20 Celebrities Who Are Banned From Foreign Countries

Alec Baldwin - The Philippines


We start the countdown off with Mr. Baldwin. Back in 2009 when Baldwin visited the Letterman Show, he made some controversial remarks about the Philippines.

After he said he was "thinking about getting a Filipino mail-order bride at this point – or a Russian one," the government of the Philippines banned him. In fact, the Philippines Immigration Commissioner, Marcelino Libanan, said, “By being in the bureau’s blacklist, Baldwin is forbidden from entering the country as he is deemed an undesirable alien.” Despite Baldwin's later apologies, he wasn't allowed entry back in.

Harrison Ford - China


Harrison Ford just wanted an independent Tibet. Because he testified before the U.S. Senate in support of that back in 1995, China banned him from coming there for life.

Harrison is a pretty reserved guy, too, which makes this event where he came out in public to speak particularly striking. This issue obviously meant a lot to him.

Miley Cyrus - Dominican Republic


Miley went through a rough patch, didn't she? Apparently the Dominican Republic didn't approve of her entering the country back in 2014.

This is because she "undertakes acts that go against morals and customs, which are punishable by Dominican law." This wasn't long after she publicly twerked on Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards. Miley's changed a lot, though, and she certainly wasn't the first musician to get banned from a country..

The Beatles - The Philippines


Before musicians like Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, and 50 Cent got banned from foreign countries, the Beatles were getting their own. After they declined a dinner with the First Lady Imelda Marcos, they were swiftly banned from the Philippines soon after.

Not only that, but they were also mobbed by hoards of angry people who weren't happy with the apparent disrespect. Speaking of musicians, Jay-Z had it bad, too.

Jay-Z - China


Back in 2006 Jay-Z's lyrics were concerning to China, who decided to ban him from performing in Shanghai because of it. Jay took it in stride, though, and basically let it roll off his shoulders.

China is kind of notorious for banning celebrities (like Harrison Ford) and musicians anyway. The Rolling Stones were even banned from performing there until they agreed to not perform songs like 'Brown Sugar' or 'Honky Tonk Woman'.

Snoop Dogg - Norway


Go ahead, just guess why Snoop Dogg was banned from Norway. That's right, he had about eight grams of Marijuana on his person while trying to enter the beautiful country back in 2012.  He didn't seem phased by it (maybe for obvious reasons), as he had the same thing happen to him before with Great Britain in 2006.

Apparently he and his entourage got riled up in the airport and vandalized a duty-free shop. We can see why they might've been angry about that one.

Elton John - Egypt


Elton John and Egypt just don't see eye-to-eye. He told Parade magazine back in 2010 that "I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East - you're as good as dead." It didn't take long for the head of Egypt's Musician Union to respond.

Mounir al-Wasimi said he couldn't allow “a homosexual who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom” to perform there. Harsh.

Chris Brown - Australia


Chris Brown has actually been banned from multiple countries, but we'll focus on Australia. The country from down under banned Brown because of his history of domestic violence.

Chris later tried to wipe the slate clean, tweeting that he "would be more than grateful to come to Australia to raise awareness on domestic violence, I am not the pink elephant in the room anymore." They denied his request. There's also another famous boxer who was denied entry into a country because of his criminal record.

Mike Tyson - Great Britain


Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist, and because of that the Government of Great Britain didn't allow him entry into the country. The event occurred back in 2013 while he was promoting his autobiography titled Undisputed Truth.

"I have been coming to the UK consistently in the past decade so this change is disheartening since it affects my current entry standing," Tyson later said in a statement. Even though he wasn't allowed into Great Britain, he got to continue his European press tour.

Richard Gere - China

Richard Gere took to the Oscars stage in 1993 to talk about China's injustices in their country and in Tibet. Oh, and he wasn't even accepting any awards, he was presenting one for Best Art Direction.

Not only was he banned from China after asking the audience to cumulatively send  "truth, love, and a kind of sanity" to Deng Xiaoping, but he was banned from presenting awards at the Oscars until 2013, too.

Selena Gomez - China


Yet another star banned from China, the incredibly likable Selena Gomez got the special treatment because she took pictures with the Dalai Lama. Not only that, but they were pictures from years prior.

This is actually a pretty recent story, too, breaking in April of last year. The popular singer was also denied entry into Russia a few years ago because she was expected to speak out against anti-gay laws in the country.

Beyonce - Egypt


The "Indiana Jones of Egypt" apparently banned Beyonce from visiting the Pyramids because she was rude. Wait, what? Zahi Hawess later said that Beyonce arrived late to the meeting, didn't apologize for it, and that her personal photographer was also very rude.

Beyonce later said that this was a lie, but Hawess stuck to his story. Maybe she was just a little busy that day?

Sacha Baron Cohen - Kazakstan


The good news is Sacha Baron Cohen is best known for his movie "Borat." The bad news is the government of Kazakstan didn't like that movie too much.

He was initially banned following the release of the film but the ban was later lifted because the Government reportedly "saw the funny side." Cheers to Kazakstan for being able to take a joke.

Paris Hilton - Japan


Hilton had a bit of bad luck in Japan. After she was caught with cocaine in Las Vegas back in 2010, the country wouldn't allow her entry smack dab in the middle of an important promotional tour. Paris was reportedly beyond upset, and later threw a smile on while being questioned by the media about it.

We give her props for being a good sport. What happened to her, by the way?

50 Cent - Canada


When Canada bans you, you know you've done something bad. 50 Cent was banned from the country because his music promotes gun violence. Foreign Minister Dan McTeague said, “There are indeed limits and restrictions on freedom of expression.

Particularly if they incite hate or if they are the kind of activity that is killing our youths right now across Toronto.” This was all the way back in 2005 when 50 Cent was all the rage.

Brad Pitt - China


After appearing in 1997's "Seven Years In Tibet," Brad Pitt was banned from China. The movie depicts China's taking of Tibet and following rule over the country as particularly harsh, and China didn't like that too much.

Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and stars Brad Pitt and David Thewlis were all banned from the country because of it, actually.

Tyler, The Creator - Great Britain


Because of the lyrics in 3-5 year old songs, popular rapper Tyler, The Creator was banned in the UK during 2015.

A spokesperson from the UK later wrote, "Coming to the UK is a privilege, and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values." Tyler joins Jay-Z as one of the only rappers to officially get banned from a country because of their lyrics.

Martha Stewart - Great Britain


Wait, Martha Stewart too? Apparently Great Britain didn't like the fact that Martha had a criminal record, so they banned her from entering in 2008.

Back in 2005 she was convicted of lying to investigators about whether she and her stockbroker had been involved in insider trading. To each their own.

Lady Gaga - China


If we had a penny for every time China banned someone from America.. Lady Gaga was banned from the country in 2016 because she met with the Dalai Lama.

“Lady Gaga knew how Beijing would react,” Bill Bishop, the person who runs the Sinocism newsletter, wrote. “Good for her to show some courage, unlike most celebrities who are scared of bullying Beijing now.”