The Surprising Phobias of 6 Celebrities

Billy Bob Thornton: Antiques

In a 2004 interview with The Independent, actor Billy Bob Thornton discussed his fear of antiques. “I don’t have a phobia about American antiques, it’s mostly French,” he said, noting he’s especially unsettled by items such as “big, old, gold-carved chairs with the velvet cushions.” 

He also noted his aversion to real antique silver: “You know, like the big, old, heavy-ass forks and knives, I can’t do that.” When asked why, Thornton admitted the fear isn’t rooted in logic, saying, “I just don’t like old stuff. I’m creeped out by it, and I have no explanation why.”

Thornton spoke about the fear again in a 2012 interview with The New York Times. That French/English/Scottish old mildewy stuff,” he said. “Old dusty heavy drapes and big tables with lions’ heads carved in it. Stuff that kings were around. That’s the stuff I can’t be around.”

Nicole Kidman: Butterflies

Nicole Kidman may be one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood, but there’s one animal she can’t act calm around: butterflies. The Oscar winner has a fear called lepidopterophobia, defined as an intense and irrational aversion to butterflies. 

Kidman developed the phobia during her childhood in Australia, when she would often come home from school to discover a giant butterfly or moth perched on her home’s front gate. “I would climb over the fence, crawl around to the side of the house — anything to avoid having to go through the front gate,” Kidman told World Entertainment News Network in 2005.

She has also admitted she’s unsuccessfully attempted to overcome her fear. During a trip to New York City, she visited the butterfly cage at the American Museum of Natural History and allowed the insects to crawl all over her — but to no avail.

Christina Ricci: Houseplants

For many people, houseplants add a welcome touch of warmth and greenery into the home. But actress Christina Ricci finds them more disturbing than inviting. 

Ricci’s phobia applies strictly to indoor plants, as she’s never expressed concerns with outdoor gardens or even cut flowers. But in a 2003 interview with British Esquire, Ricci said she considers houseplants to be dirty, and the sheer sight of them makes her uneasy. She said, “If I have to touch one, after already being repulsed by the fact that there is a plant indoors, then it just freaks me out.”

In the interview, Ricci professed a second uncommon fear: swimming in pools alone. “I won’t swim in a pool by myself,” she said. “I think that somehow a little magic door is going to open up and let the shark out.”

Megan Fox: Dry Paper

In a 2009 interview on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, actress Megan Fox admitted to a rare case of papyrophobia, or a fear of touching paper. She further specified, “I don’t like dry paper. Scripts, newspapers, or anything that’s not laminated.” She compared the feel of dry paper to the sound of nails on a chalkboard, adding that it gives her goosebumps and makes her deeply uncomfortable.

Of course, as an actress, Fox has to read scripts, so she’s developed some solutions to work around the phobia. Fox told Fallon that she either continually licks her fingertips to keep them moist or keeps a glass of water nearby so she can repeatedly dip her fingers into the cup to keep them wet. That small bit of moisture is enough to push past the discomfort.

Adele: Seagulls

Unlike ornithophobes who fear every type of bird, Grammy-winning singer Adele has laridophobia — a fear, specifically, of seagulls. In an interview with the U.K. publication Metro, Adele said her fear can be traced back to a formative and harrowing experience she had with the birds when she was 9 years old. 

While strolling along a promenade holding an ice cream cone, a hungry seagull suddenly attacked and snatched the snack from her hands. “I’ve still got a scar from its claw on my shoulders,” Adele said. “I thought it was going to take me away with it.”

Channing Tatum: Porcelain Dolls

On a 2014 episode of Ellen, actor Channing Tatum was asked about his unresolved fears. He replied, “I am terrified of porcelain dolls,” noting the fear may stem from a childhood viewing of a Friday the 13th TV episode featuring a possessed porcelain doll. 

“I just think they’re freaky,” said Tatum. “I just imagine when I walk by them their heads turn with you the whole time.” Of course, host Ellen DeGeneres then brought out two porcelain dolls, causing Tatum to viscerally recoil in fear.

The actor mentioned the fear again in a 2024 interview with IGV Presents. “I will smash them, I’ll burn them, I hate them,” said Tatum. He noted being particularly icked out by porcelain dolls whose eyes open when you pick them up and close when you lay them down.