-wrenching experience.

Some people can’t take the heat. Michael Richards, in fact, had a meltdown in 2006 when hecklers kept interrupting his stand-up routine.

The Seinfeld star lost his temper and hurled verbal abuse at the African-Americans watching him, repeatedly using racial epithets like the N-word and making references to lynching. It was all captured on camera and quickly went viral on the Internet.

Vanessa Redgrave

Oscar acceptance speeches are well-known for being sources of drama (and corniness).

When Vanessa Redgrave was nominated for an Oscar in 1978 for her supporting role in Julia, members of the Jewish Defense League protested the decision due to the British actress’ outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.

Redgrave won. The Washington Post quotes her acceptance speech as calling protesters “a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression”.

She never apologized for the speech, which can be seen on Youtube.