blackball

Even a popular New York City venue allegedly uses it to blackball people its millionaire owner considers adversaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026

Ms McKinney said modelling opportunities began to decline for her and she believed Mr Combs used his influence to "blackball" her in the industry.

From BBC ● May 22, 2024

Regarding the charge from many of his accusers that he threatened to derail their careers if they spoke out: “I couldn’t blackball anybody, because if I said, ‘Don’t use that actress’ .

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2020

The attempt to blackball Froome from racing may prove futile but it is as much about commercial realities – TV revenues, sponsors’ sensibilities, merchandise and marketing – as it is about ethics.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2018

And I knew that by the next day, every railroad’s personnel office would have a blackball on me, so I never tried to get another railroad job.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

While that blackballs the firms, it does not ban all business dealings, the report added.

From Reuters ● Mar. 25, 2022

I buy licorice whips, jelly beans, many-layered blackballs with the seed in the middle, packages of fizzy sherbet you suck up through a straw.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

But once again, insensible to this detail, the jury seemed scarcely able to find blackballs enough to emphasize their refusal of the "Passage of the Beresina."

From International Short Stories: French by A. Cheneviere

And the longer they have gone before the more likely he is to receive no blackballs.

From The Country House by John Galsworthy

Two blackballs are sufficient to cause the rejection of a candidate.

From American Adventures A Second Trip 'Abroad at home' by Wallace Morgan

In an unpublished article titled “Das Kannibal,” Mitchell wrote angrily about being blackballed for speaking out against the war.

From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025

She also said he had subsequently "blackballed" her in the modelling world.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2024

Siwa's experience with Nickelodeon led the star to big heights, even though she alleged that they blackballed her.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2024

It happened after a Muhammad Ali fight back in 1970 when he couldn’t get sanctioned to fight anywhere; he’d been blackballed because of his stance against the Vietnam War.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024

If he’s not careful, he’ll be blackballed by his state medical association and kept out of the hospitals.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

And the reason for that compulsive work ethic was her unofficial blackballing by “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson, for the crime of accepting Fox's offer to host her own talk show.

From Salon ● May 14, 2025

“They face industry blackballing and fewer professional opportunities when they speak out,” Williams said.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2022

He won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2019 after he accused the league of blackballing him because of his protests.

From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2020

Leger’s blackballing might have something do with the controversies over control of the convention center’s funds, but we can’t know that because of the secrecy surrounding Peterson’s actions.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 10, 2020

They wouldn't have dreamed of blackballing any one proposed by a popular man like you, and Mr Breitstein asked you personally to use your influence—you told me so.'

From Uneasy Money by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse