Naughty celebrities who have been banned from entering the UK

Get the stories that matter to our community straight to your inbox with our Daily Newsletter
Get the stories that matter to our community straight to your inbox with our Daily Newsletter
The latest list of celebrities who have been banned, or previously banned, from entering the UK has been revealed. Big stars such as Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Dog The Bounty Hunter and Mike Tyson are all included on the list, plus several more.
It comes as the team at Ice36 looked conducted research on the world’s biggest stars, using the search terms ‘scandal’ and ‘controversy’ to reveal the naughtiest celebrities. After being sentenced to a community service order for assaulting ex-girlfriend, singer Rihanna, Chris Brown’s application for a visa to enter the UK was refused on the grounds of him “being guilty of a serious criminal offence”.
Brown was expecting to do a tour of the UK for the European leg of his 2010 shows, but this went on to be postponed. The Home Office released an official statement at the time, saying: "We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offence. Public safety is one of our primary concerns.
"Each application to enter the UK is considered on its individual merits." Ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel lifted the ban on Brown entering the UK in 2020.
Duane Lee “Dog” Chapman - American bounty hunter and reality star was due to star in the 2012 season of Celebrity Big Brother, but was denied entry to the UK over his involvement in a historical murder. In 1976, he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to five years in a Texas prison.
Boxing icon Mike Tyson is another refused entry to the UK due to a history of criminal convictions. Anyone sentenced to more than four years in prison is not allowed to enter Britain under immigration laws.
Trevor George Smith Jr. better known as Busta Rhymes was stopped at immigration upon arrival into the UK and temporarily refused entry due to “unresolved convictions”. American rapper, record producer, and music video director Tyler Gregory Okonma announced on Twitter (X) in 2015 that he had been banned from the UK for “three to five years” due to his lyrics.
Calvin Broadus, better known as Snoop Dogg, was originally denied entry to the UK in 2007. This led to him and fellow rapper P Diddy to cancel the British dates of their European tour. It came after his arrest at Heathrow Airport in 2006 over an incident involving members of his entourage.
The ban however was lifted in 2008 when an immigration judge found no evidence the rapper had been responsible for any public disorder. Ice36 also looked into other celebrities who have been banned from various other countries. See the full list below.
Celebrity Country banned from Justin Bieber Argentina Floyd Mayweather Jr. Australia 50 Cent Canada Björk China Brad Pitt China Gigi Hadid China Harrison Ford China Jay-Z China Jon Bon Jovi China Katy Perry China Martin Scorsese China Richard Gere China Sharon Stone China Miley Cyrus China, Dominican Republic Elton John Egypt Lindsay Lohan India Lady Gaga Indonesia Cat Stevens Israel Hayden Panettiere Japan Paris Hilton Japan Russell Brand Japan Sacha Baron Cohen Kazakhstan Beyoncé Malaysia Kesha Malaysia Mike Tyson New Zealand Tyler the Creator New Zealand, Australia, UK Snoop Dogg Norway, UK Alec Baldwin Philippines Claire Danes Philippines Selena Gomez Russia, China Akon Sri Lanka Busta Rhymes UK Martha Stewart UK Salman Khan UK Chris Brown UK, Australia Boy George USA Lily Allen USA Novak Djokovic USA Tyson Fury USA
British Culture Club star Boy George was prohibited by US authorities from travelling to the United States for several years in 2008. While boxing champ Tyson Fury, from Manchester, is banned from entering the US.
The likes of Justin Bieber has been banned from ever performing in China on the grounds of engaging in "bad behaviour." In a statement by Beijing's Culture Bureau, a spokesperson said: "In order to maintain order in the Chinese market and purify the Chinese performance environment, it is not suitable to bring in badly behaved entertainers."
They added: "We hope that as Justin Bieber matures, he can continue to improve his own words and actions, and truly become a singer beloved by the public."
'Flowers' singer Miley Cyrus wasn’t just banned from one country but two. Due to a controversial photo that emerged online of the star mocking Asian eyes, she faced a lifetime ban from China.
She was also later banned from the Dominican Republic as a result of her tendency to engage in behaviour that is said to violate the country’s morals and customs.
Other celebrities that have faced sanctions like Miley include Elton John, who in 2010 was prohibited from entering Egypt. Despite not breaking any laws, the British singer, pianist and composer who is openly homosexual saw his performance cancelled by Egypt’s musicians’ union.
The famous American actor, Brad Pitt also faced a similar fate. Though he may not have broken any laws he found himself on China’s no-entry list for life. This was largely due to his role in the movie ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ which was set in the 1950s and revolved around the Chinese military operations in Tibet.
The research also revealed Azealia Banks is the celebrity who has received the most social media bans, with bans in 2016, 2018 and 2020. While Donald Trump has been banned from the most social media apps, facing bans on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram in 2021.
James Corden tops the list as the naughtiest celeb with 7,250 Google searches related to his restaurant scandal. With a total of 6,340 Google searches in the last year, Adam Levine takes second place as one of the naughtiest celebs.
Rounding out the top three is Tiger Woods with almost 5,000 Google searches. Woods became the centre of global news in 2009 after the golf star’s cheating scandal was brought to light.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.