11 Celebrity "Authors" Who Were Caught Using Ghostwriters

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When it comes to writing a memoir, some celebrities, like Julia Fox, tell their own stories in their own words. Others, like Prince Harry, are pretty open about using ghostwriters. However, on rare occasions, celebrity authors sit in the in-between space, insisting that they wrote a book on their own when, in actuality, they (allegedly) had help. Even if they aren't completely hiding the fact that they used a ghostwriter, they may still face criticism.

Here are 11 famous people who got caught up in ghostwriting scandals:

1. In 1980, Old Hollywood star Gloria Swanson published her memoir, Swanson on Swanson. She allegedly told her ghostwriter, Wayne Lawson, "Only you and I know who wrote this book," but a whopping 43 years later, he exposed the shocking truth! He told Vanity Fair, "It took four people to write the book: Swanson, her sixth husband, her lover, and me."

He later said, "First of all, without Brian Degas [her lover], there would be no Swanson on Swanson. Degas may have been down on his luck when he approached Swanson, but she was undoubtedly flattered to be approached — at 79, after five failed marriages and a sixth in trouble — by a captivating 44-year-old producer. In short order, Degas did marvelous things for her: the London gallery show [showcasing her art] and a best-selling autobiography. Most importantly, he made love to her and made her feel young again. He did for her what only director Billy Wilder had been able to do before him, with Sunset Boulevard. He gave her back her stardom. He also got a nice sum of money for [her sixth husband, William] Dufty, for a book I am confident Dufty was incapable of writing on his own. He gave me the chance of a lifetime, which became the basis for a long career in publishing."

2. Naomi Campbell is a celebrity "writer" who admitted she didn't actually do any writing at all! In 1994, she published her debut novel, Swan. She reportedly described it as a "cute story" to get back at the media for doing her wrong. However, she later said that she "just did not have the time to sit down and write a book."

The publisher was initially public about hiring a ghostwriter. Caroline Upcher, who was an editor at Naomi's publisher, told the Guardian, "The idea was to buy the name. It was announced that this novel would happen and that I would write it, and before I'd written a word, I was being doorstepped by journalists asking what kind of story it would be... There was no friction because I didn't need her. I just did my research and got on with it. The only time I would contact her would be to get access to parts of the fashion world, to use her name for research."

However, halfway through the project, the publisher allegedly started touting Naomi as the writer. Caroline said, "I was written out of the picture. It didn't worry me one way or the other, but that's where the problem came, because everybody knew it was me, but we all then had to pretend otherwise. I never knew if they did that to garner more publicity. In a way, it worked, but poor Naomi came off worse because she was being slammed for something she hadn't really wanted in the first place. There was a certain amount of snottiness at the idea of her being an author — it was given to people like James Wood to review."

3. In 2014, Kendall and Kylie Jenner published their debut dystopian novel, Rebels: City of Indra. Critics and online trolls alike lambasted the teens' book, and even their ghostwriter, Maya Sloan, caught strays! Kendall told the LA Times, "We just wanted to do something different — not something everyone would have expected from us, like a fashion, high school kind of story." She also told Good Morning America that they had "some help" because "we obviously can't write a sci-fi novel on our own."

Maya came to their defense, telling the LA Times, "People are trying to take this away from the girls. But most art is collaborative. It was never, like, 'Maya — go off and write 10 chapters and send them back to us.'" The sisters reportedly worked with their creative director to write up a two-page outlet for the story, then Maya was hired to bring it to life. She based the twin protagonists on the Jenners, so she attended events with them and video chatted with them. Even after all that work, the book's sales were abysmal.

4. Donald Trump's ghostwriter described working with the former reality TV host as putting "lipstick on a pig." When he declared his presidential candidacy in 2015, he referenced his 1987 memoir/business advice book, declaring, "We need a leader that wrote The Art of the Deal." In response, Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote The Art of the Deal, tweeted, "Many thanks Donald Trump for suggesting I run for president, based on fact that I wrote The Art of the Deal. No plan to accept a draft."

In 2016, Tony told the New Yorker, "I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is. I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes, there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization."

In response, Trump reportedly sent him a cease-and-desist. According to the New York Times, Trump's lawyer demanded that Tony cough up "a certified check made payable to Mr. Trump" and demanded that he make "written assurances that you will not generate or disseminate any misleading or inaccurate information or make any baseless accusations with respect to Mr. Trump." Trump told the outlet, "He's been trying to get work from me for 30 years. He wrote me letters [asking for work]. I never liked him."

5. In 2011, Gwyneth Paltrow published a cookbook called My Father's Daughter, but a year later, an alleged ghostwriter appeared out the woodwork. The New York Times published an article titled "I Was a Cookbook Ghostwriter," where Julia Turshen alleged that she ghostwrote Gwyneth's cookbook and was working with her on a second one.

Gwyneth denied these claims, tweeting, "Love @nytimes dining section but this weeks facts need checking. No ghost writer on my cookbook, I wrote every word myself."

6. In 2014, YouTuber Zoë Sugg (aka Zoella) published her debut novel, Girl Online. It blew up, becoming the UK's fastest-selling book of the year! It sold 78,000 copies in its first week, more than any other debut novel in the country. However, she was widely criticized following the revelation that she'd worked with a ghostwriter, Siobhan Curham. In a statement, Zoë said, "For the doubters out there, of course I was going to have help from Penguin’s editorial team in telling my story, which I talked about from the beginning." Likewise, in the book's acknowledgments, she credited the ghostwriter for being there "every step of the way."

Addressing the hate she received on her blog, Siobhan wrote, "When I was offered the opportunity to help Zoë, I also saw the opportunity to help get important and empowering messages across to her incredibly huge fan-base. ... But — and this is a big but — I did have some issues with how the project was managed."

7. When Millie Bobby Brown published her debut novel, Nineteen Steps, in 2023, she faced extreme backlash for using a ghostwriter because the story was based on her family history (particularly her grandma's stories of living through the Bethnal Green tube disaster of 1943). Unlike many celebrity authors, Millie openly praised her ghostwriter, Kathleen McGurl. Sharing a picture of them together on Instagram, Millie wrote, "a HUGE thank you to my collaborator @kathleenmcgurl - I couldn't have done this without you!"

However, controversy stemmed from the fact that the ghostwriter's name did not appear on the cover of the book. Some people accused the actor of "taking the credit" for Kathleen's work or "ruining" literature. But others defended her and called out the sexism in the criticism. Celebrity Memoir: From Ghostwriting to Gender Politics author Dr. Hannah Yelin told the Guardian, "We've seen it in relation to many young, female stars. Zoella's first memoir comes to mind as an example, which saw her lambasted in the media for breaking some kind of implicit social contract... Collaborative authorship is nothing new and exists in many celebrated forms."

In a blog post, Kathleen explained that she received "a lot of research that had already been pulled together by Millie and her family, and plenty of ideas." They had a few Zoom calls, Kathleen wrote the first draft, Millie sent her more ideas, and then they "refined the story" through multiple drafts together.

8. Nicole Richie's publisher reportedly outed her for using a ghostwriter. She's published two novels — The Truth About Diamonds in 2005 and Priceless in 2010. She told USA Today, "I wake up at 5:45, and the rest of the family gets up at 7, so I have an hour in the morning. And then I have time after 7 at night to write and calm down... I write all my own stories."

However, in 2011, her publisher reportedly told the New York Times that most of the writing for Priceless was done by a ghostwriter. Nicole declined to comment.

9. Influencer Tinx (whose real name is Christina Najjar) released her debut novel, Hotter in the Hamptons, in 2025. However, because the novel is a lesbian love story, fans began to question if Tinx, who's straight, had actually written it herself. One TikToker reportedly posted a screen recording of the novel appearing on the "ghostwriting" section of author Gabrielle Korn's "manuscript services" page.

Commenting on the TikTok, Tinx clarified, "Of course I hired a collaborator who's queer. I am not a lesbian. I wanted to nail that part of the storyline... It's not a secret, she's the first person I thank in the acknowledgments!"

10. Ghostwriting scandals aren't limited to books! George Takei famously runs a funny Facebook page. In 2013, comedy writer Rick Polito accidentally revealed that he ghostwrote jokes for the Star Trek icon's Facebook, telling blogger Jim Romenesko, "Even at $10 a joke, it still feels like a validation to see so many people reacting to my humor. I have written jokes that got 10 likes per second for hours. The power of George is unbelievable. His fans are a viral army. He may not be a stockholder, but he owns Facebook."

George confirmed to Wired that Rick and other writers helped him find memes to post, but all of the commentary was his own writing. He said, "I have Brad [Takei], my husband, to help me and interns to assist. What is important is the reliability of my posts being there to greet my fans with a smile or a giggle every morning. That's how we keep on growing."

11. And finally, here's a wild ghostwriting scandal that absolutely broke the internet! Influencer Caroline Calloway became famous for her Instagram captions reflecting on her life as a Cambridge student. However, in 2019, her ex-friend, Natalie Beach, wrote a bombshell essay for the Cut and revealed herself as Caroline's ghostwriter. Natalie wrote, "From the moment we met [in nonfiction writing class], I focused instead on helping her tell her own [story], first in notes after workshop, then later editing her Instagram captions and co-writing a book proposal she sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Speaking to NBC News, Caroline said that Natalie's article was a "work of art," not journalism. She also said that her "brilliant" former friend would "say everything I'm saying now, just smarter." The only part of the essay she denied was when Natalie alleged that, "Caroline hated [working on a memoir] so much that she threatened suicide if I wrote any more." Caroline said that she struggled with suicidal ideation not because of a dislike of Natalie's writing, but because of her own issues with addiction and lack of memoir-writing skills. Natalie declined to comment.

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