All The Things That Led To Jenny McCarthy's Tarnished Reputation

Rising to fame as the 1994 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Jenny McCarthy quickly became a star thanks in no small part to her sense of humor and charisma. But the Chicago native has often found herself being at the center of controversy. McCarthy has been a part of "The View" and hosted her own satellite radio show for six years, and through it all, she has always said what she believed, no matter what. As she explained to PrideSource, "I just stand my ground. Stick with your truth."

Openly conservative in an industry that leans liberal, McCarthy told Alex Clark that there are others like her in Hollywood who are afraid to speak out and turn to her for help because, as she put it, "...who in their right mind after everything... would be like, 'You know, I want to be that next person that gets bullied for so many years." And while her personal beliefs haven't slowed down her career — Variety reported in 2025 that McCarthy is developing a new daytime talk show for Warner Bros. — it's impossible to ignore that her shining star has been tarnished by some of her stances and actions. 

While her acting career has never hit the heights she may dream of, Jenny McCarthy's personal wit and charm are strong enough to keep her on TV. Along with a disastrous stint on "The View," McCarthy has spent time interviewing other celebrities on the red carpet and on her radio show, "The Jenny McCarthy Show." And while most of the interviews she conducted went off without a hitch, there are two that made McCarthy look very bad.

The first happened in 2016 when McCarthy interviewed "American Pie" star Tara Reid on her radio show. Reid was there to promote "Sharknado 4," but McCarthy wasn't interested in discussing the "so bad it's good" franchise and instead pushed Reid to talk about her time on "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars" and the plastic surgery work she's had. According to E! News, Reid tried to keep things cordial at first, asking McCarthy to stay on topic and saying, "We're all here about 'Sharknado.'" But McCarthy continued to push, leading to Reid walking out of the recording studio as the two traded barbs.

In 2019, McCarthy was working the red carpet at the 2019 Emmy Awards when she spoke to "Dead to Me" star Christina Applegate. During the interview, McCarthy stepped in it when she asked, "Tonight you're nominated for your own show. What's that like? First time, right?" This was, in fact, Applegate's third time being nominated for her own series, with the previous nominations coming from "Samantha Who?" Making it worse, McCarthy, who is a year younger than Applegate, talked about being a kid and wanting to be like Applegate when she grew up. Needless to say, the internet was not happy with McCarthy (per HuffPost).

During the 2012 American Music Awards, Justin Bieber won three awards at the show, including artist of the year, but what made headlines was how Jenny McCarthy acted around the then-18-year-old star. McCarthy was there to present the award for favorite album: pop/rock, which Bieber won. When the singer went up to accept his award, McCarthy, who is just two years older than Bieber's mom, grabbed him and started kissing him. Bieber's response at the time, according to The Independent, was to clearly state, "Wow. I feel violated right now." But the whole incident was treated as a lark. 

What should we caption this pic of Justin Bieber + Jenny Mccarthy at the #AMAs? Reply w/ your caption pic.twitter.com/SVhhXIKI

— American Music Awards (@AMAs) December 5, 2012

Backstage, McCarthy talked about her actions, saying, "I did grab his butt. I'm single, but I think that's cougar rape." and the press laughed. The official X (then Twitter) account for the AMAs even posted about it, asking followers to caption a photo of the moment. People replied to the post, pointing out that Bieber was clearly uncomfortable with what transpired, saying, "A grown woman (Jenny [McCarthy]) sexually assault[ed] a teenage boy (Justin Bieber) in American Music Awards" and "Audience laughs[at] a minor who feels uncomfortable and violated." Clips of the incident resurfaced in 2023 as TikTok users took a look back at how Bieber was objectified by the press and other celebrities when he was young.

"The Masked Singer" has had a number of controversies over the years, but one that keeps coming up is the theory that Jenny McCarthy, who is one of the judges on the show, cheats on the show. On Reddit, fans of "The Masked Singer" have debated McCarthy's ability to properly guess celebrities who are hidden under the masks. The discussion came about after McCarthy correctly guessed that one singer was former MLB pitcher Barry Zito based on a clue that he was married to a former Miss Missouri. Some believe that she has inside knowledge, pointing to her explanations when she solves a mystery, while others think McCarthy is just good at googling the clues the judges are given. On her part, McCarthy has taken to social media to complain when the show doesn't air her guesses.

But if McCarthy does know who's under the mask, she may not be alone. In another Reddit thread, a screenshot of a YouTube comment claiming to be by someone who worked on the show caused more controversy by accusing the show of deciding who would win in advance. The post was made before the end of Season 9, and the claims about who would win became reality, adding credence to what was said. 

Jenny McCarthy's son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism in 2005, and she used her voice to help bring attention to the issues people with autism have to deal with. McCarthy soon became the president of Generation Rescue, a non-profit organization that believed autism was caused by environmental factors, focusing primarily on vaccines. In 2008, McCarthy appeared on "Larry King Live" to make her case against vaccines while stating that she is not actually against vaccines. She also claimed that her son had "recovered" from his autism in the same interview.

McCarthy's belief that autism is tied to vaccines comes from a paper by Andrew Wakefield. But the truth is that Wakefield's study that connected vaccines to autism was not based on reality. Further studies showed that Wakefield's findings were fraudulent, and the Sage Journal called his paper "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years." Still, McCarthy continued to support Wakefield, writing a since-deleted op-ed for the Huffington Post, via NickiSwift, that said, "Since when is repeating the words of parents and recommending further investigation a crime? As I've learned, the answer is whenever someone questions the safety of any vaccines."

McCarthy's stance on vaccines causing autism has played a role in the growth of the anti-vax movement, and she hasn't stepped away from her beliefs, going so far as to endorse RFK Jr. during his 2024 presidential campaign. The anti-vax movement has led to a resurgence in easily avoidable illnesses. On the decline in the United States since 1992, measles reached a 34-year high in 2025 with 2,280 confirmed cases, and was on track to beat that number in 2026 with over 900 cases by mid-February (via NBC).