15 Celebs Who Are Fake Feminists

The definition of feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, or the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of these two genders. It can also refer to the organized activity in support of women's rights and interests. That's the literal definition, although a lot of people tend to think that the term is a lot more complicated than that, or even that it has negative connotations. By definition alone, it does not. Celebrities are frequently asked about their thoughts on feminism, which is one part real curiosity and sometimes one part trying to catch someone talking about something they don't know about. The good thing about this dialogue is that it means that people are interested in feminism, but some celebs seem to have some twists on their ideas about what feminism actually is. Here are 15 of the more creative/confused descriptions of the term out there and 15 celebrities who are totally fake feminists.

15 Katy Perry

Katy Perry thinks that the word "feminist" is too strong of a label for how she feels or wants to be portrayed, although she does believe in the strength of women. At least this is what she said in 2012 when she was named Billboard's Woman of the Year. However, by 2014 she was changing her words around a bit. Another time that she was asked she said, “A feminist? Um, yeah, actually. I used to not really understand what that word meant, and now that I do, it just means that I love myself as a female and I also love men.” Well, that's still not exactly what it means, but yeah it does include feeling the same about everyone which it sounds like it does. Katy certainly is for empowerment, however, especially girl empowerment. Just look at some of her songs. "Roar" is a good example of standing up and being heard, and "I Kissed A Girl And I Like It" certainly seem to be saying I can do whatever I want.

14 Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is another star who thinks the label is too harsh. Although she does believe in strong women, which is depicted in plenty of her country songs… especially the ones about breaking up. When asked about being a feminist in the past, she has said, "I wouldn't go so far as to say I am a feminist, that can come off as a negative connotation. But I am a strong female. My parents raised me to be pretty independent and I grew up-I have sisters but they're a lot older than me-an only child. I feel like that contributes to how I handle myself and how I carry myself." It's unfortunate the the word has a negative connotation for so many people who might actually be feminists whether they realize it or not. Carrie certainly embodies some of the characteristics of someone who wants equality, since being independent is important for everyone to be able to make their own decisions and choices out in the world, without having to wait for someone else to make up their mind for them.

13 Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't want an association with the word feminist because she feels like it asks her to choose between being a business woman or staying home to care for her children, and she wants to do both. However, many would say that being a feminist means doing it all… if that's your personal preference. Gwyneth has talked about the fine line she feels like there is between raising her daughter to have an open mind and the popularity of women turning towards nudity to express themselves where she doesn't feel like this is necessary. She has said, "Women are so powerful and so capable and to have it inferred that you have to generate yourself in any way to be likable is abhorrent to me. With my daughter, I try to find a balance of being an example for her as a woman who… works and tries not to go out in public naked… It is an interesting balance right now being a mother of a coming-of-age girl as there are a lot of conflicting messages in our culture."

12 Sarah Jessica Parker

A lot of people consider Sarah Jessica Parker a feminist, but she maintains that she isn't one with the word. She has explained that she shares some of the thoughts required but that she doesn't think she totally qualifies for the label. She has said: "I am not a feminist. I don't think I qualify. I believe in women and I believe in equality, but I think there is so much that needs to be done that I don't even want to separate it anymore. I'm so tired of separation. I just want people to be treated equally." At least her response sounds like an informed one, and not just a random uttering which has happened to some other stars. Equality of any kind is great and important and certainly moving in the right direction, and she is one actress who seems to live up to those ideals regularly regardless of how she is labeling or not labeling herself. But owning the label of feminist just has to do with wanting equality, and anyone who does can usually handle that.

11 Evangeline Lilly

The LOST actress points out a common misconception about what the word feminist actually means when she explains why she isn't a fan of the word: "I'm very proud of being a woman, and as a woman, I don't even like the word feminism because when I hear that word, I associate it with women trying to pretend to be men, and I'm not interested in trying to pretend to be a man. I don't want to embrace manhood, I want to embrace my womanhood." The problem with this, of course, is that feminism doesn't have to do with women wanting to be men, it has to do with women wanting the same treatment and opportunities of men. For a lot of people though that distinction is a hard one to grasp onto, because when they imagine being treated equally to a man they imagine being treated like a man, and therefore having their womanhood stripped away. But embracing womanhood and still expecting to be treated equal is what it really means for many.

10 Kaley Cuoco

The Big Bang Theory star shared her thoughts about feminism when she was married to Ryan Sweetin: "I know a lot of the work that paved the way for women happened before I was around… I was never that feminist girl demanding equality, but maybe that's because I've never really faced inequality. I cook for Ryan [her husband] five nights a week. It makes me feel like a housewife. I love that. I know it sounds old-fashioned, but I like the idea of women taking care of their men." The problem with this view of feminism is that it would exclude being nurturing or caring, and that isn't the case. Any gender might find happiness in caring for another person or even doing something for them, as they should. Feminism shouldn't be breaking apart relationships, it should just be allowing people to have more freedom of choice in living a life as a woman without outside limits imposed by society. Equality does not mean that you can't be sweet and nice.

9 Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has been criticized by a lot of people for being a fake feminist because she's all about girl power in public. But behind the scenes, some people point out that she isn't quite as nice as she seems and that her girl power "girl squad" stuff only extends so far. In fact, a lot of people are mad at Taylor Swift, from her exes to Kanye and Kim, to Katy Perry. Katy Perry is one person in particular who has slammed Taylor about the whole girl squad thing. Katy once tweeted "Finding it ironic to parade and pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman… " Katy is, of course, commenting on the fact that Taylor's song "Bad Blood" is about her and the supposed beef that they have between them. Taylor has said that Katy once stole some of her dancers from her while she was on tour which is apparently a big deal and not the sort of thing you bounce back from quickly when you're a pop star.

8 Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is another star who has rejected feminism because she doesn't find it all tag tint resting, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense and is basically a really weird thing to say. She has said, “For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept. I'm more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what's going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism, I'm like, god. I'm just not really that interested… My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.” Well, that idea of feminism at the end sort of goes along with the whole equality concept, so maybe Lana is just not entirely clear about what the definition of feminism actually means. Many people are not. But even if you aren't clear about something or feel uninformed, or just don't think a social issue applies to you, it still might be an incredibly relevant concept for the next person. And generally since we're all in this together, it's common courtesy to pay attention to the sort of issues and struggles that other people see in the world.

7 Dita Von Teese

Dita Von Teese has talked about modern feminism versus old fashioned feminism, but where she takes it seems a little off topic. She has said, “I think it's [modern feminism]… kind of turning the old-fashioned ideas of feminism upside down. [And] for me, [feminism] is about [how] you can't decide for someone what is degrading or empowering, because some people could look at my show and say 'oh that's so degrading to women,' but then you're thinking 'how is that degrading to women when there's all the women who are supporting it and they're getting inspiration from it and they're happy to see a different version of sensuality?'” What she is really saying is that the individual gets to think that feminism is what they feel like it is for them, which makes sense because being a free thinker is definitely part of equality. But then again, if everyone had a different definition of feminism, then we could all be feminists but not have any of the same ideas about what that means or putting it into practice. Head scratcher.

6 Demi Moore

Demi Moore has also used the humanist not a feminist excuse: "I am a great supporter of women, but I have never really thought of myself as a feminist, probably more of a humanist because I feel like that's really where we need to be." The word humanist is often used in the wrong context, though, because its origins have to do with preferring "critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over the acceptance of dogma or superstition." Which of course, sounds pretty reasonable, but it doesn't have anything to do with the inclusion of all people over a certain gender. All people are already looped into that definition, but it hopes that people are using their brains instead of following superstitious notions. But to take it even further, at that point in time anything that had to do with human rights had more to do with white men than anyone else, so it might not be the all inclusive term that people tend to feel like it is.

5 Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek's thoughts about feminism just sound a little confused more than anything. She has said, "I am not a feminist. If men were going through the things women are going through today, I would be fighting for them with just as much passion. I believe in equality." Note the end where she says she believes in equality… which is the point of feminism. This was around the time that she was being honored for some humanitarian work. Later, she seemed to change her mind and say that she was, in fact, a feminist. “I am a feminist because I love women and I am ready to fight for women. I am a feminist because I am proud to be a woman, and I am passionate about making the world a better place for women. I am a feminist because a lot of amazing women have made me the woman I am today. I am inspired by women every day, as friends and as colleagues.” That one makes a bit more sense!

4 Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley is a very independent and forward thinking person so many would consider her a feminist, but she has explained that she isn't. She has said, "I love men, and I think the idea of 'raise women to power, take the men away from power' is never going to work out because you need balance. With myself, I'm very in touch with my masculine side. And I'm 50 percent feminine and 50 percent masculine, same as I think a lot of us are. And I think that it is important to note. And also I think that if men went down and women rose to power, that wouldn't work either." However, loving men does not have anything to do with supporting feminism or not, and neither does feminism aim for women to take over and take the power away from men. It asks for balance. She went on to say that she prefers using the word sisterhood, which is fine in certain ways but it does not address everything that feminism does. A sisterhood offers support to fellow women which is crucial, but does not mention anything about the equality outside of the sisterhood, which is where feminism has its roots.

3 Meghan Trainor

You would think that the star would be a feminist since she's got some pretty empowering and inspiring songs. But unfortunately, that's not the case. We found the singer's thoughts on feminism in an article that had a lot to do with body acceptance. When interviewed for the piece she explained, "I don't consider myself a feminist, but I'm down for my first opportunity to say something to the world to be so meaningful. If you asked me, 'What do you want to say?' it would be, 'Love yourself more.'" But this explanation would suggest that there isn't room within feminism to love yourself, and honestly, that doesn't make any sort of sense at all. If women are looking for the opportunity to be given equal opportunities with men, that definitely would require quite a lot of self-love and care. In fact, anything less would be not supporting yourself, so that just doesn't seem to work too well.

2 Kim Kardashian

A lot of people would say that Kim Kardashian supports the concept of feminism since she is all for doing what she feels appropriate without worrying about what other people think about it. But once when she was asked if she was a feminist she responded with the answer: "I don't like labels. I do what makes me happy and I want women to be confident and I'm so supportive of women… But I'm not the 'free the nip-type girl." With this response, she first made the association that there is something about freeing the nip and wanting equality, and then also ignored the fact that she poses nude frequently so sort of already does, in fact, free the nip in certain ways in her own life. She might not be walking around nude on a public sidewalk and we've certainly seen her nips. Kim is actually one of the more body positive people out there, and will explain why to any naysayer who tries to call her out for it.

1 Lady Gaga

Once when Lady Gaga was asked about her stance on feminism, she totally shied away from the label and explained that she has a fascination with American male culture and loves men. But then she went on to say that she was a little bit of a feminist. This explanation seems a little confused since of course being a feminist doesn't mean that you don't love men. And being a little bit feminist doesn't make much sense either because you either believe in equality or you don't. Or maybe sometimes you do and sometimes you don't? Depending on the circumstance? It's unclear what she meant exactly, but later she did change her tune and admit that she is a feminist, as well as explain why. "A feminist to me is somebody that wishes to protect the integrity of women who are ambitious. A feminist, in my opinion, is somebody that regards that women have a strong intelligence and wisdom."One thing Gaga has always been outspoken about is being a strong advocate for marriage equality and LGBTQ issues. She's not confused about her stance on that, not for one minute.