EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood Walk of Fame Bosses Face Fresh Calls to Strip Tributes to Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby and Fatty Arbuckle After Ricky Gervais' Brutal Swipe at Abuser Monuments
Michael Jackson and Bil Cosby are at the center of a Walk of Fame scandal.
June 4 2025, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Ricky Gervais has ignited fresh controversy over the Hollywood Walk of Fame, using his acceptance speech to take a pointed swipe at some of its more notorious honorees.
And RadarOnline.com can reveal his digs are piling pressure on the monument's bosses to strip out its tributes to sex scandal-mired stars.
Tributes Battle
Critics hate seeing Wacko's star on the Walk.
Gervais said during his speech to accept his star on the walk, with biting irony: "Just looking around earlier at all the other stars — absolute icons, you know? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle... it's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club."
He forgot to mention woman-beating Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is standing trial on a series of federal charges including sex trafficking.
Combs, 55, received a star on the Walk of Fame on May 2, 2008 – marking the first time a male rapper had been honored at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Best known for creating The Office and After Life, the 62-year-old was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame on Friday May 31 during a ceremony in Los Angeles.
Wearing his trademark casual attire – a black T-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses – he delivered a speech laced with such satire his remark about fellow Walk of Fame honorees has reopened debate about whether men accused or convicted of sexual misconduct should remain memorialized on Hollywood Boulevard.
Michael Jackson, who died in 2009 at 50, faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse during his lifetime.
Though acquitted in a high-profile 2005 trial, the singer's legacy has remained contentious, especially following the 2019 release of Leaving Neverland, a documentary that reignited public scrutiny of the accusations.
Despised Star
Cosby is another star who inspires hatred by having his name on the world-famous walkway.
Bill Cosby, 86, once known as 'America's Dad' for his role in The Cosby Show, was convicted in 2018 of aggravated indecent assault.
He served nearly three years in prison before his conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2021 on due process grounds.
Despite the ruling, Cosby still faces numerous civil suits related to sexual assault.
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, a silent film star of the early 20th century, was tried three times for the 1921 rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe, who died shortly after attending a party hosted by the actor.
Even though he was acquitted in 1922, Arbuckle's career was effectively destroyed.
He died of a heart attack in 1933, aged 46. His case became one of the first major scandals in Hollywood, fueling public outrage and contributing to the formation of early film censorship standards.
Vile Past
Fatty Arbuckle's reputation was shrouded in scandal.
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Following Gervais’ remarks, advocacy groups and cultural commentators have renewed calls for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which controls the Walk of Fame, to reconsider the inclusion of figures with troubling legacies.
The Walk of Fame, which boasts over 2,700 stars, has long maintained that once awarded, stars are permanent and their tributes will not be dug out.
But a source told us: "Things change all the time, and after Ricky's digs at the Walk of Fame lumping in stars with the likes of Wacko, Cosby, Fatty and Diddy, the policy could be overhauled.
Gervais always refuses to hold back when he makes a public speech.
"There are a lot of people that would like to see those stars removed."
Even thought the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has previously resisted calls to remove stars – including Donald Trump's, which has been vandalized multiple times – activists argue that honoring individuals with serious allegations undermines the integrity of the institution.
Gervais has built a career on provocation and satire, often skewering Hollywood’s power structures.
His infamous 2020 Golden Globes monologue took aim at everything from Jeffrey Epstein to corporate hypocrisy, with celebrities squirming as he joked about their "woke" activism.
