15 Most Controversial Costumes In Movie History

There are a lot of important things to movie buffs, and more often than not, costumes are one of those things that get people’s attention. Costumes can cause heated discussion due to various reasons. Here are 15 of the most controversial costumes and the real stories behind them.

1. Lily James – Cinderella

Lily James was surreally gorgeous in the live-action version of the animated Disney movie Cinderella, but viewers thought otherwise because they believed Lily’s waistline had been edited to look narrower, which was thought to be setting a bad example for young girls. But, producers responded and claimed that there was no CGI involved and that the truth was Lily’s waist was actually that slim.

2. Brie Larson – Captain Marvel

As one of the strongest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel played by Brie Larson was the most anticipated superheroes in recent memory. Fans were outraged then when they saw the on-set photos showing Brie wearing green instead of blue and red. As a matter of fact, Captain Marvel does switch to the traditional blue, red and gold suit, which finally put fans at ease.

3. Chris Evans – Avengers

Steve Rogers got a great outfit in Captain America. However, in The Avengers, the Captain’s costume disappointed movie fans when they saw the colors had seemed to fade and that the designers had even given Steve a mask that seemed silly and useless. Fortunately, the costume was redesigned in subsequent films.

4. Karen Gillan – Jumanji

Fans were outraged when they first saw Karen Gillan’s costume in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as they felt it was just too scanty, especially with the character wearing it in the jungle. The outfit was explained later – Gillan’s character was in a video game and the costume was to criticize the inappropriate stereotypical portrayal of women.

5. Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect 3

Pitch Perfect 3 aroused heated discussion about body size discrimination because of a photo posted by actress Rebel Wilson. In the photo, Wilson was seen wearing a costume in short sleeves that covered more of her body, while her other two co-stars were wearing sleeveless tops. But the truth had nothing to do with discrimination and it was Wilson herself who wanted her outfit to have sleeves.

6. Olivia Munn – X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Filmgoers were not so happy to see Psylocke in a rather revealing costume in X-Men: Apocalypse. The actress Olivia Munn thought otherwise. “Apocalypse is the one who dressed her and gave her that outfit”, she says, “The thing about Psylocke is that I can see the way that she’s dressed but it has nothing to do with how strong she is and how powerful she is.”

7. Bryce Dallas Howard – Jurassic World

Well, apparently if you are Bryce Dallas Howard you wear a pair of high heel shoes to run from dinosaurs in Jurassic World. Incredibly the actress is seen running for her life without taking off her high heels for the entire movie, which caused some incredulous comments. Bryce later said that she thought the shoes simply fit the character well.

8. Gal Godot – Wonder Woman

Heroes never get a break, not just in the fictional world, but also with movie pundits. Wonder Woman starring Gal Godot can be considered as one of the more controversial movies. Fans thought she was too thin and she wore shoes with unnecessary heels. The costume designer responded, “We wanted to create something incredibly strong and portray her as a legitimate fighter.”

9. Marilyn Monroe – The Seven Year Itch

In The Seven Year Itch, Monroe is seen standing on a subway grate with her white dress flowing around her. It’s a little-known fact but there were actually 100 photographers and over 2,000 people at the scene and they went wild every time Monroe’s dress went up. Although this is one of the most unforgettable moments in movie history, Monroe’s husband was not a fan, and it was said that the scene was said to be the last straw in their failed marriage.

10. Shefali Chowdhury and Afshan Azad – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

All fans were thrilled to see how great Hermione looked at the Yule Ball. But the costumes of Padma and Parvati Patil, who Harry and Ron took to the same ball, were totally wrong. Their clothes were not traditional Indian-wear at all. The designer made the excuse that they tried to put more emphasis on Hermione’s dress in that scene.

11. Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad

As with many other comic book characters, Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad played by Margot Robbie drew a lot of unwanted attention because of her body-hugging outfit. Robbie said in an interview that she was “wearing hot pants because they’re sparkly and fun”, but the actress added she didn’t really like her costume, because it made her feel self-conscious.

12. George Clooney – Batman & Robin

It took Joel Schumacher by surprise that the costume worn by George Clooney in Batman could have caused such a sensation among fans. In general, they were not happy about the costume and its unnecessary masculinity. Schumacher explained that the costume was inspired by “Greek statues that have perfect bodies.”

13. Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern

There were many issues that Green Lantern fans had with this movie, but this one thing they really couldn’t get over was the fact that the costume Ryan Reynold wore in the movie was not actually a costume, but rather it was a product of CGI. The actor later admitted that he didn’t even see the suit until the first trailer.

14. Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder by Ben Stiller was one of the most controversial films of all time and the weirdest thing in it was Robert Downey Jr. who played an Australian actor, who used face paint to portray an African-American character. This unsurprisingly offended many people. However, producers explained that this choice was to criticize such inappropriate casting in Hollywood.

15. Kristen Stewart – Twilight: Eclipse

We all adored the natural beauty of Bella played by Kristen Stewart in the Twilight films, especially her hair. So, fans were suprised when they were made aware that Stewart wore wigs in Twilight: Eclipse. The truth was Steward cut her hair to play Joan Jett, the rock legend, contrary to the wishes of the Twilight filmmakers.

16. The X-Men (2000)

All the fans of the comics or the cartoon of X-Men knew that the group was wearing blue and yellow suits. But they were all wearing black in the 2000 X-Men. But the director Bryan Singer explained that they wanted to keep the heroes low-key. Yeah, well, heroes are already dashing enough, right?

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