The biggest celebrity outbursts caught on tape
From Angel Strawbridge to Christian Bale and Tom Cruise, these stars were all hoisted by their own petard
Escape To the Chateau’s Angel Strawbridge is the latest celeb at the centre of a leaked recording controversy.
The TV star and her husband Dick have been in the news in recent days after it was reported that Channel 4 had cut ties with them amid claims of tension between them and producers.
And now Deadline said it has obtained a copy of a tape in which a woman – apparently Strawbridge – is heard yelling over being kept waiting and calling a crew member a “f***** up little c***”.
Read more: Escape To The Chateau: Who are the Strawbridges and what's the show all about?
The publication said a rep for the pair had declined to comment, although they have posted a message on Instagram saying that "there are two sides to every story".
"We know there are lots of stories in the press right now," they said.
"It’s not worth us even trying to comment or give context, because anything can be made into a good headline. We understand. There are two sides to every story and from the incredible support we have received, most of you know that.
"We are proud of who we are, and we feel we must do what we believe to be correct, that is in fact what kept Escape To The Chateau unique, and whilst we have indeed parted ways with Channel 4, we are hugely grateful to them and their teams for their support and creativity over the years."
Yahoo has contacted representatives for the Strawbridges for comment.
It isn't the first time a star has been captured on tape when they aren't at their best...
Tom Cruise
The crew working on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning got more than they bargained for when Tom Cruise tore into them in a fiery rant over coronavirus protocol breaches.
A recording of Cruise's tirade was published by The Sun after the Hollywood star apparently felt provoked after seeing two crew members standing together in violation of an on-set rule dictating people must keep a six feet distance between them.
Read more: Was Tom Cruise’s on-set rant justified?
“We are the gold standard,” he yelled. “They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us.
“I’m on the phone with every f****** studio at night, insurance companies, producers and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies.
"We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf******. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”
When later asked about the incident by Empire magazine, Cruise said: “I said what I said. There was a lot at stake at that point.”
He explained that most of the crew had left the set, and his rant was aimed at "select people" for their behaviour, who were at risk at shutting the production down not long after it had finally been able to resume after lockdown.
“All those emotions were going through my mind. I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry,” he explained. “And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief.”
“And here we are, continuing to film,” he added, joking that he’s available for “Zoom parties and kids’ parties also, you know!”
Christian Bale
Christian Bale snapped on the set of Terminator Salvation when the film's cinematographer Shane Hurlbut walked into his field of vision while the actor was in the middle of a scene.
In a tape of the incident leaked to the internet, the actor directed his rage at Hurlbut, threatening to smash his lighting equipment while vowing to quit the film if Hurlbut did it again.
"I want you off the f****** set, you p****," Bale shouted in part of the outburst. "No, don't just be sorry – think for one f****** second."
He later apologised for the expletive-laden rant and said he and Hurlbut had settled things that very same day.
Bale said he had got so into his character John Connor that he was "half John Connor, half Christian Bale" when he lashed out.
Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin hit the headlines in 2007 when an upsetting voicemail he left for daughter Ireland, then 11 years old, went viral.
He called Ireland, who he shares with Kim Basinger, a "rude, thoughtless little pig" after she apparently missed a scheduled phone call.
Read more: Alec Baldwin ‘overjoyed’ to lose Donald Trump gig on SNL
The 30 Rock star also took a swing at his ex-wife, saying: "I don't give a damn that you're 12 years old or 11 years old, or a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the a** who doesn't care about what you do."
He apologised for his actions and it seemed to be all water under the bridge over a decade on when Ireland joked about the incident at a Comedy Central Roast for her father.
"Hi Dad, I'm Ireland," she said. "It's good to be here.
“I almost didn't even know about it because I haven't checked my voicemails from my dad from the last 12 years or something?"
Michael Richards
Seinfeld's Michael Richards, best known as Jerry’s nutty neighbour Kramer, severely damaged his own career with a racist rant delivered at a stand-up gig at the Laugh Factory comedy club in 2006.
Richards lost it after apparently being heckled by a small group of Black audience members and ended up shouting the n-word multiple times in reference to the audience members, with the whole thing caught on a mobile phone camera.
Footage also showed audience members leaving the gig during the outburst.
It subsequently received considerable media coverage with Richards later issuing an apology on the Late Show With David Letterman for going into a "rage".
He also apologised to civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon ran into trouble with the law when she and then husband Jim Toth were stopped in their car by a police officer after "one too many" glasses of wine at a restaurant.
Toth, who was behind the wheel, was being questioned by the officer when Witherspoon decided to intervene.
“I'm a US citizen and I'm allowed to stand on American ground... to ask any question I want to ask,” she said to the officer, who had told her to stay put inside the car.
As the officer approached her with handcuffs, the Legally Blonde star uttered the cringiest phrase in the book as she pulled a 'Do you know who I am?' on the officer.
"You're about to find out who I am," she said.
She was arrested for disorderly conduct, as was Toth for driving under the influence. She pleaded no contest to the charge, while her spouse pleaded guilty.
Dashcam footage of the incident made it out into the world, with Witherspoon left making multiple apologies. She later described the ordeal as “embarrassing and dumb”.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant after being pulled over for suspected drunk-driving in 2006 led to his career being put on pause.
According to a police report published by TMZ, his racist tirade saw him make "a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks about "f****** Jews" as well as a claim that “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
Gibson subsequently issued an apology, saying he had said things he "did not believe to be true and which are despicable".
He added: "I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."
In 2010, audio allegedly capturing an argument between Gibson and ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was released.
The male voice on the tape belonged to Gibson, according to RadarOnline, and made sexist and racist comments.
Read more: Mel Gibson's rep denies Winona Ryder's claims he made anti-Semitic comments to her
"You go out in public and it's a f****** embarrassment to me," the male voice says on the tape, before using the n-word.
Following the allegations, Gibson was dropped by his representation at William Morris Endeavor.
Despite experiencing a career lull as the consequence, his directorial comeback in 2016 Hacksaw Ridge garnered six Oscar nominations.
