For a lot of us, Thanksgiving is a super-nostalgic holiday that conjures up memories of gathering around the table when were kids and stuffing ourselves silly while surrounded by family. It reminds us of delicious smells wafting down the hall, hanging out with cousins we only see once or twice a year and watching a little football. But not everybody is head-over-heels in love with Thanksgiving — and there are actually a handful of celebrities who totally hate it.
To be fair, there are definitely some reasons Thanksgiving isn’t the best holiday. It’s got a pretty shady history, and the mass production of holiday turkeys isn’t exactly a place we want to visit. These are just a couple reasons that Hollywood’s elite have chosen not to get in on the festivities.
Here’s who would rather go to the movies or just pretend that Thanksgiving doesn’t exist at all.
Originally published November 2016. Updated November 2017.
Thanksgiving isn’t his holiday
Liam Hemsworth might not hate Thanksgiving, but it’s not his holiday since he was born in Australia.
“We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, but we have similar days,” he told E! News in 2014, “I’ve been [in the U.S.] six years, so I’ve had a lot of Thanksgivings.”
But maybe now that it seems like he and Miley Cyrus are in it for the long haul, the two can create their own Thanksgiving traditions for the future.
The history is ugly
Angelina Jolie reportedly isn’t a fan of the holiday because she is “grossed out” by the American holiday. It’s something she has shielded her six kids from.
“Jolie hates this holiday and wants no part in rewriting history like so many other Americans,” a source told PopEater in 2010. “To celebrate what the white settlers did to the native Indians, the domination of one culture over another, just isn’t her style. She definitely doesn’t want to teach her multi-cultural family how to celebrate a story of murder.”
Jolie often makes travel plans out of the country with the kids during the holiday so they aren’t exposed to the tradition.
She just wants to see a movie
Cher’s Twitter feed is legendary because she never holds back with her opinions. In 2014, she was asked by a fan why she hated Thanksgiving and Cher dove right in.
“4 me & my family, it’s a day, when every1 is free 4 dinner and a movie,” she tweeted. “Not 2 celebrate the beginning of a GREAT crime.”
She didn’t stop there. Cher continued on with the reasons why celebrating Thanksgiving was evil.
“Stealing Land, from a ppl, Who believed, Owning Land Was Like Owning SKY!,” she wrote. “We gave them Blankets laced w/ Smallpox.”
Like we said, Cher’s known for her bold opinions.
No Kardashian Thanksgiving
Rob Kardashian hasn’t had the easiest time the last few years with his weight gain. He went into full hermit mode, and Kardashian was MIA in a 2015 family portrait taken on Thanksgiving.
Fans went into a panic that he wasn’t invited or that something had happened to him. Kris Jenner cleared up the incident on Maria Menounos’ podcast.
“He lives with Khloé,” Jenner said. “So he was around, and then went over to a buddy’s house. He’s doing all right. You know, he’s doing his best. He’s not into being on camera as much as the rest of us. But he’s working on himself. He’s going to be OK.”
So maybe he does like Thanksgiving… just not a public Kardashian Thanksgiving.
Two turkeys, please
Emily Blunt is a British actress who married American actor John Krasinski. So obviously, Thanksgiving isn’t her holiday. She will tolerate the holiday if Krasinski honors her own country’s traditions.
“We don’t do Thanksgiving [in the U.K.], but we do turkey at Christmas,” she explained to E! News in 2014. “This year, I said to my husband, ‘We’re gonna have two turkeys because we haven’t’ done a turkey at Christmas for the last couple of Christmases and I want to do it.'”
That’s a lot of leftover turkey sandwiches during the holiday season!
A satirical Thanksgiving
Jon Stewart might be one of the greatest satirical voices of his generation because, during his Daily Show years, he mocked the true reason we celebrate Thanksgiving.
“I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way,” he said on the Comedy Central show. “I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast and then I killed them and took their land.”
Touché, Jon Stewart, touché.
The meaning of Thanksgiving
Mayim Bialik makes a lot of sense when she talks about the commercialism surrounding all of the fall holidays on her Kveller blog from 2014.
“Thanksgiving really just means, ‘Christmas,’ right? I mean, all of the Christmas-celebrating folks pretend they like it, but really it’s just the holiday we have to get out of the way so that Christmas can happen,” Bialik wrote. “This means the beginning of myriad conversations with my sons about what Christmas is and what it’s not, why we don’t celebrate Christmas, and what it all means in the scope of the Universe.”
Bialik instead encourages more meaningful topics like abundance, health and humor. There’s a reason we dig her fresh perspective on life — she just gets it.
Too many Thanksgivings
We feel for Julie Bowen on this issue because she has to celebrate Thanksgiving several times a year. Modern Family always has a Thanksgiving episode, but the filming of the show doesn’t sound all that pleasant.
“I did a week of Thanksgiving, complete with three turkeys. Like raw turkeys and a festival of salmonella,” Bowen told E! News in 2014. “I’m already done with Thanksgiving! I’m ready for the next thing.”
That next thing involves Christmas the day after Thanksgiving so her in-laws can celebrate with her three sons. That sounds like a hectic holiday season!
The Grinch who stole Thanksgiving
Justin Bieber has a spotty record when it comes to his behavior in public and in his private life. Fans were very disappointed when he canceled a big CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance last year due to “personal reasons.” He dropped out less than 48 hours before the parade.
Bieber never gave a solid explanation of his whereabouts, but he had just come off a successful appearance at the American Music Awards promoting his fourth studio album, Purpose.
We’re guessing Bieber just slept through his holiday weekend. Tryptophan in turkey meat can do that to a guy.
The whole dead bird thing
Thanksgiving for Alicia Silverstone is one that draws “mixed emotions” for the vegan actress. She penned her thoughts about the holiday on her blog, The Kind Life, back in 2015.
“Back in the day, all those pilgrims were giving it up for the incredible abundance from the earth that nourished them back to health. Sure, that included the whole dead-bird thing (not to mention the eventual pillaging of native lands and peoples), but we aren’t living in the same times,” Silverstone wrote. “We aren’t just killing a bird once a year for necessity and nourishment; we’re killing 660,000 animals an hour in this country alone, every single day. Let’s be honest, we’re not those starving pilgrims any more.”
It’s likely that Silverstone’s guests will be feasting on a Tofurky instead this holiday season.
Don’t give her any beige food
Zooey Deschanel does have a point when it comes to the color of most Thanksgiving Day foods. In a 2013 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she described her distaste for the menu.
“I actually love my family, don’t like Thanksgiving food,” she said. “Let me just lay it out. Most of it’s beige or gray, which I don’t find appetizing.”
“You have turkey, which is beige,” Deschanel continued. “Stuffing, beige. Mashed potatoes, off-white. Pumpkin pie is like orange-beige. It’s a lot of beige. I just don’t really like beige food. I have a problem with the color scheme.”
Perhaps Deschanel is dining on a big colorful salad this Thanksgiving.
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