15 Times Celebs Made Us Hate The Word Feminist

Thanks to the uniqueness of their jobs, celebrities have a huge platform to share any issues they believe in. Sure, a lot of the time they're supposed to be promoting their recent project, but sometimes when they're just asked for their opinion about something on the red carpet or allowed to give their support to a particular charity or even interviewed for a larger profile piece, they're able to share their views.

There are some celebrities who try to be as neutral as possible to ensure they don't offend or upset anyone and limit the roles available to them, but other celebrities are full on advocates for the causes they believe in. They're willing to speak up for the things that are important to them - and that's definitely admirable.

For female celebrities, in addition to all the causes that may be near and dear to their hearts, they're often asked to comment on things related to women's rights or equality in Hollywood. The fact is, there's still a wage gap in the entertainment industry, as there is in most job fields. Women are asked about their clothing on the red carpet while men are asked more hard-hitting questions. And, there are a lot of women in Hollywood who are standing up and speaking up - and we totally love them.

However, there are also celebrities who… well, don't exactly seem to understand what feminism is, and what it stands for. Here are 15 celebrities who kind of make us hate the word feminist.

15 Demi Lovato

There are some celebrities who completely support particular causes with their full heart and soul, who believe in them and would be doing work for a particular organization even if they weren't a celebrity. And then, there are the ones who jump on a bandwagon, who start supporting the environment because it becomes trendy, or lend their voice to a particular charity campaign that is getting a lot of press attention. That's the reason that comments like Lovato's make us cringe - in an interview with Cosmopolitan, the pop star stated that “I considered myself a feminist before it was cool, now everyone is claiming it.” On the one hand, we dig that she's identifying as a feminist. On the other hand, her comment kind of paints the picture that feminism is some hot Hollywood trend. Regardless of whether it's 'cool,' if you're a strong feminist, you should be supporting women who want to jump on board - not shaming them for only doing it because it's 'cool.'

14 Emily Ratajkowski

Look, we're the first to say that the idea you can't be a feminist and also like wearing whatever type of clothing you like is ridiculous. However, Emily Ratajkowski's views over the years have been a little bit confusing, to say the least. She takes pictures of herself topless, giving the middle finger, and babbles about being sexy “on her own terms.” She talks about the way female bodies are objectified, and yet… she makes basically all her money in ways that objectify the female body, like one of the most sexist music videos/songs ever. We totally love the fact that she's nurturing her inner feminist, but… we're not entirely sure she gets what that means yet. You have to take jobs that pay you, we get it, but if she's truly looking to take up the feminist baton, starring in things like the “Blurred Lines” video isn't the best way to do so.

13 Taylor Swift

Ah, Taylor Swift and her girl squad. Swift seems to believe that, to be a feminist, you just need to have a lot of female friends, which… is not the case. Look, we get it - it can be tough to speak up and risk losing fans, especially when you're at the top of your game. But it's women that have that type of high profile that can truly help to make a difference, and T-Swift just hasn't delivered. While other female celebrities were heading out on women's marches and speaking out against sexist presidential candidates and tweeting about being #withher, Swift was baking with her besties. She's not willing to stick her neck out on the line and actually use her voice to share a strong, potentially controversial opinion. We've had about enough of her faux feminism.

12 Evangeline Lilly

Since Lost wrapped, Evangeline Lilly hasn't had as high of a profile. Sure, she snagged a role playing an elf in the huge Hobbit franchise, but she isn't exactly the type of celebrity who will be featured on the front page of every tabloid week after week. However, a comment that she made a while back had us scratching our heads. When asked about her views, Lilly stated that “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.” Uh, feminists aren't interested in trying to pretend to be men either - that's just an awful stereotype. They're interested in equal rights.

11 Lana Del Rey

When it comes to celebrities making statements about big, important issues, Lana Del Rey isn't usually the first one that reporters come to because, well, she can be a bit of a space cadet. Her comment on feminism proved exactly that. The pop star said that “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.” That's right - Lana Del Rey doesn't really care about women's rights and equality and all that because it just isn't as interesting as space travel. News flash - while there's a lot of cool things happening out there in the universe, here on earth, there are women who still don't get equal pay or proper healthcare or things like that. How boring, right?

10 Shailene Woodley

Sweet, sweet Shailene Woodley. The problem is, though she's been in the entertainment industry since she was just a kid, Woodley essentially skyrocketed to fame once she was part of a huge teen movie franchise in the Divergent series. Suddenly, everyone wanted her opinion on everything, and she's still a little bit young and championing a bit of a hippie vibe. She commented that “the word 'feminist' is a word that discriminates, and I'm not into that. Labels are for other people to understand us, so for me, I know how I feel and I don't need to call myself a 'feminist' or 'not a feminist' because I know what my truth is.” Uh, okay - but if you're trying to organize as a group to champion a cause, you still kind of need to label things, otherwise everyone would just be a group of individuals working towards their 'truth' and never getting anywhere collectively.

9 Bjork

Bjork certainly doesn't have the same voice as some of the biggest pop stars right now - she's beloved by a bit more of a niche audience, so her fans seek her out rather than the general press seeking her out. However, she's still an internationally recognized musician, which means she gets asked things like whether she identifies as a feminist - and her answer might surprise you. Bjork commented that she certainly doesn't identify as a feminist because “I think it would isolate me. I think it's important to do positive stuff.” Uh, we'd just like to argue that helping women get equal rights and breaking down barriers for women in the world is a pretty positive thing, and being a part of a huge community of women around the world doesn't exactly seem isolating, but… okay. Sure.

8 Katy Perry

Ah, sweet Katy Perry, another one of the celebrities that just doesn't really seem to understand what feminism is. Feminists aren't just bra-burning man-haters who want to crush anyone male in order to achieve a female-dominated society. They're just regular women who want to help other women achieve everything they can. In an interview, Perry stated that “I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women.” Again, this is another case where a celebrity kind of makes us hate the word feminist, because what she's talking about is basically feminism. She just doesn't want to use that 'label' because of all the stigma and mess attached to it. We'd like to see her sit down to have a conversation with a woman who calls herself a feminist and realize that she believes in the strength of women too - surprise, surprise.

7 Kaley Cuoco

Kaley Cuoco caused a bit of a stir when she made a comment about loving to cook for her then husband Ryan Sweeting, and loving to take care of her man, loving to come home after a day at work and serve him. However, we're the first ones to point out that feminism is about doing what you want - even if that means being a housewife. It's all about choices. However, she lost us with her other comment, saying that feminism is just “not really something I think about,” that “things are different now, and I know a lot of the work that paved the way for women happened before I was around.” While this is partially true - previous generations of women have definitely made huge strides - that doesn't mean things are totally equal now, as she seems to think.

6 Kim Kardashian West

Another celebrity who has the most stereotypical idea of what a feminist is in her mind - sigh. When Kim Kardashian West was asked about her stance on feminism at a conference, she commented that “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 nipple' type girl.” Okay, first of all, that just puts forth the awful stereotype of the bra-burning, razor-fearing, man-hating feminist once again. And second, Kardashian West is one of the celebrities constantly speaking out about how posing in skimpy clothing is empowering for women, so making the 'free the nipple' type argument is kind of strange on her part. Although, let's be honest - if you're looking for commentary on big world issues, the Kardashians probably aren't your go-tos.

5 Sarah Jessica Parker

Again, Sarah Jessica Parker may not be making as many waves in Hollywood as when she was starring as Carrie Bradshaw on the iconic television hit Sex and the City, but she's still a big star who makes frequent red carpet appearances - and that means getting interviewed frequently. In a piece that Marie Claire wrote on her, Sarah Jessica Parker commented that “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.” Uh… we're pretty sure that she doesn't fully get what feminism is, because with her beliefs, she most certainly qualifies. And again, the idea of feminism being a separate thing furthers the idea that it's a concern only man-hating women have, which is just not the case.

4 Salma Hayek

Hayek is a little bit confusing when it comes to feminism. On the one hand, she's co-founder for a non-profit that helps raise funds and awareness for women's issues, including education, health and justice. She's made comments about wanting to empower women, about teaching her daughter about iconic females like Malala. Sounds great, right? But then, she goes and comments that she's not a feminist, and that “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.” Yeah, Salma, feminists believe in equality too - that's what they're fighting for. This one is another case of a celebrity seeming to think that feminists hate men and want to diminish their rights, which isn't the case - they're just looking for equality.

3 Carla Bruni

Oh, Carla Bruni. The model and singer doesn't get as much attention in North America as she does in France, but still, comments like this are damaging in the internet age when things spread internationally in a heartbeat. When she was talking to Vogue Paris, Bruni's stance on feminism was that it was simply unnecessary. “My generation doesn't need feminism,” she said. “There are pioneers who opened the breach. I'm not at all an active feminist… I love family life.” I mean, we're shaking our heads so hard it hurts. The idea that an entire generation doesn't need feminism for some reason is utterly ridiculous, and her claiming that wanting a family life means she can't possibly be an active feminist is equally silly. A stay at home mom who loves everything to do with the domestic sphere can be a feminist just as much as a career woman can.

2 Carrie Underwood

Okay, this is another case of a female celebrity just not wanting to stick her neck out for a cause, even if it's something that she sort of believes in. Underwood, when asked about her stance on feminism, has said that “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.” Again, this just puts forth the myth of the man-hating feminist that actually feminists are working so hard to dispel. The only reason the word “feminist” has a negative connotation is because so many people put forward that stereotypical image of what a feminist is, instead of acknowledging that feminists come in all shapes, sizes, and ambitions - there's no one size fits all mold, so the negative connotation is ridiculous. If you're a strong female who believes in supporting other strong females, you're probably a feminist - even if you don't want to label yourself as such.

1 Kelly Clarkson

Ah, Kelly Clarkson. Another celebrity putting forward the awful feminist stereotype, even though it seems unintentional. Clarkson, when asked her views on the subject, said that “I wouldn't say [I'm a] feminist - that's too strong. I think when people hear feminist, it's like 'get out of my way, I don't need anyone.' I love that I'm being taken care of and I have a man that's a leader. I'm not a feminist in that sense.” Again, we're going to say it - being a feminist doesn't mean that you hate all men and want to do absolutely everything for yourself. A feminist can be someone who loves getting pampered by her husband from time to time. A feminist can be someone who works with others, and certainly does need others to help her further the things she believes in. Celebrities constantly putting forward the idea that feminism is a word surrounded by negative connotations and stereotypes is part of the reason so many female celebs are reluctant to let their feminist flag fly.