Celebrities didn't want you to hear this

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Celebrities didn't want you to hear this

When celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Alec Baldwin and Tiger Woods forget we're living in an electronic age, fans hear them at their worst.

Actress Jennifer Aniston is not usually known for inciting controversy, but her use of a derogatory term associated with mentally-disabled people while appearing on "Live! With Regis and Kelly" has created a disapproving buzz online. It didn't make any difference to the Special Olympics that she was referring to herself when she used the term.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, better known as "Dr. Laura" and host of a syndicated radio show, has made a career out of being controversial and unsympathetic to the callers that seek her advice. But the public firestorm that resulted from her using a racial epithet multiple times while speaking to an African-American caller on her show is the main reason why she ended the long-running syndicated program at the end of 2010 (though she still has a show on Sirius XM).

Celebrities are used to having cameras and microphones around all the time, but sometimes they forget we're living in an electronic age. That's when we hear them at their worst. The latest example is Mel Gibson, whose ex-girlfriend taped his racist, mysogynistic, profanity-laced threats against her. Will his career survive? Most would say no.

Custody battles bring out the worst in people. Just ask Alec Baldwin. Ex Kim Basinger leaked a voicemail message to the press in which Baldwin called their then-11-year-old daughter "a rude, thoughtless little pig." Baldwin apologized for the 2007 slip, and he has since revived his career, winning numerous awards for his work on "30 Rock."

In a photo that leaked in February 2009, Miley Cyrus was shown posing with a group of friends and pulling her eyes back to make herself look Asian. She apologized, saying she was just being "goofy," and her career was no worse for wear.

Michael Richards, a.k.a. Kramer from "Seinfeld," stunned a comedy club audience, shouting racial epithets at people who heckled him during a standup routine in November 2006. Whether it was a result of his rant, no one has heard much from Richards since.

Tiger Woods never wanted anyone to find out about his multiple affairs, but he especially didn't want fans to hear a voicemail left for mistress Jaimee Grubbs begging her to take her name off her phone because his wife might be calling. Woods might be getting divorced and have lost some of his sponsors, but he's still one of the world's top golfers.

When director David O. Russell pushed Lily Tomlin too far during the making of "I Heart Huckabees," she went on a profanity-laced tirade between scenes that was captured on film. The director returned in kind later, yelling at the actress and kicking set pieces. She was able to laugh about it, and "Damages" fans get to enjoy her talent today.

Everyone got to hear Christian Bale let the director of photography have it for "trashing his scene" when he walked on set during filming of "Terminator Salvation." But he's Batman, so it didn't stop him from working.

During his playing days, Braves reliever John Rocker was popular in Atlanta. Until that January 2000 Sports Illustrated article. His comments made him look racist, sexist and homophobic. But that was on the record. He has had several missteps off the record, too, including using making anti-gay and anti-Semitic statements against local radio host Steak Shapiro during an altercation at the W Buckhead hotel's grand opening in 2009.

Here's one you might not have heard of. In a video from a New Year's party, Paris Hilton tells sister Nikki they're "like a bunch of (expletive)" while dancing to Notorious B.I.G. It had no effect on her career because, really, who cares what she does?

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Actress Jennifer Aniston is not usually known for inciting controversy, but her use of a derogatory term associated with mentally-disabled people while appearing on "Live! With Regis and Kelly" has created a disapproving buzz online. It didn't make any difference to the Special Olympics that she was referring to herself when she used the term.

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