15 Celebs Who Are Only Hot Because Hollywood Says So

Brace yourselves. This isn’t going to be pretty. Indeed, this is the one where we challenge the notion of what is “hot” in Hollywood and, in short, outline why many Hollywood hotties and hunks aren’t as hot as we are told. Before you say it, yes, we agree: we probably don’t look half as good as these men and women do. There, we said it.
Ultimately, however, we are simply tired of being told who is hot (in all senses of the word, not just from a physical standpoint) and who is trendy. In other words, that also means that we are talking about why some celebrities are so popular (i.e. hot) in a way that just makes us think they’re so overrated. Don’t hate us for it – we are just having a little fun here. Take this article with a grain of salt. If anything, take it out on Hollywood.
With that, here are 15 celebrities we are tired of being told how hot they are. Feel free to agree or disagree with us.

15. Emma Stone

Don’t get us wrong: we think that Emma Stone is a cool girl and we enjoy her as much as the next person. We will watch just about any movie with her in it. But we think it is all the media hype around her that makes her so “hot.” In our opinion, we feel confident in saying she is a bit overrated. The media loves to label her as hot (a.k.a. cool), but we think that her hotness comes more from her image of being “quirky” or “interesting” and being associated with the Judd Apatow crowd. That said, Stone certainly has done some relatively good movies. But she also has movies like Easy A. If you were to take Stone and her “quirky” celebrity persona out of Hollywood that has been hyped by the media, she would just be any other actress. Not that we want her to ever leave Hollywood; indeed, we hope that she stays around for a while.

14. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is (somewhat) of a refreshing personality in Hollywood; she is basically the antithesis of the Hollywood ideal, tripping at award shows, denouncing acting because it’s not like she saves lives and refusing to skip dinner for the sake of looking like a ripped Katniss. Or, is it clever marketing? Lawrence is “uber” popular for being the likable girl who could easily be your best friend and she has created a brand around it. You could argue that she is fooling everyone; she still profits majorly from all of the Hollywood blockbusters and she makes statements like “I eat a lot of food” because she is of average, if-not thin, body type, where actual overweight celebrities would be unable to make the same comments without being called rather unfavourable names. You could even argue that her Oscar nominations and nominations and wins were largely due to her popularity (Winter’s Bone not included).

13. Kit Harington

Excuse us, but Kit Harington probably would not have been given the “sex symbol” label were it not for the majorly popular Game of Thrones and all that sword fighting, heroic stuff he does. If it weren’t for that, Harington wouldn’t be nearly as hot. That’s because in real life he is quite an ordinary looking man. We’ve seen him before in the form of Orlando Bloom and we don’t need any more lookalikes.
So, what does Harington make of his sex symbol status? Interestingly, he finds it “slightly demeaning” and “quite offensive.” He continued, saying, “I’m in a successful TV show in a kind of leading man way and it can sometimes feel like your art is being put to one side for your sex appeal. And I don’t like that. In this position you get asked a lot, ‘Do you like being a heartthrob? Do you like being a hunk?’ Well, my answer is, ‘That’s not what I got into it for.’”

12. Leonardo DiCaprio

The media is constantly telling us how hot Leonardo DiCaprio is supposed to be – he has even been hailed as one of the sex symbols of our time, a title that naturally emerged once he starred in films like Romeo and Juliet and Titanic, in the 90s. However, this fantasy was largely a media creation.
Next, we move on to his widely documented womanizing ways, which makes him even less hot. By this, we mean his tendency to move from blonde leggy model to blonde leggy model. In other words, it is his personal life, which we admit is none of our business, that is the reason why he finds himself on this list. Leo ‘Playa’ DiCaprio, everyone. Before you get defensive (we do give him credit for all of his humanitarian work), we know we aren’t the only ones who feel this way. In 2012, Jezebel aptly published an article titled “Leonardo DiCaprio Was Never Hot.” Enough said.

11. Taylor Swift

These days, Taylor Swift is hot in all aspects of the word. While we love her catchy music as much as the next person, it’s not like people will be listening to her old music in the decades to come. Swift’s songs, and arguably most pop songs in general, have a limited shelf life. Swift is also the perfect example of having largely formulaic music. So what explains her popularity and her massive worldwide success? Indeed, she is one of the best-selling artists ever and is a top earning woman in music. But, we believe it is her marketed image of being the relatable girl who can’t seem to win at love as opposed to actual talent that explains a lot of her success. Interestingly, we will give Swift accolades for becoming a major success without having to transform herself into a sex symbol, which is certainly rare. However, we think that it is largely clever marketing that has played a huge part in why she is so “hot” today. Hater’s gonna hate.

10. Kim Kardashian

Vogue recently described Kim Kardashian as a “pop culture phenomenon.” Indeed, the question of our time is what, exactly, explains the cultural obsession with Kim Kardashian? She is not only hot on social media, with one of the biggest social media followings, but physically, the media is always telling us that she is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and that we all need to look like her. We see articles like “How to Get That Kim K. Booty” on a daily basis. Now, we will agree that she always looks smokin’, but it is largely assumed that she has had a lot of work to make her look that way, even if she won’t acknowledge it herself. Pre-Kanye Kim was just an average looking girl. The Internet is also full of Kim Kardashian’s transformation over the years and they really do call into question the naturalness of her beauty, which is why she has earned a spot on this list.

9. Cameron Diaz

We will happily sit down with a bowl of popcorn, watch a chick-flick with Cameron Diaz and think that she looks hot (while wishing we had her body). Indeed, she is one of the sex symbols of our time and obviously has a ton of appeal. Many, however, have hailed her as a “butterface”, which, if you weren’t aware, is slang for a woman with a hot body, but her face… (butter face). They also claim that she doesn’t look as good as she did in The Mask or Something About Mary. When it comes to her face, well, she isn’t exactly Angelina Jolie. Of course, this is obviously subjective and many would disagree with the notion that Diaz is a butterface. It certainly hasn’t stopped her from becoming the second-highest grossing domestic box office actress in the United States. Forgive us for putting this woman’s hotness into question.

8. Gwyneth Paltrow

In 2013, People magazine named Gwyneth Paltrow the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World,” particularly because of her “timeless look.” But the title was wrought with controversy and many took to Twitter to express their disapproval (poor Paltrow). Obviously, Paltrow is certainly a good looking woman, but when it comes her beauty, we would have to agree with the notion that she is not necessarily the most beautiful. Indeed, she has dated some of Hollywood’s leading men, including Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck, meaning that she probably isn’t a troll. But, while she has all of the conventional trappings of a beautiful woman (blonde, blue eyes, tall and slim), when all of her features come together, she is quite plain Jane without any particularly striking features. She is also one of Hollywood’s most hated celebs given that she has revealed herself to be quite out of touch with the everyday person, which is another strike against her.

7. Jennifer Lopez

Hollywood is forever telling us that Jennifer Lopez is hot. She is on every “hottest” list you can think of, from “The Most Beautiful Woman” in 2011 (People) and more. Now, we aren’t here to judge a woman’s looks – and obviously Lopez is an attractive woman (and has set a lot of firsts for Latina women) – but how much of this is due to simple overexposure? She has sustained such a long career in the industry, transitioning seemingly effortlessly from pop star to movie star, but her movies and music are mediocre at best, if not flat out bad if we’re being honest. In general, Lopez is a bit overrated. She has also cultivated a diva-ish image, which is probably a turn off for a lot of people.

6. Chris Pratt

Let us first say that we loved Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation. But it wasn’t until Pratt lost a ton of weight and got ripped for films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World that he became super popular and earned the coveted title of “Hollywood Sex Symbol.” Indeed, even Pratt acknowledges that his new beefcake image was integral to his career success, saying, “Never in a calculated way, but in hindsight, yeah. It was a huge part of how my career has shifted is based on the way that I look, on the way that I’ve shaped my body to look.” Pratt is the very example of Hollywood telling us it’s okay to love him now that he has muscles and the chiseled jaw and the abs and we reject this premise. Pratt was just as loveable in his Parks and Rec days.

5. Channing Tatum

LOL is the first thing we have to say when it comes to Channing Tatum. As The Guardian eloquently put it, he went from ‘dull beefcake dude’ to ‘XXL movie star.’ If anything, Tatum makes us laugh more so than swoon, which is ironic given that one of his primary premises in movies is, arguably, to serve as eye candy (apologies if this is offensive). We simply don’t get the appeal. Even Tatum himself doesn’t agree with his position as Hollywood sex symbol, a title that has landed him many hunkier roles such as that of male stripper Mike in Magic Mike. To think that he has used his looks to his advantage, particularly to do more serious films such as Foxcatcher, is even more laughable considering that he is a mediocre actor at best. There are already too many Tatum knockoffs flooding the market (Zac Efron, for example), but perhaps this speaks more to problems with Hollywood more so than a Channing Tatum problem.

4. Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez, former Disney star and Justin Bieber’s girlfriend, is, for whatever reason, quite popular right now. She is now the most followed celebrity on Instagram with 96 million followers and recently made headlines for having the most “liked” picture (the picture is one of her drinking cola from a straw). On social media, Gomez is hot, hot, hot. But we can’t figure out where this following has come from. Some have speculated that it is her on and off again relationship with Justin Bieber that may have something to do with it. But it also seems like the media is the one pushing the idea that Gomez is popular and super hot right now. Ultimately, she has some catchy but autotuned pop singles, a number of mediocre acting credits and not a particularly interesting personality. Now, don’t get us wrong. Selena Gomez seems like a perfectly nice girl. We have nothing against her. We just don’t quite get the hype.

3. Johnny Depp

We are challenging Johnny Depp’s place as a Hollywood sex symbol. What is our evidence? His former wife, Amber Heard, has made some very serious allegations against Depp, including physical and verbal abuse (she has since dropped the charges, but that doesn’t mean that Depp isn’t guilty). Even before Heard dropped the charges, many people insisted he was innocent and that Heard was primarily driven by money. However, she has since donated her entire divorce settlement of 7 million to a children’s charity. Amid the possibility that Depp could be a possible domestic abuser, there is no room for him as a sex symbol any longer.
Next, we move on to his career. He is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, but Forbes named him the most overpaid actor in Hollywood due to his number of flops in recent years, including Mortdecai and The Lone Ranger. Goodbye, Johnny Depp.

2. Kate Upton

We hate to do it, but we are about to dissect a woman for solely her looks alone. That woman, unfortunately, is Kate Upton. Although we are ashamed of ourselves, Upton’s popularity is due to nothing other than her looks, which is why we feel it is okay to do so. Now, don’t get us wrong: she is certainly a good looking girl. But if her beauty is what made her explode in the first place, it is kind of unwarranted. There is nothing interesting about her look or anything particularly striking. In fact, she doesn’t look all that different from a pretty blonde girl you’d see walking down a major metropolitan street. She is, in our opinion, what you might call a plain Jane. You could even pay to look like Kate Upton if you wanted! That’s precisely why there is a long list of Upton lookalikes on the rise: she is nothing special. Sorry!

1. Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds has moved up the Hollywood ranks to one of the most buzzed about celebrities, mainly because he portrayed an antihero in the subpar Deadpool in 2016. Although the film was a huge blockbuster success and broke many records at the box office, the role really elevated him – in fact, some have even said that it might define his career – but the fact remains that Reynolds is a mediocre actor. We attribute his career success to the power of the media (and especially social media) as opposed to raw talent. You could easily replace Reynolds in this role with any other Hollywood “hunk.” Ultimately, Reynolds is kind of like the equivalent of 50 Shades of Grey: hugely popular but kind of terrible. All you need to do is take a look at all of the films he’s done recently for this to be very clear. Has he ever really been in a decent movie that hasn’t been an utter flop? Criminal? Fail. Self-Less? Another fail. Green Lantern? Terrible. Sources: Guardian, Independent, Wikipedia