32 Truly Immortal Celebrity Comebacks

You know when you're in the shower and you think of the perfect comeback...days, if not years after you've gotten into a scuffle with someone? It's incredibly frustrating, and makes you wish you'd found a better way to respond in the moment. Luckily for us, celebrities are often good at getting their responses to criticism and hate out quickly and swiftly. Here, we've gathered 32 of our favorite times celebrities have handed out incredible comebacks on social media or to each other. Just call it research for next time.

Rihanna

After comments criticizing her weight gain, Rihanna clapped back by posting two photos of Gucci Mane to her Instagram, in reference to his fluctuating body size, captioning it: 'If you can’t handle me at my 2007 Gucci Mane / you don’t deserve me at my 2017 Gucci Mane," a reference to the (commonly misattributed) Marilyn Monroe quote, "If you can't handle me at my worst, then you [...] don't deserve me at my best."

Simone Biles

After winning the USA Gymnastics team gold medal during the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles posted a photo to Instagram captioned “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions." This is a reference to loaded comments MyKayla Skinner, a former teammate, made during the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials about the U.S. Gymnastics team. Skinner, who won a silver medal in vault in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics, blocked Biles on social media after the post, according to both Biles and fellow teammate and Olympian Jordan Chiles.

Beyoncé

Longtime Beyoncé fans know one thing: She moves best in silence. Even her best and most public clapback was delivered without a word. In 2014, after rumors of a potential breakup or speculation of a new baby, Beyoncé posted a photo of her and husband Jay-Z enjoying a glass of champagne in celebration of the end of their "On The Run" tour. That's one way to set the record straight.

Jennifer Lawrence

After photos of Lawrence dancing with friends during a night out were released to criticism and allegations she was taking her clothes off, the Oscar-winner clapped back on her Facebook, posting: "Look, nobody wants to be reminded that they tried to dance on a stripper pole by the internet. It was one of my best friend's birthdays and I dropped my paranoia guard for one second to have fun. I'm not going to apologize, I had a BLAST that night." She also wanted to clarify and let people know exactly how wrong they were: "Ps that’s not a bra it’s an Alexander Wang top and I’m not gonna lie, I think my dancings pretty good. Even with no core strength."

James Blunt

James Blunt wrote a song called "You're Beautiful", and he may have created one of the most beautifully quick clapbacks of all time. After a Twitter (now X) user replied to him saying, "I broke up with my girlfriend because she likes your music. She’s obviously deaf," Blunt responded, "If she was your girlfriend, she was probably blind as well."

Sophie Turner

Sophie Turner was fed up with influencers who promoted detox and tummy teas. In a video, Turner put on an exaggerated filter and an American accent to hilariously mimic similar ads. "Hey you guys, just kind of going for my influencer look today," she started, "Today I just wanted to promote this new powdered stuff that you put in your tea." She continues to explain in a mocking manner about how the teas make you sick and how it doesn't matter that they are "totally, really, really bad for me to be promoting to young women and young people everywhere, because she was getting paid. Turner’s clapback wasn’t just funny—it was a statement against dangerous fads.

Gigi Hadid

Gigi Hadid's mother may be a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but Hadid had some training in sass in her back pocket, too. Back when Hadid was still with Zayn Malik, she responded to Jake Paul's claims Zayn Malik was rude and tweeted: "He’s unbothered by irrelevant YouTube clowns." Loyalty: One thing Gigi Hadid knows very, very well.

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah has never feared stepping his toes into a bit of Twitter mess. When a commenter accused him of being "another biased, progressive Hollywood elitist," Noah came to correct the record, reminding this person that he is not, in fact, American. He wrote, "I'm from Soweto not Hollywood," receiving an influx of love from South Africans for his love of his hometown.

Penn Badgley

If you ask Penn Badgley about his character on You, Joe Goldberg, he never hesitates to hold back on sharing his distaste for the character. When people would tweet about wanting Joe to kidnap them to Badgley, he responded with "no thx." The best response by far was in response to a tweet referencing both You and Badgley's role on Gossip Girl: "If @PennBadgley keeps playing stalker dudes obsessed with reading and writing, i have no choice but to believe he is in real life. shady mf smh." Badgley's response? "Yeah I really should consult with my agent about this huh."

Mindy Kaling

When Mindy Kaling was announced as the executive producer and voice of the adult animated series Velma, people on social media absolutely had a normal reaction. (Meaning: They freaked out because...it's different from the Velma from Scooby-Doo they knew.) One commenter responded to the announcement with a GIF of Michael Scott from The Office yelling "NO!" over and over again. But Kaling took it in stride and reminded them of how she got to be Velma in the first place: "I wrote the episode of The Office this gif is from," she responded.

Cardi B

Honestly, you could do an entire article just on Cardi B's best clapbacks on social media. The rapper didn't take too kindly to accusations of being pregnant, after being asked if "there's a Kylie Jenner secret we need to know about" in a comment. "No, b- I'm just getting fat. Let me fat in peace," Cardi snapped back, reminding us that information isn't any of our business until she makes it our business.

Kylie Jenner

In 2019, for some reason, an egg beat Kylie Jenner's record for the then-most liked Instagram post. Yes, a stock photo of a brown egg amassed over 20 million likes, 2 million more than Jenner's post announcing the birth of her daughter Stormi the year prior. But Jenner didn't let this crack her (pun intended): She took to social media to share a meme reading "Kylie when she sees the world record egg account," with a video of Kylie cracking an egg. But the best part was the caption: "Take that little egg."

Lady Gaga

Public artist beefs have always been commonplace in Hollywood, but Lady Gaga's response to Maroon 5's Adam Levine solidified Gaga's place as someone not to mess with in Hollywood. In 2013, Levine tweeted "Ugh..recycling old art for a younger generation doesn't make you an artist. It makes you an art teacher," followed by, "I unabashedly love writing and performing pop music for both myself AND everyone around me. That's it. It doesn't need any extra sauce." Gaga, having none of this and a fierce defender of her art form, replied: "uh oh guys the art police is here." She really ARTPOPped with that one.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Ramakrishnan revealed in an interview Rapunzel would be a dream role for her. Not that she was cast in the role, or that she even was in discussions—just that she had a dream role—and somehow this sparked controversy within Disney fandoms, who took to Twitter to attack the actress. Sharing the song “I’ve Got a Dream” from Tangled, Ramakrishnan tweeted, "Anyways… the ‘mega fans’ who are pressed because I said I’ve got a dream role clearly didn’t listen to the soundtrack enough." She later added, "Not feeling bad about saying my dream and wishing for a shot to show what I got, Til then, I’m still just living my life trying to learn how to crochet."

Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are known for their social media clapbacks—not in the comments, but rather, shading each other as public display of affection for all of us to witness. One year, Reynolds cropped Lively out of an Instagram photo on her birthday. Lively's response/revenge? For Reynolds' birthday, she posted a picture captioned “Happy birthday, baby." Reynolds had been in the photo at one point, but Lively. shared an image of Reynolds and the Other Ryan, Ryan Gosling—with Reynolds cropped out.

Lizzo

After months of speculation and accusations about whether or not Lizzo's weight loss was due to using Ozempic, Lizzo had enough. There was even a South Park episode referring to a new fictional weight-loss drug called "Lizzo," a cheaper version of Ozempic. To shut the trolls down, the Grammy-winner dressed up as a bottle of "Lizzo", a confidence drug, for Halloween.

Kelsea Ballerini

While hosting (and performing!) at the 2024 CMT awards, Kelsea Ballerini rocked a gold bodysuit over tights in a very Xanadu-vibe look for a performance of "Love Me Like You Mean It." The backlash to her pants-free performance was swift, and Ballerini took to TikTok to respond in a video. While getting her makeup done, Ballerini calls out a couple of comments, such as "You forgot your pants during your performance," with a "Shut up. No I didn’t." She ended the video with a perfect response: "It looked hot. Period. Bye."

Keke Palmer

Keke "Sorry to this man" Palmer is known for her hilarious clapbacks and quick responses. But it's not often a celebrity claps back to their romantic partner's shameful public behavior. After a video of an appearance in a risqué outfit at an Usher concert went viral, Palmer's then-boyfriend, Darius Daulton, posted criticizing the actress for her outfit choices and behavior. While he came under fire massively publicly, Palmer's first response was to post images of herself in the sheer outfit to Instagram; and then it was to make merch saying "I'M A MOTHA" in response to his criticisms of her outfit on the basis of her motherhood; and finally, by starring in Usher's music video for 'Boyfriend' a few months later.

Frankie Muniz

One thing everyone should know: A child star is never to be messed with. And Frankie Muniz proved that. After a Twitter user responed to him saying, “ur acting is just, awful,” Muniz replied, “Yeah, but being retired with $40,000,000.00 at 19 has not been awful. Good luck moving out of your moms house before you’re 35.” That's $40 million dollars—wasn't it Beyoncé who said "the best revenge is your paper"? Clearly, Muniz had the time that day to remind people of that.

Khloé Kardashian

Khloé Kardashian may as well call herself the CEO of clapbacks. Years of criticism and rude comments have given her a shiny backbone and a "don't start none, won't be none" attitude. An Instagram user commented on photos of Kardashian with her daughter True on.a beach vacation, "U do know that your baby isn't an accessory right?" Kardashian replied in full mama bear mode: "Would you like a parent NOT to create memories and traditions with their child? Would you like someone else to watch my child and me to do these things on my own?" Continuing, she added: "I am her mother and we will celebrate life together everyday. True and I are creating magical memories TOGETHER FOREVER."

Melanie Lynskey

One thing Melanie Lynskey won't tolerate: Body shaming. After former America's Next Top Model winner Adrianne Curry criticized Lynskey's casting in The Last of Us by tweeting a glamorous photo of Lynskey and adding “Her body says life of luxury … not post apocolyptic [sic] warlord," the Yellowjackets star had a lot to say. Sharing a screenshot of both the tweet and the photo, she pointed out that the photo wasn't even in the correct context. “Firstly- this is a photo from my cover shoot for InStyle magazine, not a still from HBO’s The Last of Us,” adding, And I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA. I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am. I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for.” It's also important to note: The character Lynskey was playing on the adaptation of the video game was a new character created for the series, giving Curry's criticism of her body even less relevance.

Dakota Johnson

This was the clapback that broke the camel's back, metaphorically. During an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show in 2019, Johnson lit the match that would eventually turn whispers into loud screams, a full exposé on Degeneres' off-screen persona, and create a generation-defining meme. In the interview, Degeneres laments (rather passive-aggressively) about not getting an invite to Johnson's birthday party... again, according to Johnson, who pointed out that Degeneres had done the same thing years prior on the same show. But this time, Johnson insisted that yes, Degeneres had been invited, saying the words that would come to haunt both of them forever: "Actually, no—that's not the truth, Ellen," while Degeneres looks off-camera, seemingly to find out who she's about to fire. Degeneres's passive-aggressiveness is only amplified more when Johnson adds, "I didn't even know you liked me." The clip went viral, especially after observers pointed out that Degeneres had been seen with former president George W. Bush at a football game the day of the party. Within less than three years, a viral Twitter thread about Degeneres would lead to a BuzzFeed exposé, and the eventual cancellation of her eponymous show.

Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade and his wife, Gabrielle Union, have always been open and supportive of Wade's transgender daughter, Zaya. After celebrity critics vocalized their feelings on the matter, Wade shut them down easily in a podcast appearance. "When it comes to my child [Zaya] and everyone says they’re willing to do this, I’m willing to die for mine," Wade said. "So if you wanna say something against mine, if you wanna hurt mine, come and talk to me first. Because my child has the right and ability to be whoever they wanna be in this life and I’m gon' make sure of it."

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande's voice, regardless of how you feel about it, has always been a matter of public discussion. During her press tour for Wicked, her voice sounded softer, more high-pitched, and people wondered if Grande had committed a little too hard to the role of Glinda. “When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed,” Grande pointed out in an inteview. “There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.” Further on, in a TikTok comment, she pointed out that it's a part of the job: “I intentionally change my vocal placement (high/low) often depending on how much singing i'm doing,” she commented. “I've always done this BYE.”

LeBron James

LeBron James has never shied away from responding to criticism—in fact, that's been a massive part of his NBA career. One of his snarkiest responses came in response to a Ohio bar who called for his expulsion from the NBA. The bar's owner refused to play NBA games because of James' tweets in response to the officer-involved death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus. "If anyone wants to watch an NBA game, don’t come to Linnie’s Pub. We will not air them until LeBron James has been expelled from the NBA." James seemed unbothered by that and retweeted a news story about it, commenting: "Aww Damn! I was headed there to watch out [sic] game tonight and have a drink! Welp."

Dua Lipa

The ultimate clapback: Winning an award. After going viral on social media for muted, robotic dancing, compared to looking like she is in a "pencil sharpener," Dua Lipa and her dancing abilities became synonymous with the phrase "go on girl, give us nothing!" But Lipa was never one to back down. Seven years later, she would go on to take the prize for Best Choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards for her song 'Houdini'.

Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen has always been known for being quick-witted and easily shutting down critics on social media. We'd even say that quick wit is why she was catapulted into fame. Of the many, many times Teigen has responded to social media criticism, the best ones are when she defends her family to the bone. After posting a video of daughter Luna, a rude commenter wrote, "finally someone brushed her hair." Teigen was fast to lower the bridge on the troll, writing: "All by herself, maybe she can come do your makeup."

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian has always been known for her risqué and daring social media posts, and has no shame in responding to criticism of her decision. In 2016, actress Chloë Grace Moretz criticized Kardashian for posting a nude selfie. In response, Kardashian tweeted "let's all welcome @ChloeGMoretz to twitter, since no one knows who she is," adding. "your nylon cover is cute boo."

Gordon Ramsay

In truly one of the most bizarre TikTok exchanges ever witnessed, Gordon Ramsay's response to criticism of how he made a steak sandwich went unbelievably viral. The video was quick—Ramsay instructing on how to cook and assemble what looks like a delicious steak sandwich. One commenter, however, couldn't help but stick their nose in to criticize a Michelin-star chef. "Too much butter. Wrong pan used. Didn't cook the steak well enough. Poor choice of toppings. You should also never smack a steak like that," they wrote. Ramsay came up in kitchens and is known for being brutally honest and in-your-face, so we're not sure what this commenter was thinking. Ramsay's response was as simple and perfect as the sandwich itself: A sarcastic "Okay, Gordon Ramsay."

Nicki Minaj

"Miley, what’s good?” were the words heard around the globe as the long-simmering feud between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus finally came to a head at the 2015 VMA Awards. Minaj has always been vocal and outspoken on every social media platform and her Queen Radio show, but this is one of the most prominent moments. Weeks of petty responses about the success of their respective songs 'Anaconda' and 'Wrecking Ball', with Cyrus saying in an interview that “A lot of people wanted to try to make me the white Nicki Minaj" and editing herself to look like Minaj's single cover for 'Anaconda'—well, it's not surprising that Minaj wanted to take this private feud to the most public sphere possible. After 'Anaconda' was locked out at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards (which Cyrus was hosting), Minaj tweeted her frustration, especially when it came to the awards' racial and body representation. Cyrus called Minaj "not too kind" in an interview and implied jealousy that she wasn't nominated. Minaj won the award for Best Hip-Hop Video that year and took the opportunity to call out the evening's host right then and there, and asking why she had so much to say about her in the press. Whew.

Zendaya

Responding to Giuliana Rancic's inappropriate (and ill-fated) remark about her choice to wear a loc hairstyle to the Oscars on E!'s Fashion Police and saying that she looked like she smelled of “patchouli oil and weed," Zendaya penned an eloquent post on Instagram: "There is already a harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair […] To me locs are a symbol of strength and beauty, almost like a lion’s mane. I suggest some people should listen to India.Arie’s ‘I Am Not My Hair’ and contemplate a little before opening your mouth to judge.” Fashion Police never recovered—Rancic's co-panelist, Kelly Osbourne, quit over her comments, and an attempted revamp with new panelists never came to fruition; while Zendaya is, well, Zendaya, and Mattel even turned her Oscars look into a Zendaya Barbie.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's public feud with Scooter Braun easily won her the court of public opinion, and eventually, reshaped her entire career. After fighting Braun for years for the rights to her masters (her original music, which Braun had purchased for... whatever reason, it's very weird?), Swift took to Tumblr to respond to Braun's years-long attempts at controlling her and her image. "Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world, All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years," pointing out that the purchasing rights to her masters was never even offered to her. This would lead, thankfully, to Swift re-recording all of her own music, labeling it "(Taylor's Version)".