Scandals That Damaged Jamie Lee Curtis' Reputation

Born into Hollywood royalty, Jamie Lee Curtis has led a life in front of the camera. Over her career, audiences have seen her transform from a horror movie scream queen starring in "Halloween," "Prom Night," and "Terror Train," to an icon of all genres thanks to her work in hilarious comedies like "Trading Places," action blockbusters like "True Lies," and heartbreaking dramas like "My Girl."

Being in the spotlight almost since birth, there's little about Curtis that the public doesn't know, including every time she misspoke or ended up in an inadvertent controversy. Curtis isn't the kind of celebrity to shy away from saying what she thinks, and her openness has, at times, caused her — and her PR team — some headaches. Still, the "A Fish Called Wanda" star is always ready to admit when she made a mistake, or argue when she feels she is in the right, and her candid personality is part of what has made her such a beloved star. Still, as loved as Curtis is by fans and industry professionals, some of her actions over the years have left undeniable dents on her reputation. 

Jamie Lee Curtis lent her star power to Ryan Johnson's 2019 film "Knives Out," and her next-level performance as the eldest daughter of a murdered mystery writer helped make the film a box office smash, bringing in over $300 million at the worldwide box office and launching a trilogy of Benoit Blanc movies. And while the cast was filled with big names, including Marvel superstar Chris Evans and James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, there was one actor Curtis wasn't familiar with: Ana de Armas. 

While de Armas had been working in film and TV for over a decade when they made "Knives Out," most of her credits were for work she had done in her native home of Cuba and in Spain. In the United States, de Armas was just starting to get notice thanks to roles in 2015's "Knock Knock" and 2017's "Blade Runner 2049," and, it seems, Curtis hadn't seen those films. In a profile on de Armas for Elle, Curtis discussed her initial impression of her co-star, and her comments came off less than admirably. 

In the piece, Curtis admits "with real embarrassment" that she assumed de Armas was "an inexperienced and unsophisticated young woman" when they first met on set. Not unlike her character in "Knives Out," Curtis underestimated de Armas because of her youth and Cuban accent. And while Curtis and de Armas became friends, it is a moment that will be hard to live down.

Jamie Lee Curtis has long argued against actors getting plastic surgery. The Oscar winner underwent surgery when she was in her 20s after a cinematographer critiqued her looks and told Fast Company that the surgery is what led to her addiction to Vicodin (she has been sober since 1999). Much like her character, Donna Berzatto, on "The Bear," Curtis can be very dramatic when discussing her distaste for procedures that alter a person's appearance and has, on more than one occasion, compared plastic surgery to genocide.

Curtis explained her thinking to The Guardian, saying, "I've used that word for a long time and I use it specifically because it's a strong word. I believe that we have wiped out a generation or two of natural human [appearance]." When asked if she was concerned that her openness about plastic surgery could make younger actresses, like her "Freaky Friday" co-star Lindsay Lohan, feel like they were being judged, Curtis didn't back down. "I'm not proselytising to them," she said. I would never say a word. I would never say to someone: what have you done? All I know is that it is a never-ending cycle."

Her choice of words led to a number of less-than-supportive reactions online. An Instagram post by Variety about the quote had people in the comments calling it "a poor choice of words," while on Reddit, a user agreed with her in spirit but pointed out, "Jamie always makes a pretty solid point with THE WORST language." On Facebook, one user tried to help Curtis by explaining, "Genocide is the forced killing of people. In cosmetic surgery, it's optional."

The days following the assassination of Charlie Kirk saw social media explode into a number of debates. As some made light of Kirk's death, or argued that Kirk's own words and deeds were partly to blame for what happened, others demanded that anyone who spoke ill of the podcaster should be punished. As this was going on, Jamie Lee Curtis visited Marc Maron's garage to be a guest on his podcast, "WTF."

The conversation turned to Charlie Kirk, and Curtis, who became emotional during the discussion, misspoke and called Kirk "Charlie Crist." When Maron corrected her, Curtis responded "I just call him Crist, I think, because of Christ, because of his deep belief" before going on to say "I mean, I disagreed with him on almost every point I ever heard him say, but I believe he was a man of faith, and I hope in that moment when he died that he felt connected to his faith." The quote quickly spread, with some publications, like the Daily Mail, claiming that Curtis compared Kirk to Jesus Christ. 

In an interview with Variety, Curtis discussed the backlash, calling it "threatening." The actor also claimed that what she said had been "mistranslated" to make it seem like she spoke of Kirk in a positive light, which was not her intention. This, in turn, led to more angry responses, most notably from right-wing commentator Megyn Kelly, who took to her podcast to criticize Curtis, suggesting that by trying to clear up her comments on "WTF," Curtis "actively endangers those of us who are on the right and who are out here speaking to crowds and keep this conversation going."

In 2023, Jamie Lee Curtis found herself stuck at home after catching COVID-19 at the Golden Globes. While cooped up, the movie star took to social media and showed off some of her home. In a now-deleted post, she showed off her office while telling a story about the Pollack chairs she took from the set of "Everything Everywhere All At Once." People quickly ignored the chairs and instead focused on the wall art.

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The image, which at first glance appears to be a young naked girl uncomfortably placed inside a container, became a point of online conversation, with people saying it gave off "strong Epstein vibes." Curtis then returned to Instagram to explain the image, saying, "I am a truth teller so here's the truth," before explaining that the photograph is a picture of a child playing in a tub of water in their backyard, and that the photo itself was taken by the child's mother. Curtis went on to say that she deleted the post because she "didn't want to keep something up that upset anyone."

In 2022, Jamie Lee Curtis took to Instagram to accuse Marvel's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" of copying the award-winning movie she starred in, "Everything Everywhere All At Once." Just a few months later, Curtis admitted to People that she would happily star in a Marvel movie, saying: "I have nothing against Marvel as an entity. I've seen a lot of Marvel movies," and explained that her post was about "stirring up a little friendly competition."

Two years later, Curtis arrived at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con to promote her film "Borderlands," which was heavily compared to Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy." As part of the promotion for her film, Curtis took part in a round of Marvel trivia questions and, when asked, "What phase is Marvel in right now?" she gave a one-word answer (via X): "Bad." The backlash against Curtis was big enough that just days later, she took to social media and put out a now deleted post stating, "My comments about Marvel were stupid and I will do better," before saying that she had spoken to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and promised to "no longer play in that mud slinging sandbox of competition we call the internet" (via Variety).