The messiest celeb feuds of 2024: From Rebel Wilson branding Sacha Baron Cohen an ‘a**gap’ to Blake Lively submitting a lawsuit towards her co-star Justin Baldoni

As 2024 draws to a close, most will spend the end of the year in the company of family and friends as they celebrate the festive period.

And no one needs to do that more than these group of stars who found themselves locked in some of the most memorable feuds of the year. 

The year began with Rebel Wilson branding Sacha Baron Cohen an ‘a**hole’ in her autobiography while the feud between Strictly stars Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington rumbled on from 2023. 

And as 2024 drew to a close, there were fresh spats between Gregg Wallace and Rod Stewart and It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. 

So as we prepare to usher in 2025, join MailOnline as we look back at some of the most shocking celebrity feuds of the year.  

Rebel Wilson vs Sacha Baron Cohen

In March, the showbiz world was rocked when Rebel Wilson revealed she had dedicated a chapter in her memoir Rebel Rising to the ‘a**hole’ Sacha Baron Cohen.

The pair starred together in 2016 box office flop Grimsby, where Sacha played a feckless football hooligan called Nobby who has 11 children with his partner Dawn, Rebel’s role.  

In her memoir Rebel accused the Ali G and Borat actor of pressuring her into doing a nude scene and making her wear clothes that showed her in the most unflattering light. She also alleged he bullied her and asked her to stick her finger up his ‘b**t’.

Sacha, who co-wrote and produced the film, denied all of Rebel’s claims.

Taking to Instagram ahead of her book’s release, she wrote: ‘I will not be silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers. The a****** I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.’

In the wake of her statement, Sacha spoke out to TMZ via representatives, saying: ‘While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence…

‘[With] contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.’

While the book was published in the States the contentious section was redacted when released in the UK, which Rebel claimed was ‘due to the peculiarities of the law in England and Wales,’ while Sacha’s legal team declared it a ‘clear victory’. 

A week after the claims surfaced, Sacha’s wife Isla Fisher announced she and the actor had split last year after 14 years of marriage.

While Rebel and Isla were once friends, having co-starred in the 2012 movie Bachelorette, Rebel confessed the pair hadn’t spoken since she made the allegations about Sacha. 

Rod Stewart vs Gregg Wallace 

One of the most unexpected feuds of the year came in November, when Rod Stewart laid into ‘tubby’ Gregg Wallace. 

BBC presenter Gregg, 60, had just stepped down from hosting MasterChef after 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming. 

After the news broke, Rod took no time issuing a furious rant at Gregg calling him a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for ‘humiliating’ his wife Penny Lancaster when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.

Penny was left in tears during her appearance on the show after Gregg told her off with the ‘serious’ delay of her food and refused to eat her tartar sauce – blasting her for using ‘whole eggs instead of egg yolks’ . 

Following the announcement, Sir Rod wrote on Instagram: ‘Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you? You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya’. 

Explaining the decision behind Rod’s angry post, Penny later said on Loose Women: ‘My husband when he heard people talking about the disturbing behaviors, he couldn’t hold back. 

‘Protective husband thought, ‘I’m not going to stay silent I need to say something,’ because he realised how upset I was at the time.’

She added that she hadn’t known about her husband’s Instagram rant until afterwards, saying: ‘I was actually on jury service and you have to turn your phones off completely so I was off grid for a period of time. 

‘And when I did turn my phone back on I got a message from a friend saying, ‘Oh my god, how amazing was that message your husband put out!’ And I was like ‘What message? What has he done?”

However, Penny confessed that she also felt ‘vindicated’ by seeing other people come forward with their claims, explaining: ‘I was in shock and then I thought of all the repercussions of all that. 

Gregg’s lawyers have previously denied any allegations that he has engaged in behaviour that amounts to sexual harassment.

Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice 

Strictly was caught in a wave of scandal this year, which kicked off when Amanda Abbington accused her 2023 dance partner Giovanni Pernice of ‘abuse’.

The actress, who suddenly quit Strictly five episodes into the series, repeatedly accused Giovanni of misconduct in the rehearsal room, sparking a BBC probe in April. 

After a six-month investigation, the BBC finally published their report into Giovanni’s behaviour, and it cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression, but upheld verbal bullying and harassment.

The report also told how they had upheld six out of 17 allegations from Amanda. The report said that Giovanni – a perfectionist – ‘was swearing and using what could be described as belittling language’ which it said amounted to bullying behaviour.

Amanda’s complaint that Giovanni would get frustrated with her while teaching her to dance was also upheld by the panel. However, it’s also been revealed that he told her: ‘You have such talent and you’re not using it.’

Another time he told her: ‘I don’t know how to ask you anymore,’ while another comment saw him tell her ‘it has been four days now and I don’t know what to do’, was also deemed to be wrongful behaviour.

Of the two complaints which were upheld of a sexual nature, one saw Giovanni grab his crotch and utter a lewd remark.

He also told his dance partner that he ‘wanted to f***’ her. That comment came after Amanda had pulled off a great move in the training studio and Giovanni was thrilled.

Despite many of Amanda’s serious allegations being thrown out by the BBC, they did say sorry to her. In a statement, they said: ‘The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice.

‘We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part.

‘We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.’

In response, Amanda said: ‘As the BBC has indicated today in its statement, my decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s conduct towards me was not an easy thing to do.

‘In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I’ve been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being ‘mad and unstable.’

A source close to Giovanni said: ‘Gio is pleased that this has been thrown out after what has been a torrid nine months or so for him.

‘From the outset, Giovanni has rejected any claims of threatening or abusive behaviour. 

‘While he appreciates that the BBC has likely decided to uphold some allegations to avoid the accusations of a ‘whitewash’ – they’ve upheld the weakest allegations put to him.’

Giovanni quit Strictly amid the abuse probe and went on to join the Italian version, Ballando Con Le Stelle, which he ultimately won with new girlfriend Bianca Guaccero. 

Lily Allen and James Corden 

In July, Lily Allen savagely claimed James Corden was a ‘beg friend’ after he accused her of leading him on when she ‘definitely wasn’t’.

The Smile singer was speaking on her podcast, Miss Me? when she reflected on meeting the Gavin and Stacey actor on her chat show in 2008, where he was ‘very flirtatious’ with her.

A ‘beg friend’ is described as a person who ‘begs’ for your attention in the hope of forming a friendship. 

She said they hung out for a ‘hazy’ short period of time afterwards, but James misread the signs and wrote in his book that she led him on.

Lily declared: ‘Yeah, James Corden was a bit of a beg friend for me.

‘James Corden came on my chat show and was like very flirtatious with me and we sort of made friends and I introduced him to a group of my friends.

‘And I don’t really remember it because that whole period of time was a bit hazy.

‘I believe that he wrote about it in his book that, you know, that I was like leading him on or something – which I definitely wasn’t. I think in his mind, maybe it went on a bit longer.

‘But yeah, I’d say if I ever had a famous beggy friend, it was James Corden back in the day.’

Lily concluded: ‘He’s not begging me anymore. I’m not begging him either. I can’t do anything for him now, he’s good.’

Speaking to DailyMail.com after the remarks, an insider revealed that James believed Lily was ‘a bit of a t**t to have said anything at all.’

‘James gets a bunch of heat on how he treats people over and over again and is a very polarizing person,’ the source said. ‘He is a bit like Ellen DeGeneres nowadays, you either like him or you don’t, nothing in between.

‘So, when Lily recently talked s**t about him, to James it was just another day in his life, just another hater.’

They continued: ‘He thought for Lily to bring up their past was tacky and that she was a bit of a t**t to have said anything at all.

r’He believes he has never been desperate and deserves better and is pretty much over people talking about him in a negative way. But the only way that will change is when he starts to change.’

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s wife Lilly Jay

In 2023, fans were left shocked when Ariana Grande debuted her new romance with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.

The actor, 32, and singer, 31, met on the British set of the film adaptation of the celebrated musical in 2022, when both were married – Ariana to realtor Dalton Gomez and Ethan to clinical psychologist Dr. Lilly Jay. 

While the pair kept their romance low-key, the scandal reared its head again this December when Lilly broke her silence after the pair used the Wicked press tour to go public with their relationship.

Lilly opened up about her grief at having to witness her ex-husband promote Wicked around the world with the woman he left her for, calling it a very painful reminder of the ‘public downfall of my marriage’.

In an essay for The Cut, Lilly, who shares a two-year-old son with Ethan, reflected on navigating life as a single mother and the end of their six-year marriage.

She admitted there are ‘days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker’. Lilly also said that as she rocks their son to sleep for ‘countless hours’ she is also trying to ‘accept the sudden public downfall of my marriage.’

‘No-one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash’, she said.

And in another slight on her ex and his new lover: ‘I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.’

When Ethan joined the production, which began filming in December 2022, he was married Lilly, who was his high school sweetheart, and the pair were enjoying their first months as parents to their newborn son.

She wrote: ‘Days with my son are sunny. Motherhood, I have learned, fills your time but not your mind.

‘In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.

‘This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.’

In the summer of 2023, news broke that Ariana had split from her husband Dalton and just days later it emerged that she was dating Ethan – who hadn’t yet publicly announced his separation from his wife.

The new romance sparked uproar among her followers. This was exacerbated when Lilly slammed the Thank You, Next singer in a series of disparaging interviews in which she claimed Ariana is ‘not a girl’s girl’ and accused her of seeing her family as nothing more than ‘collateral damage.’

Insiders claimed the couple were instructed to ‘disappear for six months’ in the hope that the backlash would die down before the long-awaited musical hit cinemas on November 22, however the couple have not been able to resist piling on the PDA during the Wicked Press Tour.

Eamonn Holmes and Phillip Schofield 

Eamonn Holmes and Phillip Schofield have been locked in an ongoing feud since Phil’s departure from ITV last year over an affair with a younger male colleague.

Yet this year it took another turn when Phillip made his TV comeback in October with Channel 5 series Cast Away and slammed an ITV colleague who ‘threw him under the bus.’

A source claimed that he was referring to Eamonn and in turn a source close to the GB News host told MailOnline: ‘Phillip is going around trying to get people to feel sorry for him when the reality is he’s brought everything that’s happened upon himself.

‘He just needs to own it and stop trying to hit out at everyone else. Eamonn has no relationship with Phillip these days. They’re not friends. But his conscience is clear over everything that has happened in the past between them.’

Another source went onto claim that Phil also found it amusing that Eamonn’s recent marital woes hit the headlines, after he had slammed Phillip multiple times on his GB News Show.

They added that Eamonn attempted a phone-in for viewers on GB News viewers, asking them to ‘call in if they’d had an affair with Phillip,’ and ‘not one person got in touch.’

A source close to Eamonn went on to reveal that his dislike for Phillip became so severe that he has no regrets about his outbursts sparking issues at the end of his marriage to wife Ruth Langsford.

Ruth is still a regular star on fellow ITV favourite Loose Women, and it was said she felt awkward that her spouse was speaking out about the channel and how he felt betrayed by them.

She and Eamonn announced their split in May after 14 years of marriage.

A source told MailOnline: ‘Eamonn’s dislike for Phillip existed for a long time, but it became very public at the end of his marriage to Ruth. And as his hatred for him and ITV grew, the cracks in their relationship grew deeper.

‘Ruth became a bit dismayed at Eamonn for making repeated digs at ITV after they were axed from This Morning.

‘Ruth wasn’t over the moon about it . But given she was still a cemented member of the Loose Women family, it made things somewhat awkward for her to have Eamonn criticising ITV.

‘But Eamonn loathes Phillip and has no regrets about what he said and certainly doesn’t think he threw him under the bus.

‘He doesn’t regret any of his behaviour; he believes he’s addicted to fame, and he can’t believe he’s attempted to relaunch himself with his documentary this week.

‘Eamonn is trying to move on with his life, and has no plans to ever make it up with Philip.’

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively made headlines across the globe when she alleged in legal paperwork that her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni sexually harassed her throughout the making of the movie, and then went on to engineer a smear campaign against her.

Since the filing, the fallout for Baldoni has seen the actor – who also directed the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book – dropped by WME talent agency, parted ways with his podcast partner and seen his ‘The Voices of Solidarity Award’ rescinded by the Vital Voices organization.

Insiders have revealed to DailyMail.com that the actor may need to prepare for further legal action from Lively as she seeks ‘justice’ over the alleged ‘multi-tiered’ plan to ‘destroy’ her reputation.

A source close to Lively exclusively explained that there are more lawsuits to come, stating that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

It Ends With Us tells the story of Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), a woman confronting the trauma of domestic abuse inflicted by her husband, Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).

The book was inspired by author Colleen Hoover’s experience watching her mother endure domestic violence.

The film was mired in controversy long before the lawsuit after fans noticed tensions between Lively and Baldoni when they were promoting the movie before its release.

When discussing the filming process in her lawsuit, Lively alleged that Baldoni showed her explicit videos and photos of other women, openly discussed his struggles with pornography, and made inappropriate remarks about her appearance.

The lawsuit alleges Baldoni made sexual inquiries, including asking Lively if she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, experienced simultaneous climaxes — a question she found intrusive and refused to answer.

In papers obtained by The New York Times, Lively also accused the former Jane The Virgin star of entering her trailer while she was nude, and letting his ‘friends’ watch her film sex scenes, along with other activities that created a ‘hostile work environment.’

Her co-star Jenny Slate – who played the sister of Baldoni’s character – said in a statement to Today.com: ‘As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation.

‘Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.’

She added: ‘What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.’

Baldoni has denied all of the accusations. 

Cardi B and Offset

It’s been a tumultuous few months for Cardi B and her estranged husband Offset.

In August, Cardi B filed for divorce after seven years of marriage and also sought ‘primary custody’ of their children. 

They’ve grown apart. That’s what drove her to this decision more than anything else,’ an insider told Page Six. ‘This is something she wants to do.’

The news of their divorce came just one day after Offset denied he was unfaithful.

The rapper denied that he was out ‘publicly cheating’ after he was seen sitting next to a woman called PrettyRedz at a casino.

In September, the rapper accused Cardi of cheating on him ‘with a baby inside’ via the comments of her Instagram Live, which she appeared to confirm.

‘Nothing surprises me anymore. You’ve done it all, so I don’t care,’ she said.

‘Thank you for my kids, though. All three of them — I don’t regret none of them, but I regret you. I don’t regret my kids. You a good daddy. You aight. I don’t regret none of them…

‘But f*** you. I regret you. I’m too good for you. I’ve always been too good for you, n****. I don’t want you dead because…my kids love you down. So I would never do that. And I really follow street codes.’ 

Offset and Cardi (born Belcalis Almánzar) previously separated from December 5, 2018 to January 31, 2019 amid cheating allegations.

However things seem to be OK between the pair at the moment after Cardi was recently spotted twerking at Offset’s birthday party.

We’ve been peaceful for over a week, so we like the energy,’ she said on X Spaces.

‘We ain’t beefin’. We ain’t really speaking,’ she shared. ‘So I think we’re getting to a point that is — we’re really healthy co-parenting.’ 

MAFS UK Feuds 

This year’s two-part reunion episode of Married At First Sight UK sparked over 500 Ofcom complaints after leaving viewers disgusted by ‘bullying’ and rows. 

The last dinner party became very heated and saw Polly throw red wine at her husband Adam and Hannah return. 

The reunion episodes saw old feelings and feuds re-ignited and the last four couples, Adam and Polly, Sacha and Ross, Amy and Luke and Nathan and Lacey make their final decisions. 

But dramatically, only two couples decided to move things beyond the experiment  while Amy brutally called her and Luke’s marriage ‘done, dead, deceased’ and Polly branded Adam a ‘liar’ in an explosive row.

And in the reunion episode, both tears and Prosecco were flowing freely as Adam restarted his feud with Polly.

At the dinner table, the topic of cryptic social media posts was raised and led to an explosive row between the pair.

The expletive-laden exchange led to Polly throwing a glass of red wine over Adam, drenching his face and blue suit before she stormed off. 

Adam shouted at her: ‘You’ve been putting Instagram posts about me, social media posts about me, digging me out in the group chats, my social media in the girls group chat. I haven’t b****ed about you.

Polly responded: ‘Are you f***ing joking, back off. Every time I’ve spoken to you, you treat me like a piece of s**t. You’d only listen if it was to your voice on record.’

Adam continued to shout at his former spouse: ‘Why are you b****ing about me, why are you b****ing about someone who doesn’t want you?’ 

He then revealed intimate details of his and Polly’s sex life to the group, telling the others that Polly begged him for sex. 

Following the revelation, Polly screamed at her ex husband before throwing the contents of her glass over him and storming off, re-entering the room to shout: ‘You’re a f***ing no good c***.’

While Polly and Adam’s outburst was shocking to the other couples, it didn’t cause as much of a scene as Hannah’s entrance with yet another groom. 

The controversial bride had a difficult time throughout the show after she was rejected by her match Stephen. 

She then went on to flirt with Orson before the two shared a kiss during a relaxing spa trip away with the group.

And during Thursday’s episode it was revealed that following their exit from the experiment, the two had gone on a date but Orson said there wasn’t anything there, and she didn’t ‘excite’ him.

But despite her flirtation with him, Hannah rocked up to the reunion with Ryan who had previously been married to Sionainn.

The pair refused to discuss whether they were together and told the other couples that they were just friends. 

Hannah said: ‘I’ve made a really strong connection. We want to support each other and if people have an issue with that then that’s their problem. 

‘This is the first time walking into this experiment with someone supportive.’

And the rest of the brides were left open-mouthed by the entrance with Holly commenting: ‘It’s giving carvery – what meats do you want? I’ll have all of them’.