Stars Who Have Been Accused Of Witchcraft

When a person is famous enough, it's inevitable that the world isn't going to praise them around the clock unanimously. There will always be people who criticize their work, personality, private life, and even looks — and at the end of the day, it's up for debate whether all the fame and fortune in the world can make up for that loss of privacy. And that's just the regular stuff. Things can get even stranger when a celebrity starts getting accused of something truly outlandish — so absurd, in fact, that it can be very hard to debunk the rumors without actually starting to sound a little suspicious. What kind of accusations would these be, you ask? Perhaps something like ... witchcraft.

Yes, for real. As absurd as it may seem, there have been situations where a celebrity has been accused of dabbling in actual witchcraft. This isn't a call-back to the Middle Ages, either — such accusations can and very much do happen in modern times, as well. In fact, all sorts of contemporary celebrities have had to deal with situations like this. Let's take a look at some of the strangest scenarios where well-known stars have faced accusations and rumors of witchcraft. 

The tragic story of Fleetwood Mac features all sorts of interpersonal issues and assorted hurdles, but Stevie Nicks may have had a stranger path than most — one that has featured several accusations of witchcraft. The artist's peculiar stage presence and songs like 1976's "Rhiannon" contributed to the situation, as did Nicks' "Spider Woman" persona. "In Fleetwood Mac I have a persona, I call myself the Spider Woman," she described the character in an interview (via MTV). "I try to imagine myself putting on the spider mask. I become very subdued and quieter; I don't move so fast; I'm in a state of suspended animation."

Because of all this, Nicks' career has been marked with speculation of whether she could be a real, honest-to-goodness witch. The singer started getting concerned after Fleetwood Mac released the 1977 smash hit album "Rumours," which catapulted them to new levels of fame. Unfortunately for Nicks, these heady heights also attracted not-so-level people contacting her about her witchier inclinations, which ended up creeping her out quite a bit and caused her to temporarily phase out certain elements of her public image.

"In the beginning of my career, the whole idea that some wacky, creepy people were writing, 'You're a witch, you're a witch!' was so arresting," she described the era to the Los Angeles Times in 2014. "And there I am like, "No, I'm not! I just wear black because it makes me look thinner you idiots."

In 1996, writer Bob Woodward's book "The Choice: How Bill Clinton Won" contained a story of first lady Hillary Clinton having conversations with notable deceased historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi and fellow first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Combined with Clinton's meetings with a "New Age" psychologist, Dr. Jean Houston, this caused stir and speculations that Clinton was dabbling in the occult. As the White House soon revealed, however, these conversations were a type of thought exercise, rather than some form of witchcraft, and were suggested to her by Dr. Houston, who was simply one of the many experts Clinton tended to talk with.      

Nonetheless, the witch reputation has followed Clinton since, seeing as the 2016 presidential election spurred Wicked Witch of the Left memes that painted her as a classic evil witch archetype. Still, if she's annoyed by such a reputation, she certainly doesn't show it — and she seems to be well aware of the historical tendency of detractors to call powerful women "witches." On Halloween 2023, she even poked fun at the whole witch thing by posting a picture of herself in a witch costume on Instagram. "Witches get stuff done. Happy Halloween!" the accompanying text read.  

Curiously enough, there are far better targets than Clinton for claims of witchcraft in the White House. From Jane Pierce and Mary Todd Lincoln to Nancy Reagan, several first ladies have been interested in occult matters. Some of them even held séances in the White House, particularly during the 19th century, when they were all the rage in Victorian polite society.

When singer Shakira and soccer player Gerard Pique broke up in 2022, it was soon clear that this wouldn't be just any old celebrity separation. Shakira started addressing the situation in her music, which prompted Pique to in turn hit back in his public appearances and interviews.  

With a world-famous artist singer in one corner and an athlete who entered into a new relationship soon after the breakup in another, the playing field for dissing wasn't exactly level, especially since Shakira turned out to be pretty good at the game. Case in point: Pique's new girlfriend and mother soon started calling Shakira a witch. As luck would have it, Shakira and her former mother-in-law happened to live near each other. As such, the singer responded by setting up a witch doll on her balcony, facing Pique's mother's house. What's more, she also blasted her popular Pique diss track "BZRP Music Sessions #53."  

In a weird twist of fate, this caused some to label Shakira as a witch for real. "Weeks ago, I got some information that Pique's mother was worried about an alleged ritual that was done to her with a black witch," journalist Marc Leirado Millán wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter (via The New York Post). "So I went to check if this information was true or not, and sure enough, there was a life-size black witch with a white beard," he alluded to the doll on Shakira's balcony.   

Sometimes, there is no telling what could jump-start allegations of witchcraft. In 2023, singer Lana Del Rey found this out despite the fact that she wasn't personally doing anything out of the ordinary. When a group of people in a sizable crowd happened to fall on the floor during a concert Del Ray gave in Mexico, social media influencer Traci Coston called the artist out for using demonic energy to cause the incident. She also accused Del Rey of witchcraft. Del Rey actually responded to the accusations directly — and hilariously bluntly. "B**** I know the Bible verse for verse better than you do," she replied to Coston's Instagram post about her (via Stereogum). "PS you're giving off super gremlin energy. Not in a good way." 

This was just the most recent witchcraft accusation directed toward Del Rey. In 2021, she was wrongly accused of filming viral videos of people burning a Bible. As it happens, though, she does have some occult history. She sees a clairvoyant regularly and in 2017, took part in a global witch ritual to strip Donald Trump of his presidency. 

Such matters may have contributed to Coston's allegation that the artist is a witch. However, it's worth noting that Del Rey was raised as a Catholic and has continued to maintain a steady relationship with the Christian religion into her adulthood, so her specific hypothetical brand of mysticism is probably not of the cackling demon summoner variety.

 Fairuza Balk is no stranger to witch-themed acting projects. From her starring turn as young Dorothy in 1985's "Return to Oz" to her role as the powerful and dangerous Nancy Downs in "The Craft," she's known for playing characters who either deal with witches or are witches themselves. 

The actor's role as Nancy was already a pretty witchy performance, but after filming "The Craft," Balk did something big to help out a Los Angeles occult shop that had helped her with her research ... and ended up accidentally doubling down on witchcraft in the process. "They were really lovely people," Balk told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. "[The woman who owned it] wanted to retire. She couldn't put the kind of money into it that it needed to keep it up and so it was going to be turned into a Chinese restaurant. I thought for the oldest occult shop in the country, that's a tragedy." 

Balk decided to save this occult equivalent of an old mom-and-pop shop by purchasing it and helping it back on its feet. Unfortunately for her, this had the somewhat predictable effect of people starting to think that the actor who could play a witch so well was one in her personal life, as well. In reality, Balk only started looking into witch stuff to prepare for her "The Craft" role, but she nevertheless had to deal with witchcraft rumors for over two decades.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).