Not everyone in life is going to get along – and that’s okay. But every now and then, people really, really don’t get along.
And, as it turns out, not even the spoils of Hollywood or life as a celebrity can soften the reactions when personalities clash.
Life for the rich and famous might seem like it’s all elegant red carpet looks and enviable island getaways, but, as these feuds prove, things can get ugly.
32 co-stars who famously didn’t get along
Bette Davis and Joan Crawford
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Arguably not just any feud, but *the* celebrity feud to end all celebrity feuds. They even made a whole TV series about this famous case of bad blood between the legendary Old Hollywood co-stars.
When Bette and Joan came together for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? it was box office magic, reviving the careers of the icons. However, the two queen bees got their fair share of stings in one another.
Legend has it Joan Crawford would do things like hide weights in her clothes for scenes where Bette had to carry her, causing injury. For Bette’s part, she would reportedly do things like install a Coca-Cola machine for the crew… knowing Joan was married to the President of Pepsi.
They never resolved their issues. It was widely reported that Joan Crawford campaigned to collect the Academy Award for anyone who might beat Bette Davis for the 1963 Oscars – and indeed Bette not only lost the award but had to watch her enemy collect the trophy for the winner (Anne Bancroft).
Debra Messing and Megan Mullally
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Debra Messing and Megan Mullally were once great friends and co-stars, having met on the set of their iconic sitcom, Will & Grace. Debra played Grace, who is friends with Megan’s millionaire sidekick, Karen Walker.
The pair remained friends for the entirety of the first run of the series between 1998 and 2006 and were seemingly still close when the show revived in 2017. However, by the end of the revival in 2020, the pair had reportedly unfollowed each other on social media – which was not overlooked by fans or the media.
On her podcast with her husband, Nick Offerman, Megan also cryptically referred to being bullied as the feud rumours swirled, stating, “I’m 60 and I’m being bullied right now… I’ve had a recent situation that I can’t be specific about, but I had it happen, and I did try to stand up for myself in certain ways and that made it a thousand times worse.”
Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy
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Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy starred in the 2015 movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, but some of the fury carried over behind the scenes.
In 2020, the Independent reported that Charlize said the pair “f***in’ went at it” during a 2015 interview.
Speaking to The New York Times, Tom Hardy also added, “I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me.”
Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte
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Hollywood queen Julia Roberts has had many impressive leading men, but she doesn’t count Nick Nolte as one of them. The two starred in I Love Trouble – a name which rang true for the vibe on set.
The Los Angeles Times even extensively covered the drama, reporting, “Roberts reportedly wasn’t thrilled with Nolte’s machismo, so she would deride and insult her co-star… Some on the set claim that he became so annoyed with her attitude that he would do things to agitate her even more.
“The discord was so intense, the sources say, the two played more to stand-ins than to each other.”
Bill Murray and Lucy Liu
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Lucy Liu and Bill Murray starred together in 2000’s Charlie’s Angels – but the set was less than heavenly.
Speaking on the Los Angeles Times’ podcast, Asian Enough, Lucy shared that, without getting into the “specifics” there was a moment she had to stand up to the Ghostbusters actor.
She claimed he had “hurled insults” at her that “kept going on and on.”
“Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it. So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it.”
Bette Davis and Faye Dunaway
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Bette Davis wasn’t known to hold her tongue or take any prisoners, and Faye Dunaway has earned a similar reputation through the years. So it might have been inevitable the two were at loggerheads when filming 1976’s The Disappearance of Aimee.
In her autobiography, Bette referred to Faye as being “unprofessional” and in a famous talk show appearance with Johnny Carson, she called her “totally impossible.”
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams
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As it famously goes, there’s a thin line between love and hate – and The Notebook co-stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams proved this.
The pair would go on to date for a couple of years after meeting on the set of the film, but it was far from love at first sight. In fact, the two got on so poorly that the director recalled them “screaming and yelling.”
Per New York Post, Nick Cassavetes told VH1 in 2014, “Maybe I’m not supposed to tell this story, but they were really not getting along one day on set… We went into a room with a producer; they started screaming and yelling at each other. I walked out.
“At that point, I was smoking cigarettes. I smoked a cigarette and everybody came out like, ‘All right, let’s do this.'”
Nicollette Sheridan and Teri Hatcher
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Wisteria Lane wasn’t always a blooming good time – and the showrunner, Marc Cherry, was even sued by star Nicollette Sheridan in 2010. The subsequent testimonies revealed tensions on the set, which sent headlines wild at the time.
One particular standout was Marc’s testimony revealing a fight between co-stars Nicollette and Teri.
He stated that he had to intervene in a fight between the two, with Nicollette reportedly telling him that Teri was the “meanest woman in the world.”
Bea Arthur and Betty White
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Golden Girls fans, look away now. While the friendships of Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia are beloved by fans, it turns out, that two of the cast weren’t always sharing cheesecake between takes.
According to TV screenwriter Stan Zimmerman’s book The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore, Bea thought of Betty as two-faced.
“During our time on set, I never felt tension between the two… I only heard stories and recently learned, from producer Marsha Posner Williams on a podcast, that Bea thought Betty was two-faced,” he wrote.
Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando
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In legendary screen star Sophia Loren’s memoir, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life, she revealed that filming with Hollywood icon Marlon Brando left a lot to be desired.
They starred in the romantic comedy A Countess from Hong Kong, and Sophia alleges that Brando groped her.
“All of a sudden, he put his hands on me. I turned in all tranquillity and blew in his face like a cat stroked the wrong way and said, ‘Don’t you ever dare to do that again. Never again!’
“He never did it again, but it was very difficult working with him after that.”
Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman
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On the set of Kramer V Kramer, Meryl and Dustin were playing warring exes – and that might have carried over into their dynamic.
Meryl Streep claimed Dustin Hoffman ‘overstepped’ the mark on set when he slapped her face without prior warning. Speaking to the New York Times about the famous 1979 scene, she said, “This is tricky because when you’re an actor, you’re in a scene, you have to feel free. I’m sure that I have inadvertently hurt people in physical scenes. But there’s a certain amount of forgiveness in that.
“But this was my first movie, and it was my first take in my first movie, and he just slapped me. And you see it in the movie. It was overstepping.
“But I think those things are being corrected in this moment. And they’re not politically corrected; they’re fixed. They will be fixed, because people won’t accept it anymore. So that’s a good thing.”
Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine
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Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger starred as mother and daughter in Terms of Endearment, the ultimate weepie.
However, it might have been a case that more tears were shed when the cameras weren’t rolling. Widespread reports suggest that the two didn’t get along, with some suggestions that it got close to getting physical at times.
Debra Winger didn’t quell the rumours, telling the New York Times in 1986, “I can’t deny that we fought. We challenged ourselves, and when we got tired of challenging ourselves, we challenged each other.”
Lea Michele and Naya Rivera
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The set of Glee was notorious for feuds and controversies – giving the title of the show a sense of darkly amusing irony.
The late Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez on the show and passed away in 2020, shared her perspective in her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, suggesting there were ego issues with Lea Michele (who played Rachel Berry).
She wrote that she and Lea Michele’s initial “friendship started to break down” because the role of Santana started to get “bigger plot lines.”
“I think Rachel – erm, I mean Lea – didn’t like sharing the spotlight… We are both strong-willed and competitive – not just with each other but with everyone – and that’s not a good mixture.”
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio
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The star-crossed lovers were more cross and less lovers when filming the Shakespearean classic with a Baz Luhrmann twist.
According to plenty of reports, the set of the 1996 film saw Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes clash due to fundamental differences in their attitudes to the work.
Leonardo is often quoted as being a prankster on set, which Claire found immature. For his part, it’s often stated he found his Juliet to be quite uptight.
Neither have ever addressed the rumours.
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny
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Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were two of the biggest TV stars of the 1990s, thanks in part to their chemistry on The X-Files.
While the two are friendly now, they have both talked in the past about difficulties on set.
David Duchovny told the Metro in 2008, “We used to argue about nothing. We couldn’t stand the sight of each other.” In 2015, Gillian echoed this, sharing with The Guardian, “… there were definitely periods when we hated each other. It was intense.”
Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr
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She’s one of America’s sweethearts, but Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr reportedly didn’t quite find themselves sweet on each other when filming the romcom, Picture Perfect.
Jay all but confirmed it in an interview with ELLE in 2010.
He discussed the memory of “being on the set of a movie where the leading woman was unhappy with my presence and made it clear from day one.”
He said, “I hadn’t done that many movies, and even though they screen-tested some pretty famous guys, I somehow snaked into the leading role. The actress said, ‘No way! You’ve got to be kidding me!’ Loudly. Between takes. To other actors on set. I would literally go to my mom’s house and cry.”
He refused to confirm the actress in question, however. So it’s possible he had a sour relationship with another A-lister; only those who were on the set will ever know!
Joan Collins and John Forsythe
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The iconic Dame Joan Collins is notorious for her candour – and she has shared plenty of insight into difficulties on the set of the 1980s soap, Dynasty.
She once shared on The Graham Norton Show about the time the cast won a People’s Choice Award. They were told by a publicist that John – who played Blake Carrington – would accept the award, but when it was handed to Joan, she said a few words before trying to pass the award on.
“I tried to give it to him and he said, ‘She said enough,’ and walked off.”
Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones
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Funnyman Jim Carrey stepped out of his comfort zone for 1995’s Batman Forever, where he played superhero villain, The Riddler.
He was joined by Tommy Lee Jones, and per Hollywood Reporter, he made it known early on that the two wouldn’t be friends.
Carrey shared on the Norm Macdonald Live podcast, “I walked into a restaurant the night before our big scene in the Riddler’s lair. I went up to say hi and the blood drained from his face, in such a way that I realised that I had become the face of his pain.”
“He got up, kind of shaking, hugged me and said ‘I hate you. I really don’t like you…I cannot sanction your buffoonery.'”
Blake Lively and Leighton Meester
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One of the most iconic teen shows of the 2000s, Gossip Girl made stars of the likes of Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. However, the two reportedly were not as close as their on-screen characters, Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf.
Throughout the series’ run between 2007 and 2012, rumours constantly plagued the show that the cast were at war with one another.
And, for their part, they didn’t do a lot to look friendly. In response to the speculation, a publicist released a statement, clarifying, “Blake and Leighton have never been best friends, and never professed to be. Blake goes to work, does her job, and goes home.”
Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau
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Barbra Streisand is one of the most revered entertainers – a rare recipient of the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) and with a multi-faceted career spanning decades.
So one would expect people would love having her join their cast. Not so, with the 1969 film adaptation of Hello, Dolly!
Walter Matthau played her eventual love interest in the film, but he didn’t warm to the star. In fact, per Barbra’s 2023 memoir, he screamed at her “I have more talent in my farts than you have in your whole body!“
Charming.
Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor
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Before there was the Brad-Angelina-Jennifer drama, there was Debbie, Eddie and Liz.
Debbie Reynolds – star of films including Singin’ in the Rain – was married to singer Eddie Fisher. They were both friends with Elizabeth Taylor and comforted her after her husband, Mike Todd, died. Then… Eddie and Elizabeth started up a romance of their own.
It was scandalous at the time.
However, this one is a rare example of a feuding celebrity finding their way back to each other. After plenty of years of turmoil, Debbie forgave Elizabeth and the two even starred in 2001’s These Old Broads.
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson
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Luke and Lorelei… say it ain’t so!
While the two have never truly come out and said there was animosity or bad blood, there has been several suggestions that the Gilmore Girls favourites weren’t exactly close.
Speaking to TV Guide, Lauren once shared, “I think these characters have great chemistry and that does mirror our chemistry as people. We’re not intimates.” When the reporter asked if they were “best friends,” she gave a quick, firm “No.”
Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi
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In the first few seasons of The Good Wife, Julianna Margulies’ Alicia Florrick was inseparable from the character of Kalinda, who was a private detective working with the law firm.
However, the two stopped appearing on-screen together and weren’t seen in the same scenes for a surprising 30 episodes. And the rumours began swirling.
Things reached peak drama when it was revealed that the pair’s eventual reunion during the sixth season finale was filmed using technological interference – so while they were on screen together, they never actually filmed together.
Show bosses tried to downplay it, stating Archie was busy filming another TV show. However, the actress tweeted, “@TheFallTV was not even in production at that time and I was in New York ready to film the scene!”
Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra
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While filming the film adaption of Guys & Dolls, Old Hollywood legend Marlon Brando and his crooner co-star Frank Sinatra were widely reported to dislike each other.
Part of the issue, it has been commonly stated, was the difference in styles. Frank was old school, but Marlon was a fan of the more artsy Method Acting.
Frank, who reportedly liked to do his lines in one take and move on, was driven mad by Brando. And one hilarious anecdote often shared has it that, during one scene between the pair, Frank had to eat cheesecake throughout it. Brando would do most of the scene and then deliberately fluff it near the end causing Frank to reportedly scream “These [expletive] New York actors! How much cheesecake do you think I can eat?!”
Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn
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Reese Witherspoon starred with Vince Vaughn for the 2008 movie, Four Christmases.
However, the two weren’t left feeling holly or jolly. Things apparently got so bad between the two that they reportedly removed a funny scene involving the pair in bed together.
A source at the time told the New York Daily News, that Reese would show up to work early and “camera-ready,” while Vince turned up “looking like he just came in from a night out.”
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours of their on-set tension.
Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj
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Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling artists of all time, and Nicki Minaj is a hugely successful rapper. The pair were most definitely considered a coup when snapped up to judge the 2012 series of American Idol.
However, things quickly hit a bum note for the music icons. During auditions in North Carolina, tensions reached boiling point and Nicki was caught on tape shouting insults and threatening Mariah. The footage was leaked to TMZ.
While they continued to work together on the show, they wouldn’t miss a chance to throw jabs at one another. They seemingly made up though, later making joint interview appearances.
Sharon Osbourne and Dannii Minogue
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Sharon Osbourne and Dannii Minogue were judges on the UK X Factor in 2007 – and made no secret of their dislike for one another.
Dannii revealed at the time that Sharon screamed abuse at her in her dressing room and reduced her to tears just minutes before she was due on stage.
Sharon later addressed the feud while appearing on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, “I didn’t hate her because hatred is very close to love and takes a lot of emotion and I don’t have that time for her… She was like an insect, a mosquito that wouldn’t go away.”
Diana Ross and the original Supremes
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One of the most iconic girl groups of all time, The Supremes were three friends – Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard – who made it big together and helped establish the dominance of Motown.
However, as one member’s star started to ascend, the group started to crumble. Diana Ross is one of the most decorated music icons of all time, and her career only went from strength to strength after going solo.
But it led to animosity with her former friends and bandmates. Diana Ross was even booed when she attended the funeral of Florence Ballard. Mary Wilson’s first memoir was unkind towards Diana, also, but the two reportedly brokered peace.
Diana Ross posted a tribute to Mary Wilson when she died in 2021.
Joan Collins and Linda Evans
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Dynasty was one of the biggest shows of the 1980s, and it included big hair, big shoulder pads and big personalities. Which could explain why Dame Joan Collins – who played camp villain Alexis Carrington – and Linda Evans – who played Krystle Carrington – became well-known rivals.
The pair have exchanged plenty of barbs over the years in the press, but fans thought they might have called a truce when they starred in the play, Legends, together in 2006.
However, Joan quipped in her diaries from the time, serialised in the Daily Mail in 2007 per the NY Post and later turned into her book, My Unapologetic Diaries, “Linda arrives at first rehearsal with cosmetic surgery tape over and under her eyelids and underneath her chin. She also has the weirdest collagen enhanced lips I’ve ever seen. They make her look like a gargoyle when she smiles.”
There were also suggestions Linda deliberately injured Joan during the play, but her reps were quick to dismiss this.
Teri Hatcher and most of her Desperate Housewives cast
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The cast of Desperate Housewives delighted fans throughout its eight-year run of campy twists and shocking drama.
And though the main cast stayed the same for that original run, they didn’t all become close friends. There have long been stories of tension between Teri Hatcher and her castmates, including one notorious Vanity Fair photoshoot (seriously, Google it.)
Not quashing the rumours, in 2018, Felicity Huffman posted a tribute to the show online, complete with personal messages to each of her co-stars, with one exception – Teri.
That same year, Eva Longoria appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and claimed that the stars were all still “very good friends”, before pointedly adding, “99 per cent of us are.”
For her part, Teri Hatcher told TV Guide, “I will never disclose the true and complicated journey of us all, but I wish everyone on the show well.”
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey
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You hear that? It’s the sound of a million hearts breaking when people discover Johnny and Baby didn’t always get on.
One of the most beloved romantic films of all time, it turns out there was bad blood even before they started filming.
Jennifer Grey confirmed to PEOPLE that she and Patrick Swayze had had issues on a previous film.
She said, “Patrick was playing pranks on me and everybody. It was just, like, macho, and I just couldn’t take it. I was just like, ‘Please, this guy, that’s enough with him.'”
In his autobiography, The Time of My Life, Swayze discussed how he found Jennifer prone to “silly moods.”
Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall
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Between 1998 and 2010, Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker owned the iconic roles of Samantha Jones and Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City franchise.
There were six seasons and two movies… but then it all came crashing down.
Around 2017, SJP came out and had to deny that a third film was coming out. She explained that there had been a script written but it wasn’t moving forward. Some co-stars, including the late Willie Garson, fuelled the flames that it might have been down to Kim Cattrall refusing to come back – and that’s when it all got laid bare.
After hitting back at claims that she was responsible for killing a third film, Kim told Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that she never, ever intended to do another film, and that she was “never friends” with SJP.
She added, “We’ve been colleagues and in some ways, it’s a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your personal.” Sarah Jessica Parker later responded during an interview with Andy Cohen, stating “I found it really upsetting because that’s, you know, that’s not the way I recall our experience.”
Things were at their worst in 2018 when SJP offered condolences to Kim on the death of her brother. Kim responded by posting on her social media, “My Mom asked me today ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone? Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now. Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven’t already). You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I’m writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”
As the rest of the Sex and the City cast reunited for a spin-off, And Just Like That, Kim didn’t return (only later appearing in a surprise, brief cameo for the second season finale, for which she didn’t even film with any of her former castmates in person).