Madison Beer's Controversies Have Prompted Apologies Through the Years

In 2026, it's almost as easy to become famous for being controversial as it is to become famous for something you've accomplished. And that's been the case for a while; celebrities have to walk the line between stirring interest in their careers without tipping too far into the realm where they risk being canceled.

For some, it's harder than others to maintain that balance.

Take Madison Beer, for instance. As an American singer and songwriter, she could have gone her whole career just making music and avoiding the headlines. But Madison just can't seem to stay away from controversies. Some of which have been pretty major. Here's a look back at some of her biggest controversies, as well as the 2026 allegation that prompted Madison to fight back.

Madison's career first rocketed to headlines in 2012, when one of her covers was shared by none other than Justin Bieber. In 2013, she released her first original single, and she was off to the races.

But as her career has risen, so has her tendency to wade into problematic issues and end up on the wrong side of the internet's approval.

In 2020, as the fever of fury was at its height over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, Madison was obsessing over her own vanity issues, infuriating fans.

She shared that she was upset about people thinking she had received plastic surgery, famously melting down on social media. Fans criticized her for her self-obsession during such consequential world events. The outcry was so fierce, she eventually felt compelled to apologize.

According to eOnline, she shared on social media, "In no world was what I was upset about in the same STRATOSPHERE as ANYTHING going on, but as someone who's struggled with my relationship with food for years, I saw a video and acted in a moment of hurt and went live. I was in no way trying to negate or compare to what is going on."

She added that she supported the Black Lives Matter movement, adding that it's "all I want to talk about" at this point in time. "I will not f--king stop until justice is served for all the lives we've so unjustifiably and unfairly lost," she concluded.

But that wasn't the only controversy of the year for Madison. Also in 2020, she was criticized for seeming to romanticize the abusive relationship at the heart of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, which features a middle-aged man obsessing sexually over a 12-year-old child.

She tried to clarify by explaining, "I also have said I romanticize Hannibal Lecter, who plays a killer in a film. He's a character in a film, and that's not real. I don't romanticize KILLERS in real life. It's a fake made-up thing" (excerpts via Newsweek).

Eventually, the pressure mounted, and she apologized, writing, "I love u guys and I'm sorry. I misspoke and would never condone inappropriate relationships of any kind. I'm sincerely sorry for it seeming like I do. let me make it clear — I do not. Have a good night."

But it would seem that these two brushes with being canceled didn't teach Madison to be careful, because she waded into it again in 2026.

Madison, who is Jewish, was accused of being a Zionist after users claimed she liked and unliked an Instagram post that said "the occupation of Palestine is a lie" (via Newsweek).

She didn't respond directly to the allegations, but went on X (formerly Twitter) in a since-deleted post to explain, "If you think I'd ever want an innocent person to be killed, you do not know m,e and that is simply outrageous. You can be Jewish and also want peace for all people, including Palestinian people. which is OF COURSE what I want. No innocent person deserves to die."

While that seems to have settled people down for a little while, it's a good reminder for Madison that the things you say and do online can be under the microscope at all times.