From Prince William and Prince Harry’s 'Royal Rift' to Britney Spears' Legal Battle With Dad, 10 Celeb Feuds That Hogged The Headlines

Celeb Fights and Family Feuds Are Often Hard To Keep Under Wraps

The lives of celebrities are not always as picture-perfect as they seem. Stars fight and feuds among families often draw massive media attention. There are plenty of celebrities who have been estranged from their parents, siblings, or families due to ugly fights. Here are the top 10 celebrity family feuds that played out in public.

1. Jamie Spears and Britney Spears

Britney Spears fought a long battle to remove her father Jamie Spears as her conservator who served in the role since 2008. She finally won in September 2021. Britney claimed that under the arrangement she was prevented from having more children with then-fiancé Sam Asghari, and her medication was changed suddenly and dramatically, while her ability to see her sons was restricted, as per SheKnows.  During the legal battle, the #FreeBritney movement surged on social media as well.

2. Meghan and Thomas Markle

Meghan Markle’s feud with her now-estranged father Thomas Markle played out in public and got global media attention. In the months leading up to her wedding with Prince Harry, her father allegedly went rogue and disrupted their privacy. Thomas Markle reportedly staged paparazzi photos and gave multiple interviews to the press. He allegedly gave a heartfelt letter written by Meghan to him to the Daily Mail for publication without her consent. Meghan Markle sued him and eventually “cut him off” from her life, as per Business Insider.

3. Jay-Z and Solange Knowles

After the 2014 Met Gala, security footage of Solange Knowles, Jay-Z’s sister, physically attacking Jay-Z in the elevator leaked online, giving rise to speculation and theories. In the video, it was seen that they were ultimately separated by a security guard as well as Beyoncé herself. Ten days after the incident, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Solange released a joint statement saying they had apologized to and forgiven each other to move forward as a united family, PEOPLE reported. 

4. Prince William and Prince Harry

Prince William and Prince Harry’s rift has been played out in the public over and over again with several statements coming from Prince Harry. As per the interviews and Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare”, the tensions between the two brothers began when Harry wanted to move out of the royal family. Harry felt that Markle wasn’t being welcomed into the royal family while other media reports suggest that the feud was more deeply rooted and related to a divide in the royal family.

5. Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian

Kourtney and Kim Kardashian had a widely publicized physical fight which was televised in the show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”. Kourtney had stopped showing up to family events and even announced that she was pulling out of the show. Kim made a comment that Kourtney was “the least interesting to look at” while Kourtney called the whole family “disgusting”, as per SheKnows.

6. Melania and Ivanka Trump

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, former senior advisor to the first lady Melania Trump, detailed a years-long feud between Melania and Ivanka Trump in her book “Melania and Me”. In the book, she stated that Melania and Ivanka had a tense relationship where Ivanka constantly tried to compete with the former First Lady. Specific tiffs were also mentioned including the feud over Ivanka being allowed to use the Trump name for her brand lines while Melania was not allowed to do the same for her skincare line.

7. Jennifer Aniston and Nancy Dow

Jennifer Aniston and her mom Nancy Dow’s feud began with the release of a tell-all book, “From Mother and Daughter to Friends” by Dow. In the book, she detailed her contentious relationship with her daughter which resulted in a long estrangement between the two. The two reportedly got back to speaking terms in 2015 as Aniston told the Hollywood Reporter that she found the grudges petty and forgave her mother. Nancy passed away a year later in 2016.

8. Matthew McConaughey and Mary McCabe

Matthew McConaughey and his mom Mary McCabe had an altercation after McCabe began leaking personal stories that he had shared with her to the press. She even invited the "Hard Copy" tabloid show to tour their family home, shortly after which McConaughey stopped talking to her. As per Buzzfeed, McConaughey finally forgave his mother after eight years of silence.

9. Adele and Mark Evans

Adele and Mark Evans didn’t have any altercation or feud. It was only about Evans walking out on the family when she was young, and Adele claiming that she had cut contact with her father since she was 11 years old. Later in an interview with The Sun, Evans claimed that Adele had lied to protect him. Adele and Evans reportedly forgave each other before his death in 2021 with Adele saying that it was the alcohol that took her dad from the family.

10. Angelina Jolie and Jon Vought

Angelina Jolie's estrangement from her father, Jon Voight, reached the point where the actress decided to legally change her name from Angelina Jolie Vought to just Angelina Jolie. After that Vought made controversial claims about Jolie needing help for her mental problems following her divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, while saying that he was not allowed to see his grandchild. In response, Jolie made a statement saying it was not healthy for her to be around her father anymore. Later in 2009, they reconciled and have remained in touch, as per Vanity Fair.