While many of us do our best to get over our celebrity crushes, things tend to work a little differently when famous people find themselves getting turned down by other famous people. Believe it or not, celebrities face rejection too, and sometimes in rather surprising ways! The reasons behind these rejections are quite varied: some happened simply because the admirer was considered too young, others because someone was already in a relationship, and one particularly memorable case where the person being pursued had absolutely no idea who was standing at her door.
Read on to find out who rejected whom, and why.
Donald Trump by Emma Thompson
Based on accounts from the Locarno Film Festival on August 8, 2025, Emma Thompson recalled a funny story from 1998: on the very day her divorce came through, Donald Trump called her up and asked her out. She assumed it was someone pulling her leg and turned him down. Looking back on it, she joked that agreeing to go out with him might have altered the entire direction of American political history.
Selena Gomez by George Shelley
Union J vocalist George Shelley apparently had a thing for Gomez and was told he should give her a call whenever he found himself in London. He never took her up on it. “Since I am here, I am actually very offended that George did not call me from Union J,” Gomez later pointed out.
Nicole Kidman by Jimmy Fallon
The acclaimed actress has spoken about a period when the popular TV host had no idea she was romantically interested in him, completely missing the signals she was putting out.
Chris Rock by Rihanna
The stand-up comedian made an attempt to flirt with Rihanna, and the whole thing went nowhere fast. “She looked at me like I was one of her aunts. She did not even register me as an attractive being. I was in the uncle zone,” Rock admitted.
Rumer Willis by Ashton Kutcher
Willis used to have a poster of Kutcher hanging on her bedroom wall, right up until the moment he began dating her mother, Demi Moore, and essentially became her stepfather.
Leonardo DiCaprio by Cara Delevingne
The well-known Hollywood actor was reportedly shot down by the British supermodel at an after-party held during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Justin Bieber by Rihanna
Back in 2015, Bieber made a move to get Rihanna’s number but walked away empty-handed. “I asked her out, but it did not go so well. She was basically like, you are too young,” he later explained.
Niall Horan by Katy Perry
The former One Direction singer kept trying his luck with Perry over time, but she consistently felt the age difference between them was simply too much. “He is always trying to get my number, but I am like, I could babysit you,” Perry said.
Shawn Mendes by Billie Eilish
Mendes apparently managed to get Eilish’s number at some point, but his messages went completely unanswered. Back in 2019, he laughed it off by saying he was still waiting for her to text him back.
Drake by Nicki Minaj
Drake has been upfront about the fact that he developed feelings for Minaj almost immediately. “I have always really had a crush on her, and she has always just looked at me like her little brother,” he said.
Emma Watson by Tom Felton
Watson carried a crush on her Harry Potter castmate through ages 10 to 12, but Felton simply did not feel the same way about her. “He totally knew, and he would tell everyone, I see her in a younger, sisterly way. It just broke my heart,” Watson shared.
George Clooney by Eva Longoria
Clooney reportedly made an approach toward Longoria at a time when he was still in a relationship with Stacy Keibler, and that alone was enough reason for Longoria to say no.
Tyrese by Janelle Monae
Tyrese shared a post expressing genuine admiration for the singer, complete with glowing words about her character and beauty. Monae responded with appreciation, and things went no further than that.
Drake by Rihanna (Again)
At the 2016 MTV VMAs, Drake took the stage and openly declared how much he cared for Rihanna, saying he had felt that way since the age of 22. Rihanna looked noticeably uncomfortable through the whole thing. “Waiting through that speech was probably the most uncomfortable part. I do not like too many compliments. I do not like to be put on blast,” she said afterward.
Aaron Carter by Hilary Duff
The pair had a brief relationship before going their separate ways in 2003. By 2014, Carter was still openly saying he had feelings for her. Duff, on the other hand, had long since moved forward. “It was so many years ago. I literally have not seen him in… so, it is uncomfortable,” she said.
Harry Styles by Lindsay Lohan
Styles turned up at Lohan’s hotel room, but she turned him away for one simple reason: she had no clue who he was. “I did not know it was him. I said, you are very good-looking, can I help you?” she recalled. Then she went right back to bed.
Justin Bieber by Jennifer Lawrence
Asked whether he would date Lawrence, Bieber responded enthusiastically, calling her “bae for sure, 100 percent.” Lawrence gave a completely different answer in her own interview: “I am going to say a hard no.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt by Adam Levine
During a 2012 appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’s show, Hewitt made her interest in Levine pretty clear to the audience. Levine acknowledged her comments kindly but reportedly backed off when DeGeneres actually offered to set the two of them up.
Demi Lovato by Emily Hampshire
Lovato extended a date invitation to the Schitt’s Creek actress, and the two even talked about it openly on Lovato’s podcast. A romantic relationship never developed, but a genuine friendship did.
Jake Gyllenhaal by Minka Kelly
Kelly reportedly passed on an offer from Gyllenhaal to go out to dinner together.
John Mayer by Sandra Bullock
Bullock reportedly kept her distance from Mayer largely because of his well-established pattern of cycling through high-profile relationships with famous women.
James Franco by Kristen Stewart
After crossing paths with Stewart at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, Franco reportedly tried to get a date with her. She said no, and when he tried again, she said no a second time.
Madonna by D’Angelo
Madonna approached D’Angelo and told him she wanted to know what was going through his mind. Having just watched her push a woman out of her seat, he gave her a straightforward answer: “I am thinking you are rude.”
Aziz Ansari by Blake Lively
Ansari and Lively managed to swap numbers at some point, but she never got back to him.
Julianne Hough by Daniel Radcliffe
At just 11 years old, Hough was working as a background actress on a Harry Potter production and decided to write Radcliffe a Valentine’s Day card. She never heard anything back from him.
Lindsay Lohan by James Franco
Lohan’s name showed up on a list that was leaked and supposedly detailed Franco’s romantic history. Franco has flatly denied that anything ever happened between the two of them.
Bella Thorne by Cole Sprouse
Once both were grown adults, Thorne decided to send Sprouse a flirty message online, but accidentally sent it to a fan account rather than his actual profile. The mix-up became public knowledge, but nothing romantic came out of it.
Lizzo by Chris Evans
Lizzo went ahead and slid into Evans’ direct messages. He wrote back in a lighthearted way, poking fun at a past social media slip-up of his own, but the conversation did not lead anywhere beyond that.
Taylor Swift by Bradley Cooper
Swift reportedly reached out to Jennifer Lawrence and asked her to help set up a date with Cooper. He passed, with the age gap being the reason given.
