It can take years, even decades, to build a successful career in entertainment. Most (if not all) of your favorite celebrities, for example, started at the bottom and put in a ton of hard work, sacrifices, and dedication to become wealthy, powerful household names. 

However, it only takes a single controversy for that empire to come crashing down in one fell swoop. And for some renowned figures in the industry, the downfall is self-inflicted. 

Here are the celebrities who supposedly tanked their own careers, according to a discussion in a Reddit thread from a while back. 

#1

Stacey Dash from Clueless. For saying that transgenders should just “pee in the bushes” instead of using public restrooms.

© Photo: CnCorange

#2

Very recent one actually:

Colleen Ballinger, a popular YouTuber who is well known for her character Miranda Sings, was found out to have groomed a 13 year old fan until he was 17 years old.

She then guilted him for posting something on her social media that SHE approved. She also sent him lingerie when he was 13 years old, as well as talked to him in a lot of detail about her divorce. Remember, she’s in her 30’s and he was only 13-14 years old at the time.

After he told her he was going to take a break for a little bit, she left him on red and never replied. It’s really sad honestly, and everything really effected him because he was a big fan of her. Honestly, there’s no coming back on the internet after that, or getting millions of views anymore at least.

© Photo: AestheticDaisy_

#3

Unfortunately, NOT Chris Brown.

© Photo: edgarpickle

#4

Michael Richards. Played one of the most iconic TV comedy roles as Kramer on *Seinfeld*

Post-Seinfeld during a stand-up routine fans were taunting him and he went on a racially-charged rant dropping the N word. It was recorded and his career was absolutely toast after that.

© Photo: anon

#5

Chevy Chase. The man has had endless opportunities, on both movies and TV, and yet he is consistently regarded by his peers as an unrelenting a*****e.

SNL cast hates working with and around him (Jon Lovitz, Will Ferrell, etc.), the kids from Community (well, adult actors and actresses who played college kids on the show) have come out and said he was the hardest on-set to work with. I just don’t see how someone can have so many opportunities to be at least halfway decent, and always managed to find a way to be the biggest a*****e in whatever room he was in.

© Photo: anon

#6

Jussie Smollett

Edit: wow apparently even saying his name now gets people in a tizzy.

the-salt-of-dungroon:

That was so stupid, I don’t even know what he was thinking, the fact that he wore the noose around his neck until the police got there.

© Photo: anon

#7

Definitely the judges who bullied the contestant on XFactor New Zealand.

jjaedong:
That outburst was just so bizarre. The guy shows up with maybe the most common men’s hair cut and wears a navy blue suit and she says he’s stealing her husbands look wtf. There millions of guys who wear that exact combo every single day lol.

© Photo: EdgyPep

#8

Amber Heard for being a a*****e spouse and lying by making Johnny Depp look like the a****r in this relationship. I dont understand how someone so evil and hypocrite can sleep at night.

#9

Megan Fox when she talked negatively about Michael Bay.

Also, Elon Musk, if it counts. Dude has completely lost it. His whole facade of “cool memer dude” is slipping and everyone is seeing him for the union-busting child labour laws violating unethical billionaire he is.

© Photo: anon

#10

TJ Miller, dude had a brain tumor removed a while back, taking out part of his brain and then he got arrested for calling in a fake explosive threat in 2018. Absolutely nuked his career.

© Photo: PersephoneXXX1209

#11

Never forget when Ashlee Simpson got caught lip-synching on SNL and tried to blame it on her band.

Additionally, Howard Dean, presidential candidate in 2004, ruined his campaign by letting out a weird scream. Oh to have such standards for candidates today!

Edit: yes, I completely understand that the media made the scream something it wasn’t. Please stop telling me this.

© Photo: MadamNerd

#12

Lindsay Lohan anyone?

allworkandnoYahtzee:
I wonder what her life would have been like had her parents not been so f**king awful. Dina and Michael Lohan were like stageparents on steroids.

NC_Gnie:
Combine that with how Hollywood apparently treats young women, especially ones that look like her, and God only knows what kind of messy road she had to go down before she was even an adult.

© Photo: vinnyfromtheblock

#13

Katherine Heigl is famous for being a massive b***h who no one wants to work with. I think she managed to p**s off everyone in Grey’s Anatomy so they wrote her character off. Same with the entire cast of Knocked Up. She went from being huge in 2007-08 to being a ghost now.

Mel Gibson famously torpedoed his career in 2004-2006 with multiple anti-semitic and racist outbursts and such. He went from being a massive f*****g star in the 90s to being persona non grata for like…10 plus years. He’s still not back to where he was now.

Lauren Hill has famously destroyed her career since the early 2000s…after the Fugees made it big she went solo with one of the biggest debut albums ever and then frequent diva behavior has made her the ultimate has been.

© Photo: PhillipLlerenas

#14

Cee-lo… he said there was nothing wrong with spiking womens’ drinks…

#15

Sinead O’Conner ripped up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live.

Completely ruined her career, but in all honesty, she probably would have k****d her career in another way if it never happened as she’s had several controversial moments in her lifetime.

She still makes music and is incredibly talented.

But unfortunately her career has never been the same as a result of her controversial views/actions. I say unfortunately by meaning the world misses out on the music produced by incredibly talented and passionate musicians. Some of the things she’s said is pretty messed up though.

#16

Taylor Lautner, he disappeared off the face of the planet after Twilight.

© Photo: ImpSong

#17

Roseanne Barr. She managed to live through her anthem fiasco only to have her reboot cancelled and replaced due to some racist tweets.

I haven’t heard much about the replacement show, but I feel like that means it isn’t or wasn’t doing so hot.

#18

Rick Moranis. The guy from Ghostbusters, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Spaceballs, etc.

Not because he did anything wrong. He left Hollywood and let his career because his wife died from cancer and he decided to focus on raising his kids.

Stand up guy, hope he’s doing well.

© Photo: Edymnion

#19

Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably one of the founders of rock and roll, managed to completely destroy his career just by getting married.

Oh btw he married his first cousin (once removed). She was 13, he was 22. It was his third marriage, of an eventual seven. This one lasted 13 years until she filled for divorce citing that she had been “subject to every type of physical and mental a***e imaginable.”

#20

It may have already been said in here but Macaulay Culkin (home alone). and honestly I think its a good story. he was just tired of being a child star and wanted a normal life. while some people make fun of how he looks now he’s just living life and having fun. he has a band called Pizza Underground where they sing about pizza and tell jokes. I just think its good to see some of the celebrities that tanked but for good reasons.

#21

Amanda Bynes. She had an early success in her acting career and retired at age 24 because she had a downward spiral. Entirely fell off the entertainment industry.

#22

T.I. when he decided to take to the news and say that he has his daughter’s gynecologist perform a virginity test, or assure him of her virginity, each time he takes her there. This was when his daughter was 18.

#23

Lance Armstrong, the cyclist.

He cheated for all of his Tour de France titles.

He is now enlisted as a cheater.

Nuff said.

#24

Steve Rannazzisi. Lied about being in the world trade center on 9/11.

Also, Jan-Michael Vincent. Was a super good looking actor in the 80s that got a little too into d***s.

#25

I dont know if he thanked his career or not but Fankie Muniz kinda disappeared after Malcom in the middle.

#26

I don’t know if he’s a celebrity. I thought of Roman Polanski. He can’t work or live in the U.S. due to a s*x a***e case. He can’t direct movies in the U.S. He was married to the actress Sharon Tate. RIP Sharon.

#27

DMX
For those too young to remember he was huge in the 90s and early 2000s with multiple top albums and songs on the billboard rap charts.

He had trouble with the law (g*ns, d***s, animal cruelty) his whole life.

In 2004 though, he had multi-platinum success and was still relevant and touring regularly. He was supposed to catch a flight from JFK to a concert where he was performing. He never made it to the plane. Instead, he got super high on cr*ck, pulled a random guy out of his car in the parking lot, claimed to be a federal agent, and stole the guys car. He left behind his own (far more expensive) vehicle.

© Photo: LastNightOsiris

#28

Kyle Larson was having a great year in NASCAR, and continuing that through their recent virtual racing bit because of the virus, but then he dropped a hard R on a live mic during a stream, and after being released from his contract, he’s effectively done racing NASCAR now.

#29

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the Dixie Chicks getting themselves basically blacklisted from country music after criticizing Bush.

#30

Orlando Brown turned c**ckhead former Disney star.

#31

Mo’nique. She refused to participate in “campaigning” for an Oscar after she was nominated for her role in *Precious*. It started a feud of sorts with the director, Lee Daniels, which led to her being blackballed, or so she claims. She hasn’t really worked again since winning an Oscar, which is pretty odd.

#32

Can’t believe no one has said Azealia Banks yet. 212 was like, audacious, groundbreaking s**t. Sadly she is known for her numerous twitter spats rather than her music.

I personally feel like she might have EUPD which went untreated. Combine that with growing up in the spotlight and having an online platform to be very reactive on, and… arguments ensued. But like, could 212 have been written by a medicated Banks? I don’t know. It’s a very unique, ballsy song.

#33

We’re all aware of Charlie Sheen. Although still a legend, topped the cake of ruining it all within a brief moment.. He couldn’t keep his d**k in his pants, and his a*******n spiraled QUICK.

#34

Lena Dunham.

And she dragged quite a bit of Girls cast down with her (d***s, hard time getting other gigs, etc). Girl basically had a career funded and served to her on a silver platter, and couldn’t keep her mouth shut, be self-aware for two seconds at a time, or stay away from d***s.

She’s Hannah Horvac in real life. She literally wrote and played herself – I don’t think she anticipated people thinking it was parody or cringe-humor. I think she just went along with it and slowly it ate away at her.

#35

Mara Wilson, although, to be fair, she didn’t tank her own career. She was a cute kid and a very successful child actress, but she grew up looking like an average person, instead of someone who could be cast as a s*x symbol… and just stopped getting work.

So she got a college degree at NYU and I think she does smaller stuff – voice overs, podcasts like Nightvale. Had a small part on “Broad City.” She writes, basically. And she wrote a great piece about child stardom and what chaos it is. Not just on her behalf, but looking at people like Amanda Bynes.

She tweets, she’s written great pieces about child stardom, and she’s just an awesome person

She wrote an autobiography I have yet to read but it’s amazing to hear a child star write so candidly about having to give up on film, not because of “bad choices” or self-indulgence, but because they got tired of being cast as the “fat ugly friend”. It’s sobering stuff.

#36

David Icke in 1991. He was a household name, ex-Coventry goalkeeper, BBC sports commentator. An the Terry Wogan show, in full view of the nation, believes he is the son of God and that the world will soon be obliterated by earthquakes and tsunami. Taken in by a Russian forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” (itself no more than a criticism of Napoleon III with the names clumsily altered to refer to “The Jews” instead of “Napoleon III”), he believed that a secret group of alien reptilian humanoids called the Babylonian Brotherhood created and controls humanity, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Kris Kristofferson, and Boxcar Willie.

In recent years he has degenerated into little more than an anti-semitic neo-N**i.

#37

Paula Deen…..Her deposition said enough.

EDIT: Didn’t asnwer the second question the first time.

#38

Ezra Miller was gaining popularity recently, but then he got in a physical fight with a fan and now I can’t say I see him being able to do much in Hollywood after that.

#39

Ari Shaffer made fun of Kobe Bryant after he died and now people like Joe Rogan and Tom Segura are keeping distance.

#40

Justin Lee Collins.

For those who don’t know he was a comedian in the UK, he was known for doing The Friday Night Project with Alan Carr, and presented an Americas home videos type show, Oops TV.

In 2011 his wife came out about him ab**ing her. She also had some audio of him accusing her of looking at other men. He pleaded guilty and hasn’t done any big things since. Last I heard he’s doing video shout outs for £25.

#41

Alexander Hamilton. He was a d**n genius and a respected and honest lawyer and politician, until he had an affair with another woman who was not his wife and made it public in a pamphlet called ‘The Reynolds Pamphlet’, ruining his political career forever.

#42

Aaron Hernandez: k****d someone while playing for the New England Patriots, died in prison

Chris Benoit: k****d his wife, son, then himself, had his entire wrestling legacy ruined

Tom Green: made Freddy got fingered

John Travolta: made battlefield earth and the fanatic.

#43

Dave Chappelle comes to mind.

Dude was a comedy god in 2005. Literally every where you went you could hear people quoting lines from his show, and comedy central was throwing him 100 million dollar contracts iirc. But He got fed up with the celebrity life and the constant need to perform and produce, so he left for Africa for a while.

He’s made a nice come back through Netflix the last few years.

#44

OJ Simpson.

#45

Elizabeth Berkley k****d her career with Showgirls. No one could take her seriously after that.

#46

Kid who played Anakin drove into a cop car at 100MPH, obviously he got arrested.

#47

Troy Duffy, director of Boondock Saints. Basically, his arrogance tanked his career. ” Troy Duffy was portrayed in the film as an egomaniacal maniac, obsessed with the heights of his talent and a*****e to his friends. He goes on to lose his mega-deal with Harvey Weinstein, his friends, and his Hollywood connections.”

#48

I’m sure someone has said this already, but Chris Taylor Brown from the band Trapt.

He isn’t exactly a celebrity, rather a guy who had one hit song 18 years ago (“Headstrong”). He’s been going on this weird rampage of tweets lashing out at people who don’t like him and his opinions and flexing the amount of listeners he gets on Pandora. It’s surreal.

#49

Steve Yoo (Yoo Seung-Jun/유승준) was a Korean artist who was super popular from 1997 – 2002. He was amazing at his singing, dancing, and rapping. But he was also popular to parents who believed he was a good role model.

He was born in South Korea but moved to the states when he was 13. He sent demo tapes of his performance and eventually was scouted and became an artist in Korea

Military service is mandatory for males in Korea, and he even went on TV saying he will be serving in the military, although having been in the process of US citizenship I believe.

And when it came time for him to be drafted, he had scheduled performances outside of Korea, and he said he will immediately return to Korea for the military service

But, before returning to Korea, he went to the States and got his citizenship, meaning he is no longer a Korean citizen, and does not have to serve in the military.

He has been banned from entering Korea since. But in 2019, he has been allowed to visit South Korea.

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