There was a time when action films in Hollywood would feature big martial arts choreographies and lots of action, and it was also the time when Steven Seagal was a big player in the entertainment world, with several box-office hits. But then his career came crashing down, and he became a bit of a failed celebrity for his ego, demeanor, and legal troubles.
So today, we’re going to explore some of the reasons why Steven Seagal is so controversial, and why he’s back in the headlines after he walked out of a BBC interview when he was asked about his past. This post is a deep dive into a life full of controversy, illegal activities, and stuff that some might find triggering, so readers beware.
Steven Seagal Controversy Explained
Steven Seagal walked out of a BBC interview when he was asked about his dark past. But what is this all about? Why did the “Under Siege” and “Exit Wounds” actor act this way when asked about the things they did in previous times? To do that, we must jump with Doc Brown and Marty McFly in their DeLorean and travel back in time to explore his career.
Steven Seagal, a prominent figure in the world of action films and martial arts, is quite a problematic man: He has a tendency to create a persona of himself that is quite different from his real background. Some might find this a sociopathic tendency.
Seagal portrays himself as a man who is some sort of “chosen one” a real-life “Neo” from the Matrix who discovered he had a knack for martial arts when he found himself washing dishes in a restaurant. But that’s not it all.
Fake Aikido Claims
It is a fact that Seagal has falsely claimed that he learned his Aikido techniques from Morihei Uyeshiba and no longer teaches others because they are too dangerous. Seagal practices Tenshin Aikido. He says it’s a unique style, but it isn’t substantially different from mainstream Aikido if you look closely.
To be frank, Seagal is just more aggressive when he practices Aikido and focuses on real attacks and practical self-defense moves.
Fake Dojo Claims
Seagal’s Aikido training is full of inconsistencies. He traveled to Japan to learn Aikido and married his first wife, Miyako Fujitani, to avoid the Vietnam War draft, according to the late actor Robert Strickland.
Furthermore, Seagal claims he was the first Westerner to open a dojo in Japan, but that’s not true because when Seagal’s father-in-law retired from teaching, he took over the dojo. Still, the dojo was owned by his mother-in-law and managed by his wife.
Controversial Black Belt Earning
After divorcing Seagal, Miyako Fujitani said that Steven only won his black belt in Aikido because the charge of his grading fell asleep during his presentation, and he was so embarrassed when he woke up that he awarded the black belt to Seagal to avoid a discussion. Also, his ex-wife says Seagal never fought Yakuza mobsters while working in the dojo in Japan.
The Fake Hollywood Tough Guy
Seagal likes to perpetuate an image of a Hollywood tough guy, claiming that his Aikido makes him a lethal weapon. But in fact, he’s a pain to work on set, he uses stunt doubles, he tells stories about only a few stunt doubles who can do what he can, and he has a diva personality with demanding excentricities on set from producers.
Fake Special Ops Instructor
When Seagal was a dojo instructor in Japan, he had a few American students who joined his dojo only because he was an American instructor and communication was easier.
But Seagal likes to claim that he trained CIA operatives and US Army Special Forces members who were stationed in Japan because he was a badass. In some Japanese dojos, unless you speak fluent Japanese, you won’t be able to train there. That’s the only reason why Seagal trained those people.
Seagal And Women: Trouble, Trouble, Naughty, Naughty
Steven Seagal faced multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women on film sets, that go from nasty comments to blatant sexual misconduct that date back to the early 1990s with Warner Bros. Pictures employees Nicole Selinger, Raenne Malone, and Christine Keeve accused him of sexual harassment. In that same decade, Jenny McCarthy claimed that Seagal asked her to undress in front of her during an audition for “Under Siege”.
In 1995, he was charged with sexual harassment, discrimination, and breach of contract by Cheryl Shuman, but a Los Angeles Court judge dismissed the case.
In 2010, he was accused in a lawsuit in Los Angeles by Kayden Nguyen for sexual harassment, illegal trafficking of women for sexual purposes, and wrongful termination. Seagal denied this and eventually, to get himself out of the legal hook, ended up doing a show called “Steven Seagal: Lawman,” in which he rode alongside police officers as part of an alleged plea bargain; the show eventually was canceled.
In 2017, Portia De Rossi accused Seagal of sexually harassing her during an audition. That same year, Katherine Heigl said that Seagal groped her while filming Under Siege 2. In 2018, Rachel Grant also accused him of sexual harassment when making a direct-to-video movie.
Crypto Scam
In 2020, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation against Seagal for not disclosing payments concerning a cryptocurrency initial coin offering of more than three-quarters of a million dollars. He eventually paid nearly $160,000 in penalties.
Politically Controversial
Apart from all this stuff, Seagal also backs his tough guy persona by expressing political support for world leaders with questioned reputations, like Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, or Philippines Rodrigo Duterte.
The Interview
As we can see, Steven Seagal, with all that past and problems, it is no surprise he wouldn’t like to address those sorts of things when BBC interviewer Kirsty Wark asked him about his sexual misconduct allegations, and his reaction was just taking the microphone out and walking out of the interview.
Seagal’s problematic aspects include a tendency to exaggerate his past, his problems with women, his Aikido styles, his bad demeanor on film sets, and his problems with tax authorities.
