Top 10 Celebrities Who Destroyed Their Reputation
Published on January 26, 2008 - 91 Comments
This is a list of celebrities who have destroyed either their career or their reputation through foolish actions - intentionally or unintentionally.
10. David Hasselhoff
The star of Bay Watch has recently been suffering with alcohol abuse and in 2007 his daughter released a video of him drunkenly trying to eat a Wendy’s burger whilst arguing with her on to the internet. The result was that Hasselhoff lost custody rights to his daughters temporarily and lost all respect. In 2006 he was refused access to a British Airways flight due to drunkenness though his publicists insisted that he was not drunk, but rather unwell from taking antibiotics. Yeah right.
9. Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle, one of the great operatic Sopranos of our time gained a reputation for being “difficult”. These difficulties and numerous complaints from fellow singers lead to her being fired from the New York Metropolitan Opera. Since the dismissal from the Met, Kathleen Battle has not appeared in opera performances. However Kathleen Battle continues to appear in concerts and recitals, as well as lending her voice to recordings and television appearances.
8. Boy George
Boy George (lead singer of Culture Club) destroyed his singing career (and caused his band to breakup) when he fell out with his lover (also a member of the band) Jon Moss causing him to slide in to a life of heroin binges. He has, since then, been in and out of trouble and while his career as a DJ is successful, his reputation was tarnished sufficiently to prevent him from ever returning to the idol status of the early days of the group.
7. Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) had a shining career as a children’s television presenter until 1991 when he was arrested in Sarasota, Florida for masturbating publicly in an adult theater. The news media went into a frenzy and the scandal marked the near-death of the character “Pee-wee Herman,” reducing both the actor and the persona to a ubiquitous punchline. Although the series Pee-wee’s Playhouse had already ended by that time, CBS reacted by dropping its reruns from their lineup. Reubens was arrested again in 2002 in connection with an investigation involving child pornography. These charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to a “misdemeanor obscenity” charge.
6. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise, star of many blockbuster films lost all credibility when he began publicly campaigning for the Church of Scientology. His embarrassing behavior on an episode of Oprah has solidified his reputation as an idiot. He is most recently involved in a huge controversy over the CoS removing a video of him from the Internet which has lead to a cracking group (Anonymous) to attack the organization.
5. Britney Spears
Pop Singer Britney Spears who got her start on the New Mickey Mouse Club, destroyed all credibility when she began to appear in public with Paris Hilton. She has been caught numerous times on camera in various states of undress or drunkenness. She has been in and out of rehab centers. Possibly her lowest moment was when she broke up with her husband via text message as he was in the middle of being filmed for MuchMusic. Nice one Britney.
4. George Michael
George Michael was successful with the band Wham, and later pursued a solo career. He had always kept his sexuality a secret until April 7, 1998 when he was arrested for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public toilet in a park in Beverly Hills, California. He has also had problems with drugs, especially during 2006 when he was arrested for possession of Class C drugs, as well as a series of drug related traffic incidents which lead to the temporary loss of his licence, as well as community service.
3. Whitney Houston
After Houston married former R&B singer Bobby Brown at the height of her career, rumors of drug and spousal abuse started to affect her career. Whilst no one could confirm the allegations, Houston confessed to using recreational drugs during a TV interview, and later underwent two drug rehab programs in 2005 and 2006. After a successful second program in 2006, Houston divorced Brown and gained custody of their only daughter.
2. Jennifer Grey
Following the success of Dirty Dancing in 1987, the leading lady, Jennifer Grey decided to get a nose job to improve her looks for her future career as an A-lister in Hollywood. Unfortunately this changed her appearance so much that no one knew who she was. All of the celebrity-goodwill she earnt from Dirty Dancing was lost. Since then she has only played minor roles in television programs and b-grade movies. In a recent interview for Channel 5 in the UK, Grey said the nosejob was the biggest mistake of her life.
1. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop” seriously damaged his reputation after stating on National Television that he shared his bed with young boys that visited. Having already been arrested on molestation charges (which were dropped) this was a big mistake. He has since been hounded by the media and will probably never be viewed by the public in the same light as he was during his early career.
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1. Ido - January 26th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Well, to be honest, Hasselhoff always seemed such a fake! I mean! come on! this chubby dude running on the beach, surrounded by these gorgeous big breasted women and his got love handles. I bet he used to take names when the teacher was absent. HE’S a total belly-tucker. Rip off.
BUT!
we still owe this SOB some respect for BAYWATCH, which pushed the envelop for Pamela Anderson, god bless her
2. Miss Nimbus - January 26th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Yeah cool list….. old jackson has really lost it (uchumm) heh….
mind you old brits not that far behind… i didn’t know shw broke up with Kfed by text while on the tv…. thats pretty low.
3. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Ido: so harsh and yet, sadly, so true!
Miss Nimbus: I watched the scene of the breakup on youtube - I just can’t remember where it is - it was very embarrassing. That woman is a bitch.
4. Gormley - January 26th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I’m fairly sure Britney broke up with Kevin Federline while being taped by Canada’s MuchMusic, not MTV.
5. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Gormley - oh - thanks for the correction - I will update it.
6. Hitesh - January 26th, 2008 at 8:38 am
By the way George Michael did redeemed himself.
7. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Hitesh: I haven’t heard of “it” being referred to as redeeming oneself before
8. Derek - January 26th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Lohan not on the list? Or is she too similar to Spears?
9. WOO!! - January 26th, 2008 at 8:44 am
No Mel Gibson or Micheal Richards?
10. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Derek: too similar
Woo!!: if it were a top 15 I would definitely include both of them for sure! Thanks for mentioning them.
11. Mom424 - January 26th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I understand it was Hoff’s ex-wife that released the video (daughter used phone to show dad what he was like next day when sober). Judge gave the ex proper shit, and dad kept custody….
or maybe I’m wrong…
12. GingerLee - January 26th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I guess it may be a little early but Alec Baldwin yelling at his daughter on the answering machine did him no good.
And I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m not watching Jay Leno anymore for crossing the WGA picket line (the Mike Huckabee guest spot aside…). It won’t “destroy” his career but who knows.
Jeffery Jones killed what career he had with the child porn thing a few years ago.
13. Mom424 - January 26th, 2008 at 9:37 am
jfrater; did you see the Tom Cruise video? The current one just released and removed? The CoS award ceremony thing? Scary and creepy. And he wasn’t even stoned. I could smoke a pound of weed and be more coherent and logical. He was justifying CoS scare/harassment policies. Can’t we make him & his crappy fake church illegal?..they did it in europe…
14. EAL - January 26th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I was really suprised to not see Michael Richards on this list. He not only destroyed his own career, but managed to tarnish the entire Seinfeld series.
15. Posy - January 26th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Saw Geaorge Michael in concert last summer. Although his personal issues may be troublesome he is still a great singer and showman. Anyway in the final episode od Extras he took the p*** out of himself! lol
16. mortem - January 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
In his latest controversial video, Cruise supposedly claims he saved firefighters in 9/11
17. mortem - January 26th, 2008 at 10:04 am
My bad! It was not Cruise who claimed this himself, it was supposedly a narrator in the video. According to the NYPost:
“In the promotional tape, the star states, with a scary gleam in his eye: “A Scientologist is someone who can look at the world and really see what it is . . . and be effective and do something about it and someone who’s not asking permission to do that. Why ask permission? We are the authorities!”Next, the video cuts to news footage of the devastation at Ground Zero as cheap action music plays and a cheesy narrator boasts: “And nothing says that better than the Mr. Cruise response [sic] to the wake-up call in the aftermath of 9/11 . . . If he takes a stand, it’s pedal to the metal till the finish line, as in helping New York firemen….”
Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/01.....409820.htm
18. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Mom424: I did see it - it is incredibly disturbing - while Scientologists think it furthers their cause, it really shows us how totally insane you become with years of their brainwashing!
19. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Oh - and Mom424: he did end up with custody - it was temporarily removed from him. If a judge can award him custody after his behavior, the mother must be a right demon!
20. Hitesh - January 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Because he made a success with the single “Outside” taking the piss out of being arrested.
21. jfrater - January 26th, 2008 at 10:24 am
GingerLee: is that on youtube? I haven’t heard it!
22. me - January 26th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I’m sorry but David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff shild not be on the list he is a legend.
He just amazing
“Dont Hassel The Hoff”
23. xdarkhorsex - January 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am
now how about O.J. Simpson? he should definitely be on this list
24. scott - January 26th, 2008 at 11:04 am
what about dog the bounty hunter. he seems to have fallen of of the face of the planet.
25. yong23 - January 26th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Scott: I was just going to mention the bounty hunter for his racial remarks that led him to lose pretty much everything…!
I was also going to mention Pete Rose…but i think in some aspects, his problem with gambling increased his celebrity level…? idk…
maybe there should be a list where negative publicity actually increased one’s stardom? =)
26. goof_ball - January 26th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hahaha! Celebrities SUCK!
27. rafs - January 26th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Good list, I agree with most of them. Jennifer Grey seems harsh, I wouldn’t say the nose is a reputation thing. I’d put Jeffrey Jones or Lindsey Lohan, Michael Richards there instead.
28. Vicky - January 26th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Oh my god the micheal jackson pictures…
I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.
29. kiwiboi - January 26th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Many Brits would have Gary Glitter (paedophile) in this list.
30. el duderino - January 26th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Jennifer Grey is a very sad case. She was a cute Jewish looking Jewish girl who got a nose jobh to look like everybody else. It’s like taking the garlic out of pesto because some people don’t like it, but once done it’s no longer pesto, if you get my drift.
31. Dana - January 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
The scary part is that four of these men, I had a crush on growing up.
Pass the whiskey…
32. copperdragon - January 26th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
surprised to see Jenn Grey on the list. would have expected Lohan.
How about a vote for Nick Nolte?
33. Stormy617 - January 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Wow Whitney looks like something even the cat wouldn’t drag in!!!
I have always thought that pee wee herman was a creepy looking guy and here he is even creepier looking and a big huge disgusting creep, damn child porn….how often did he work directly with kids when he played Pee Wee Herman……..that is very very disturbing!!!
Micheal Jackson creeps me out too he used to be very good looking too!!
Dana I am sorry to say that I too had crushes on two of the guys on this list, so sad indeed.
34. Kelsi - January 26th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Haha…David Hasselhoff…something about that guy just makes me laugh. Good list though, well done, good choices I think.
35. JWJWBEAN - January 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Mel Gibson should definitely be on there. He did the whole religion whack out before tom Cruise did. Even though they were different religions.
36. riledupone - January 26th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
The comedian Paula Poundstone getting charged with child endangerment for driving drunk with her foster kids in the car. The kids were taken away and Poundstone dropped out of sight. She did go to rehab though.
37. GingerLee - January 26th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
jfrater: which part? Leno and Huckabee? I’m sure it is. And the Baldwin thing? I’m sure something like Entertainment Tonight showed a clip of it or something.
Another celeb I thought of was Kobe.
38. NZSpringy - January 26th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I would have said Gary Glitter before Boy George
39. jfrater - January 27th, 2008 at 12:13 am
NZSpringy: I certainly considered Gary Glitter - if this were a top 15 he would be on it
40. jrjb - January 27th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Christian Brando just died. I mention this cause I thought Marlon Brando was closing in on making people forget about his masterful works. Maybe the enormous weight gain threw me off.
Pete Townsend seemed to escape scrutiny. At least you don’t hear about his “research” of child porn these days. Anyone know what happened on that.
Tara Reid seems to be destroying her looks and status. Same with Lohan. That’s what Lindsey gets (and Britney, Nicole) for hangin with Paris.
41. jrjb - January 27th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Didn’t Jennifer Grey fall out of site after Dirty Dancing anyway? Wow is that really Whitney?
I see where you did mention K-Fed’s ex and Miss Hilton, LOL!
42. Hannah - January 27th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Perez Hilton just did a “Guess the celebrity” from the photo the other day and it was Jennifer Gray. She looks so different from her Dirty Dancing days, I didn’t guess it was her!
43. Xay90 - January 27th, 2008 at 8:00 am
haha..where did y’all get that picture of Mike..thats funnY (:
44. Raymond - January 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am
How about Pilatus (RIP) from Millie Vanilli and OJ in trouble again.
45. phunniemee - January 27th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I would think OJ would be on this list.
46. Diogenes - January 27th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Stormy617: She looks like something the cat chomped on and then drug in (dum pun intended) . or just some guy in drag.
Ah what a life of luxury some of these dummies live.
47. Mariam67 - January 27th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Very strange and interesting! Although making fun of Britney is like shooting fish in a barrel. She obviously has some kind of mental illness. :/
48. JwJwBean - January 27th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I also have a problem watching any movie star that cheated on their spouse or was the one that helped a person cheat on their spouse. I will not watch any more Meg Ryan/Russel Crowe movies or Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movies. I also will not watch Julia Roberts. In my opinion it ruins their reputation.
49. jeff - January 27th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
speaking of spears, and fish….. har har
50. jocsboss - January 27th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
It seems like all of Hollywood pretty much cheats on their spouses. Not that it matters in most cases. Most of them seem to go through spouses faster than I go through cars.
51. Csimmons - January 27th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Gary Glitter is easily #5 or 6
52. Rocky - January 28th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I don’t really feel like Jennifer Grey deserves to be on this list with other other people…if you include Jennifer Grey it seems like you would have to include Keri Russell for cutting her hair during Felicity.
Furthermore, I always felt kind of bad for Paul Reubens, I mean its not like he was at an afternoon screening of the Little Mermaid, he was at an adult theater…I’ve never been to one, but it was always my understanding that that was what was supposed to happen at an adult theater…discarded kleenex and sticky floors.
53. Rick B - January 28th, 2008 at 10:12 am
In her own defense, Brittany new Fedex was cheating on her during that trip to NYC. She knew of his past trysts and ignored them and the idiot continued cheating on her. That was why she left him and that is why she tested him during the show. A woman scorned is a dangerous thing. I also think it is hilarious that the two poster children for homos are not being ridiculed. Queers want to be accepted by normal people and yet, as Geo Michael proved, homos will have sex ANYWHERE, when was the last time ANY of you had sex in a public TOILET? That is SO erotic. Yeah, homosexuality is normal like the 99% of the rest of us males who see a gorgeous woman walk down the street in a thong bikini get aroused as opposed to seeing a dirty sweaty foul mouthed construction worker.
54. riledupone - January 28th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Ooooh, careful Rick B. Your narrow-minded, pig-ignorant bigotry is showing. When you meet one of those thong-wearing women do you drag her by the hair back to your cave. If you want to comment on a list, go to it, but there’s no reason to start ranting about gays and lesbians. Maybe the KKK has a website you could check out.
55. riledupone - January 28th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Ooops. Should be a question mark after “cave”.
56. SpookyMulder - January 28th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
riledupone: Here here!
Rick B: You need to get a life and stop crucifying others for their personal preferences.
57. Shawn - January 28th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Okay, I just have to stand up for Paul/Pee Wee! I just watched the original “Pee Wee Herman Show” again from HBO in the early 80’s, and he was HILARIOUS! It was hilarious! Remember the letter that Pee Wee gets from the man in prison? The prisoner tells everyone that Pee Wee is his girl friend, and Pee Wee makes such a face!
And, I want to point out, after the scandal, he went onto the tv show “Murphy Brown” and won an emmy award for his performance in the guest star category. He then hosted “You Don’t Know Jack” for a little while. And he’s played a variety of supporting parts in a lot of films. Check IMDB to see.
Paul’s “crime” was minor in comparison to say, OJ or Robert Blake for example. He got a little horny and let little Pee Wee do the thinking. Now, what man hasn’t had that happen at least once?
58. JwJwBean - January 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
It isn’t just the playing with his pee wee. He was also caught with Child Porn in 2002. Someone had said how horrible this was since he had a kid show. And how many kids he had around him during his show. Pee Wee’s Playhouse was originally an adult show. The “kid” version never had kids on the show that I remember. It has been a long time since I saw it so maybe I am wrong.
59. stormy617 - January 28th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
That is good to know that Pee Wee never worked with kids. I never watched him so I had no idea. Like I said I just always thought he was creepy looking and so I never watched his show.
60. stormy617 - January 29th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Diogenes: Yea I was thinking that she looks like some of the crack whores that can be seen in parts of Detroit…….that is a damn shame.
61. sue - January 29th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Ok now,Pee Wee touching himself in public is just plain wrong!! Imagine if Mr.Rogers had done something like that! Our childhood memories would be tarnished forever…Good list,I just don’t understand Britney anymore,can somebody spell psycho? she needs serious help,I actually thought she was going to be number one.That David Hasselhoff thing has shocked me,had heard about it,but I’d never actually seen it.Jennifer Grey’s story was really sad,she had such a promising future.Micheal Richards definately deserves to be here,I lost all respect for him after what happened.Actually there are a whole lot of celebrities missing out on this list,Jfrater,compile a second one please.Once again,great list.
62. Clemmie - January 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
is that picture of michael jackson real?
63. Polly Odyssey - January 31st, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Kids at my school still make jokes about Michael Jackson, just shows how much he’s ruined his career.
64. davo - January 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Tom Cruise needs immediate Psychiatric help
65. Emily - March 2nd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Where is Mike Tyson?
66. Tenebrae - March 12th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Why isn’t OJ Simpson on this list? Talk about a tarnished reputation. Acquitted or no, his reputation is absolutely destroyed. Top that with his ‘almost’ book “If I Did It…”. The entirety is a debacle and he just keeps going.
Hugh Grant had a bit of a run in with the law too, I’d place him on here above Jennifer Grey. Though.. he has made a bit of a recovery.
67. exorcist - March 13th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Why is hoff there the dude had a night out got wasted and came home and ordered a burger ??who hasn;t been there done that???
68. KRB - April 4th, 2008 at 6:47 am
What about:
Rob Lowe - he was sooo hotttt till that video appeared
R Kelly!!! anyone want to be peed on?
Bill Clinton - loves to leave stains on dresses
69. Kniwn - April 29th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
No Woody Allen?
70. dee - May 13th, 2008 at 1:43 am
hey?
where’s lindsay lohan?
71. Chris - May 31st, 2008 at 8:56 am
I don’t know if this happened at the time of the creation of this list, but I’m pretty sure that Michael Richards ruined his career sufficiently enough to be on this list when he said the n-word in that comedy club.
72. cocololo - June 19th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
lol to comment #22…
are you… INSANE?!?!?!?! “the hoff” is a lengend in his own mind. you must be german…
and damn it i love pee-wee, i used to crack up at him when i was 4!!! that being said, he should be higher on the list, haha!
73. southparklovr - June 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
nice photo of MJ
74. Vera Lynn - June 28th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
361 sue Mr Rogers was gay, too.
#69 Kniwn I vote for Woody Allen, too. Marries his “daughter”
I do agree OJ should be here somewhere.
Oh the list could go on and on. Can any one say “Cover your ass?”
75. Vera Lynn - June 28th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I meant #61
76. nelson - July 7th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
what an ugly list… geeee
77. thirtytwo - July 12th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I would definitely include Gary Glitter.
78. gabyvhenteciete - July 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I already predicted that MJ will be #1 (nice pic, by the way!). #6 and # 5 are quickly climbing the charts, though, what with all they’re doing nowadays.
Tom Cruise just gets weirder and weirder as years go by.
79. LilNic - August 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
lol gabyvhenteciete, same here.Even before i read the list, i kind of knew that Michael Jackson would be first.Yeah, where is Gary Glitter?
80. Green Is Good - August 7th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Jennifer Grey doesn’t belong on this list. She may have rendered her famous face unrecognizable, but her reputation wasn’t wrecked by drugs, booze, arrests, etc.
81. Valerie - August 21st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Courtney love…
82. Nukedoom - September 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Britney Spears, interesting person. Downward spiral that was continually followed by the media.
83. A - September 17th, 2008 at 9:10 am
O yea. I’ve been watching those “Anonymous” videos about Scientology lately. They’re almost creepy. It’s interesting. People should stand up for what they believe in more often. AND YES, Valerie! Courtney Love should be included on this list.
84. MDWhite - September 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Let’s add the uber-pigs Sandra Bernhard, Lindsay Lohan, and Pam Anderson. Why ? Just give a listen next time they open their mouths…uh…to speak.
85. Rennix - November 7th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Well done.
86. Pyderz - November 12th, 2008 at 3:58 am
gary gliter?
87. caro - November 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
here’s the britney dumping k-fed via text video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H5goRPFGrw
88. Xthye - December 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Jackson is still great in my heart so is Spear.
89. Briana - December 19th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Great list, but I expected Mel Gibson to at least make an appearance.
Love the list.
90. antuan - December 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 am
Check out the trust index of Michael Jackson at www.trust-index.com. Have the recent news about his desease affected his reputation? Do you trust him?
Trust-index for Michael Jackson
You can add any item you want to be rated by people from all over the world. Express your trust, and check out what others think about.
91. jose - December 29th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
ellen degeneres he/she is fugly!