Pen pals go public: Infamous celebrity open letters

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Kim Kardashian on feminism - After posting a nude (but censored) selfie, Kim K faced an onslaught of criticism, including from Bette Midler and Chloë Grace Moretz. She decided to pen an open letter titled 'I Am Allowed To Be Sexy,' cutting through the noise to deliver a serious feminist argument.

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Kim Kardashian on feminism - She expressed confusion at how she is a "bad role model" for being proud of her body, empowered by her sexuality and unafraid of others' opinions. "I will not live my life dictated by the issues you have with my sexuality. You be you and let me be me. I am a mother. I am a wife, a sister, a daughter, an entrepreneur and I am allowed to be sexy."

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Frank Ocean's letter to the Grammys - Addressed to longtime creative forces behind the Grammys, producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild, the artist wanted to make it clear that he did not submit his latest album for consideration by choice, and not out of embarrassment from his last performance.

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Frank Ocean’s letter to the Grammys - He posted it on his Tumblr, and spoke about how real success is not being handed an award on TV. He dragged them for awarding Taylor Swift's '1989' Album of the Year over Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' and said he's open to talk about the "cultural bias and general nerve damage" of the awards.

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Meghan Markle on racial identity - Before she was a Duchess, Meghan Markle wrote an open letter called 'I'm More Than An 'Other'' about creating her identity and finding her voice as a mixed-race woman.

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Meghan Markle on racial identity - She reflected upon the difficulty growing up in a non-diverse area, hearing her mother called the N-word, the struggle of being ethnically ambiguous in the acting world of clearly defined labels, where she wasn't black enough for the black roles or white enough for the white ones.

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Meghan Markle on racial identity - She faced a choice: "You continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it," and you can obviously tell which one she chose.

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Spike Lee's beef with the Oscars - Set to receive an honorary Academy Award at the 2016 Oscars, the director wrote a letter explaining why he wouldn't be in attendance to pick it up. "We cannot support it," he said. "How is it possible for the 2nd consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white?"

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Charlie Sheen opened up about HIV - The star released an open letter about his HIV-positive diagnosis, which was, he said, "a 'mule kick' to my soul." He explained his subsequent substance abuse as "a suicide run," and decided to put an end to paying off those who jumped on the opportunity to extort him for money.

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Charlie Sheen opened up about HIV - "I'm claiming back my freedom … I accept this condition not as a curse or scourge, but rather as an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity to help others. A challenge to better myself."

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Sinead O'Connor to Miley Cyrus - O'Connor didn't like that the young pop star cited her as inspiration for her sledgehammer-licking music video, and the Irish singer sent an open letter to Cyrus about getting prostituted by the music industry. Low blows ensued, and everyone forgot that the whole thing started with a compliment.

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Wentworth Miller to Russia - The 'Prison Break' star penned a daring open letter to a Russian film festival in which he actually came out publicly. Miller had previously denied he was gay, but upon hearing of Russia's anti-gay laws, he turned down the festival's invitation. "As a gay man, I must decline," he said bluntly in a letter carried on a GLAAD website.

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Jennifer Aniston to tabloids - After over a decade's worth of pregnancy rumors, the actress cut through the buzz in an open letter on the Huffington Post in July 2016, criticizing journalists for their relentless hounding when there are real issues in the world that deserve coverage.

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Jennifer Aniston to tabloids - "The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant (for the bajillionth time... but who's counting) points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they're not married with children," she wrote.

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Ryan Gosling shares his PETA-passion - Less than two weeks after the Humane Society released an undercover investigation into the treatment of one of Costco's largest egg suppliers, the actor went all out in his open letter to CEO Craig Jelinek. He called for the retail giant to go cage-free, and called the deceptive carton labels "appalling."

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Kristen Stewart to the world - The actress didn't beat around the bush in her brief open letter apologizing for having an affair with her 'Snow White and the Huntsman' director while dating Robert Pattinson. She wrote that she was "deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment [she] caused," and said of Pattinson, "I love him. I love him. I'm sorry."

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Red Hot Chili Peppers on the infamous Super Bowl show - Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers broke the silence on the band's unplugged, mimed performance (only the vocals were live) during the Super Bowl. He explained that they weren't given a choice, but that they could have plugged the guitars in and "thought it better to not pretend."

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Jada Pinkett Smith on her relationship - Mrs. Smith caught people's attention when she said her husband could "do whatever he wants," spurring rumors of an open marriage. In an open letter on Facebook, she clarified that they can both do what they want and while they don't have an open relationship, they do "have a GROWN one."

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Lady Gaga on PTSD - Gaga wrote an open letter on her charity's website called 'Head Stuck In A Cycle I Look Off And I Stare,' addressing her PTSD diagnosis, and explaining what the condition meant for her and how it affected her.

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Lady Gaga on PTSD - Besides getting clinical help, she believes "the most inexpensive and perhaps the best medicine in the world is words. Kind words… positive words… words that help people who feel ashamed of an invisible illness to overcome their shame and feel free."

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Nathan Fillion's love letter to 'The Walking Dead' - The actor wrote a letter to the hit show, raving about it more deeply than a lover. "What matters is that we are being made to feel. Emotions are welling up from nothing—nothing but a well-crafted story."

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Nick Cannon to Hollywood - When former child star Amanda Bynes had a breakdown and went into psychiatric care, she had a lot of people bashing her. Nick Cannon, who knew her from her Nickelodeon days, wrote a sweet open letter to his "sister" saying that she was "not alone," adding "I'm here for you. I understand."

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Shirley Manson calls Kanye a small, petty child - After Kanye West claimed Beck didn't respect artistry when Beck won Best Album over Beyoncé at the Grammys, Shirley Manson took to Facebook to put him in his place. "Grow up and stop throwing your toys around ... Ps. I am pretty certain Beyonce doesn't need you fighting any battles on her account."

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James Franco's love letter to Jonah Hill - James Franco's thoughtful and entertaining letter, titled 'My Friend, Jonah,' explores Jonah Hill's growth as an actor, some trademark Franco humor, and a dash of personal moments between the two made everyone's hearts warm and gooey.

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Dylan Farrow's open letter in the NY Times - "What's your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know..." the filmmaker's adopted daughter began. She detailed the alleged sexual assault at the hands of Allen dating back to when she was seven years old, and called out all the actors who continue to work with him.

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Dylan Farrow's open letter in the NY Times - She added that while she considers herself lucky now, surrounded by support, "others are still scared, vulnerable, and struggling for the courage to tell the truth. The message that Hollywood sends matters for them."

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Tupac's now-open letter to Madonna - In a 1995 letter, written at 4:30 am from jail, Tupac apologized to his then ex-girlfriend Madonna for breaking up with her because of the implications of him dating a white woman.

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Tupac's now-open letter to Madonna - He explained that he felt he was letting down the very people he believed made him who he was, and offered up his friendship again. "This experience has taught me not to take time for granted," he ended the letter, one year and eight months before his untimely death.

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Mila Kunis on gender discrimination - In an open letter titled 'You'll Never Work In This Town Again' on A Plus, the actress criticized the way women are made to believe that speaking up for themselves could threaten their livelihood.

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Mila Kunis on gender discrimination - She wrote, "Throughout my career, there have been moments when I have been insulted, sidelined, paid less, creatively ignored, and otherwise diminished based on my gender," and explained that she learned, all too slowly, that you don't need to play by the rules of the "boy's club."

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Kelly Clarkson to Clive Davis - It's safe to say the former American Idol was not a fan of music mogul Clive Davis' autobiography. In a 2013 open letter, Clarkson disputed his memory of her crying in his office over a hit song she didn't want to record, and said the incident was caused by Davis calling her a "s**tty writer who should be grateful for the gifts he bestows upon me."

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Sonam Kapoor's open letter on self-love - The Indian actress is one of the highest-paid in Bollywood, but when she was young she didn't think she'd ever make it—even after she started to make it. "Eventually, I didn't even need the tabloids to point out my flaws," she wrote, "I could look at myself on camera monitors and predict what would be criticized."

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Sonam Kapoor's open letter on self-love - She tore down the unrealistic beauty standards that have women "sprinting through Jurassic Park in heels, fighting supervillains in strapless corsets, being stranded on deserted islands for days without a hint of stubble," and shared a devastating and rare honesty.

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Solange on belonging - After a group of cranky older white women ruined Solange's family trip to see Kraftwerk, verbally attacking and throwing rubbish at them just for dancing to a song, Solange wrote an open letter on race and feeling unwelcome as a black woman in a predominantly white space.

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Solange on belonging - The letter, though heartbreaking, is deeply poetic and tackles the differences in how black people are contextualized in the media as compared to white people. "We belong. We belong. We belong," she writes at the end, half to herself and half to anyone who can relate. "We built this."

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Lily Allen on the migrant crisis - In a piece called 'Why the Press Want to Stop Celebrities Like Me Talking About the Migrant Crisis,' Allen hit back at British tabloids who bashed her visit to a refugee camp, explaining that the press is trying to falsely frame refugees as people trying to take advantage of the system.

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Björk to critics - After being criticized for moving around too much in her DJ sets, the Icelandic singer posted an explosive open letter on Facebook, pointing out that no man had ever received the same criticism, and alleging critics unfairly picked on her because she wrote songs about things others than romance. "Eat your bechdel test heart out."

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