9 Celebs You Finally Stopped Hating in 2014

There are just some celebrities that we just love to hate. It's so easy to give in to the natural escapism of celebrities being larger-than-life figures that we can just focus all of our hatred on even if we don't actually know them. Of course, in some cases, it's what we know about them that causes the hate. Just look at the national disgust that crops up whenever Justin Bieber lands in more legal trouble or Chris Brown gets into another bar fight. However, whether the hatred is arguably deserved or not, that doesn't change the fact that it's probably about time we stop hating on certain celebrities. Thankfully, in a lot of cases, we've already stopped the hate.

Of course, just because you've stopped hating a celebrity doesn't mean you've started loving them. In some cases, the hate stopped precisely because there's no real reason to care enough to hate on that celebrity anymore. Still, indifference is better than hate, at least when it comes to stars, and America got over its general distaste for a lot of celebrities over the course of 2014. Sure, they might still have a long way to go toward complete acceptance or love, but, hey, baby steps. Here are nine celebrities you probably stopped hating in 2014.

9. Megan Fox

Why You Hated Her: Fox was one of those celebrities that it was just plain fun to hate because she was on screen as part of the Transformers franchise and later films like Jennifer's Body and Jonah Hex that, to be honest, just weren't that good. Then, of course, there were her shining off-screen moments in which she was famous for saying off-color things like comparing Michael Bay to Hitler and saying that Simba from The Lion King is sexy.

Why You Stopped: Quite honestly, you might not have even noticed you stopped hating Megan Fox because it likely happened as a result of the actress not appearing in any films for two years before 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . While Fox isn't beloved by the public, she's certainly not as hated as she was in 2012 or 2013. Over the course of 2014, the Fox hate faded into Fox indifference, which is the best we could ask for really.

8. Anne Hathaway

Why You Hated Her: Hating Anne Hathaway is such a way of life that there's a specific word for it: Hathahate. (For comparison, there's no corresponding word for hating Justin Bieber or Chris Brown.) In fact, the hathahaters poured such vitriol in Hathaway's direction that she took a little acting break in 2013 to give the public a break from her after her Les Mis awards season fiasco. You know the one.

Why You Stopped: However, since her return to the red carpet, Hathaway has been nothing if not thoughtful and self-deprecating, going so far as to acknowledge the hate and her responsibility for it while still being confident enough to say she's moving past it and doesn't care about it anymore. Nowadays, it's hard to hate Hathaway without feeling like a big jerk, but we'll see how long that lasts.

7. Selena Gomez

Why You Hated Her: Ah, Selena Gomez. To be perfectly honest, the hate for Gomez had very little to do with her as a person and everything to do with her on-off relationship with Justin Bieber. The lack of new music from Gomez meant that she was constantly making headlines in 2014 for one thing and one thing only: dating Bieber. Considering Bieber is one of the most hated men in America, that drastically reduced the public esteem of Gomez.

Why You Stopped: Toward the end of the year, she finally cut Bieber loose once and hopefully for all and released a new single called "The Heart Wants What It Wants" that made even the biggest hater want to wrap her in a blanket nest and give her a hug.

6. Ben Affleck

Why You Hated Him: The hate for Affleck is so pervasive that his casting as Batman in Batman v. Superman was met with worldwide cries of, "NO WHY NO!" And that's only a slight exaggeration. Quite honestly, many people still hate Affleck for one reason or another — and those reasons range from not liking his chin to thinking he's a terrible actor — but, regardless of how you feel about him, I think we can all agree he's no Matt Damon.

Why You Stopped: However, the actor experienced two pivotal moments this year that did wonders to win over his haters. First, there was the release of the first picture of Affleck as Batman, which convinced a lot of people that maybe this wasn't the world's worst casting decision after all. Second, there was Gone Girl, which not only gave the world a look at Affleck's penis, but also proved once and for all that the guy can act circles around people. Maybe one day Affleck will be universally beloved. Maybe.

5. Rihanna

Why You Hated Her: Rihanna is one of those celebrities that tends to make people alternate between loving her and hating her depending on the time of day. The singer just doesn't care what anyone thinks of her, which can be either her greatest asset or her greatest flaw. Whether you hate Rihanna because you got sick of hearing her songs played ad nauseam on the radio or you're still holding a grudge against her for getting back together with Chris Brown in 2013, the fact of the matter is that the "We Found Love" singer just attracts haters like flies to honey.

Why You Stopped: 2014 saw Rihanna's insouciant attitude return to something that is to be admired. Between getting banned from Instagram for her support of the #FreeTheNipple campaign to being more entertaining to watch than the 2014 World Cup that she was tweeting in support of, Rihanna has returned to being shocking and fun in the good way. We'll see how long it lasts.

4. Ashton Kutcher

Why You Hated Him: Personally, I attribute the Ashton Kutcher hate to having seen Two and a Half Men, which would make anyone hate all the stars of the show for participating in it. But that's probably just me. Kutcher has earned himself haters for things like tweeting in support of Joe Paterno during the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011 (even if he apologized) and, of course, the way his relationship with Demi Moore ended in 2012.

Why You Stopped: However, 2014 saw Kutcher getting engaged to his former That 70's Show co-star Mila Kunis, who is basically beloved by America, and the two welcomed daughter Wyatt Kutcher later in the same year. Fatherhood has been a good look for Kutcher, and it's difficult to find people dwelling on his past mistakes nowadays when they could be checking out his and Kunis' cute selfies instead.

3. Angelina Jolie

Why You Hated Her: Much like Jennifer Aniston, no matter what she does or where she goes, Angelina Jolie just isn't going to escape the backlash from the Aniston-Jolie-Brad Pitt scandal. There are still people out there who hate the actress for stealing Aniston's husband and being a home wrecker, despite the fact that no cheating actually happened and all three adults are long past it. Many use her frequent roles as the seductive anti-hero in her films as proof that she is like that in real life, sadly.

Why You Stopped: However, between getting married to Pitt in a private ceremony none of us ever saw coming, all of her philanthropic work, and her appearance in 2014, Jolie has become an admirable figure. Let's hope she can stay that way in the eyes of her haters in 2015.

2. Nicki Minaj

Why You Hated Her: Nicki Minaj has done such a good job of re-inventing herself that it might have been all-too-easy to forget that she used to rock outfits and wigs as bright and outlandish as anything Lady Gaga has ever put on. If people weren't hating Minaj for her weird and ridiculous ideas of showmanship, then they were hating her because she was doing less rap and more pop as her career went on — becoming "fake" and a "sell out." The latter accusation became so pervasive that Minaj addressed it on her verse for "Monster."

Why You Stopped: However, since her appearance in The Other Woman and leading up to the release of The Pinkprint, Minaj has gone the opposite direction. She is dressing more demurely and making it clear that she can handle rap and pop in equal measure. The Pinkprint was her most emotionally real album yet and only the most dedicated haters can slam her or her talent now.

1. Taylor Swift

Why You Hated Her: Oh, Taylor Swift. T Swizzle. T Squints, if you will. Do I even need to explain the hate surrounding Swift leading up to 2014? She was, in the public eye, a permanent child who was constantly bouncing from boyfriend to boyfriend and wrote a series of bad pop songs about boys who had the good sense to break up with her. And, sadly, she is still fighting to overcome that unfair image even now that more and more people are being forced to admit that they have no reason to hate on Swift.

Why You Stopped: The pop star took a dating hiatus that is still ongoing, moved to New York, got some cats, focused on herself, and produced the best album of her career in 1989. She invited her fans to private listening parties, sent them Christmas presents, and spends her time stalking them on the Internet. She's become a feminist. Not only is it no longer cool to hate Swift, you might have to call yourself a fan one of these days.

Image: Getty Images