Controversial Celeb Trends That Dominated 2025 (Mar-A-Lago Face And More)

2025 has been a busy year. From Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement, to the record breaking "KPop Demon Hunters," to the domination of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club," there's been a lot to love as the earth made another rotation around the sun. That includes a host of new fashion, beauty, and social media trends that our favorite celebrities (like us!) couldn't help but wear. Some movements we could easily get on-board with, like the year's most on-trend color (the delicate butter yellow Kate Middleton loved) or winter's return of the comfortable and practical grandma shoe that Naomi Watts couldn't get enough of. 

But then there were certain trends that proved seriously divisive. From the contentious Mar-a-lago face plastic surgery movement, to the denim and sweatpants hybrid known as drawstring jeans, to glowing sunburn blush, these polarizing trends dominated our feeds — and brought plenty of controversy with them.

Flared jeans came back in a huge way in 2025, with everyone from Megan Markle to Sydney Sweeney wearing the instantly recognizable pants style (which is more fitted around the thighs and flared over the calves). But despite so many big names embracing this vintage trend, not everyone was on board. Flares are such a distinctively '70 fashion trend it can be tough to see them as anything other than outdated. "These damn [bell] bottom/flare jeans are killin me. I hate it so bad," one X user even tweeted.

Vivien Killilea/Getty

We've seen so many republican women embrace the Mar-a-lago face trend in 2025. The instantly recognizable look includes obvious cosmetic procedures, such as fillers, combined with heavy makeup and a deep tan, which is why so many of Donald Trump's inner circle look less than natural. Though Kimberly Guilfoyle has never publicly confirmed getting plastic surgery, the U.S. ambassador to Greece is one of the worst offenders, as Guilfoyle is unrecognizable in pics before her Trump days. Kristi Noem is just as guilty, as Noem's face transformation is also a sight to see.

Multiple celebs were called out for using AI in 2025. Taylor Swift hit headlines for seemingly using the technology for promo videos for "The Life of a Showgirl," potentially instead of employing artists. And fans weren't happy. "Taylor Swift using generative AI to create videos after being staunchly for artists owning the right to their own work is the most [hypocritical]/tone deaf thing ive seen her do in a LONG time," one X user wrote. Another big offender? President Donald Trump, who shared an AI clip that depicted him dumping mud on protestors from a plane.

Taylor Swift is using AI-generated videos to promote her new album 🤯

The future is here faster than you think... pic.twitter.com/yXV8YjtzzC

— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) October 5, 2025

Capri pants went from being an outdated pant trend to the hottest bottoms for spring 2025. Their popularity has only continued since then, but the early aughts look is still controversial. Though stars like Kim Kardashian and Keri Russell showed us modern ways to wear the cut-off bottoms (Kardashian wore a black, skin-tight leggings pair while Russell wore black too but a less form-fitting garment), they can still easily look dated and aren't the easiest to pull off either. "I just can't bring myself to like the capri pants trend," one X user admitted.

The Hapa Blonde/Getty

Though 2025's sunburn blush trend (aka blush applied over the cheeks and nose to mimic spending excess time in the sun) is better than actually getting sunburned, it still had its critics. Why? Because sunburn can be seriously dangerous, and mimicking skin damage isn't exactly the most ethical trend. Equally, it can be tough to get right, as placing blush over the nose can easily look heavy and cakey. Hailey Bieber was a particular fan of this horizontal blush application method on Instagram, as was Addison Rae.

"Pretty Little Liars"' Shay Mitchell, "Barbie" star Margot Robbie, and "The Hunger Games"' Jennifer Lawrence are just some of the celebrities who combined sweatpants with denim via trendy drawstring jeans in 2025. Though we totally understand wanting to make denim more comfortable, this garment is controversial because it misses a few marks. Drawstring jeans still aren't as comfy as classic sweatpants (and if it ain't broke, why fix it?), while the drawstring makes the jeans look extra casual, which restricts where you can wear them.