9 Celebrities Who Tried to Expose the So-Called Illuminati & Secret Hollywood Cabals

Do you believe the Illuminati is real? These celebrities seem to!

The alleged Hollywood secret society has been a popular conspiracy theory for years. The group was thought to have ended in the 18th century, according to the Washington Post, but conspiracy theorists still believe that the Illuminati could be behind everything in the world as we now know it — including the careers of some of our biggest celebrities.

The Illuminati’s supposed influence is called the New World Order, and the mysterious figures in charge of it apparently orchestrate and manipulate our world how they see fit, using public figures and Hollywood’s elite as their puppets.

Many over the years have shared their theories about the supposedly nefarious organization, including which celebrities they think are involved, from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to Lady Gaga.

However, some celebs have directly called out Tinsel Town’s alleged dark underbelly, such as rapper Ice Cube, who vehemently denied any ties to the Illuminati. On the other hand, some stars have seemingly attempted to expose the group, such as Jim Carrey during a bizarre appearance on a TV talk show.

While there’s no proof the Illuminati really exist, some of these celebs’ claims are kind of convincing. They don’t call it Hollyweird for nothing!

Celebrities Who Tried to Expose the So-Called Illuminati

Are there sinister secret societies in Hollywood? These stars seem to think so.

Gallery Credit: Taylor Alexis Heady

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Jim Carrey

In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2014, Jim Carrey made waves when he made the infamous triangular hand signal with his tongue sticking out. Many viewers took the stunt as the comedian mocking the Illuminati. “What is that? Is that a gang sign?” Kimmel asked, to which Carrey replied, “Oh, like you don’t know what it is. You don’t know what that is? You don’t know, Jimmy Fallon doesn’t know, David Letterman doesn’t know… all the comics in show business don’t know what this is. Come on, Jimmy.” Carrey later called it “the secret symbol of the Illuminutty” during the interview. While some think the moment was Carrey’s way of exposing the Illuminati, others believe it was only a skit.

Paras Griffin, Getty Images

Katt Williams

Comedian Katt Williams recently called out rapper Ludacris and the so-called Illuminati during an interview on Club Shay Shay. Williams claimed that the secret society that supposedly controls Hollywood offered Ludacris millions of dollars to do 20 films. “So, there was a crossroads where we were both invited to an Illuminati thing, and it had to be one or the other of us and decisions had to be made. So it was both of us. We were equal. One of us had to cut off all their hair and couldn’t do the sideburn thing no more, with the points. And the next person they said was going to get $200 million because they were going to pay him $10 million a movie to do 20 movies. And that’s how the conversation happened. One of those persons turned out to be Ludacris, and the other person turned out to be Katt Williams,” Williams revealed.

Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Randy Quaid

In 2010, Oscar-nominated actor Randy Quaid made headlines when he became a fugitive along with his wife Evi. Quaid claimed that he was being pursued by “star whackers,” who were allegedly targeting celebrities for their money and even killing them. The Quaids were on the run from authorities for felony trespassing and vandalism charges. The couple even claimed that other late celebrities, such as Heath Ledger, were victims of the same villainous cabal. “I’ve had eight friends of mine who have either died mysteriously or had scandals surrounding them in recent years, and this is what I’m talking about when I [say] star whacking,” Quaid said at the time.

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

Jeffree Star

When makeup mogul Jeffree Star was asked if the Illuminati is real in a 2023 interview with Bussin’ With the Boys, he replied firmly, “Yes.” When further questioned, he claimed there are other “evil” secret societies in Hollywood and that the Illuminati is “money-based” and uses celebrities “as a vessel.” When the interviewer pressed for more specific information, Star held back and said he couldn’t go further “so I don’t get my plane bombed or killed later.” In 2022, he also claimed he “escaped” the alleged secret society, tweeting, “I escaped the illuminati in 2021 and they still haven’t killed me. Every day I wake up grateful.”

Roy Rochlin, Getty Images

Kanye West

Following speculation that “the Illuminati got him” in 2023 when Ye’s former business manager couldn’t track him down, many fans dug up the rapper’s past comments on the Illuminati. “Is illuminati and devil worshiping like the same thing … do they have a social network that celebs can sign up for?” West apparently tweeted around 2010. Later, in a 2015 interview, West spoke on the Illuminati again, saying, “I’m tired of people pinpointing musicians as the Illuminati. That’s ridiculous. We don’t run anything; we’re celebrities. We’re the face of brands. We have to compromise what we say in lyrics so we don’t lose money on a contract.”

Arturo Holmes, Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson

Some fans think Kelly Clarkson was trying to subtly expose the Illuminati during her appearance on Season 1 of Kevin Hart’s Peacock talk show, Hart to Heart. “I’ve had people throw millions of dollars in my face to do something I didn’t want to do,” she said, to which Hart responded by holding a finger up to his lips in a “shhh” gesture. People on TikTok shared the resurfaced clip in 2023 and called it an Illuminati hand signal. In response to the gesture, Clarkson inferred, “You’ve been offered…? Oh! They’re in the room,” before laughing. “That was my way of cueing you. It’s open dialogue, we can talk about anything but [not that],” Hart told Clarkson.

Tim Nwachukwu, Getty Images

Dave Chappelle

In 2006, after Dave Chappelle left his popular sketch comedy show, Chappelle’s Show, in the middle of the production’s third season, many fans concocted wild theories as to what made him quit. One of those theories involved the Illuminati. In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006, Chappelle said, “I wasn’t walking away from the money [$50 million]. I was walking away from the circumstances that were coming with the newfound plateau. It takes a while when you punch through to adjust to the atmosphere. It was completely outside of my frame of reference. I’ve been in show business since I was 14, and I’ve heard the stories of what happens and I’ve seen these kinds of things play out in front of me.” Chappelle went on to describe instances where other celebrities have inked million-dollar deals and then claimed someone was trying to kill them, pointing to Martin Lawrence. “It always happens around the time in their career where it seems as though they’re crossing over [to] the next plateau,” he added.

David Becker, Getty Images

Ice Cube

In a 2013 interview, rapper Ice Cube denied involvement in any secret societies or the Illuminati — but he also didn’t deny that they exist. “I ain’t really down with no secret societies. I think all this secret s–t got the world f—ed up, so I ain’t really down with none of that. They can do what they wanna do but they know where I stand on it. My resume and track record on that bulls–t is public and [has] been public for years. They know I ain’t down with that s–t. To me all secret societies are up to no good,” he said.

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Tila Tequila

Tila Tequila ranted about the Illuminati, among other bizarre conspiracies, on Facebook in 2013. At the time, the former reality star claimed she was descended from alien star people and that the world was run by the New World Order, which apparently consists of the Illuminati, Satanists, Zionists and lizard people. “The true enlightened beings who have returned to this planet to try to help mankind… We see that you are still not ready for positive changes yet. Look at your barbaric behavior. You scream you want change, yet you have not changed one bit for thousands of years, and for that I shall halt on trying to teach you the ways of the true Enlightened beings,” she wrote in one post. Tequila also claimed the “Illuminati started off good and was under the Supreme Seraphim, but over time they have forgotten our teachings and rebelled as they became corrupt.”