These celebrities should have never agreed to give an interview. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for famous folks who severely damaged their reputations for a time after scandalous behavior in a single interview, even if they have since bounced back.
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00:00 continue to trash her. Okay, I'm done with this. No, no, no. Sorry.
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for famous folks who severely
00:10 damaged their reputations for a time after scandalous behavior in a single interview,
00:15 even if they have since bounced back. Yes or no, did you ever take banned
00:20 substances to enhance your cycling performance? Yes.
00:24 Number 20, Joaquin Phoenix. Today, Joaquin Phoenix is a multi-time Oscar nominee and winner,
00:32 but in 2009, his career was in a very different realm after appearing on The Late Show with David
00:38 Letterman. Is there something wrong? I can't be the first one to make you feel weird about it.
00:42 No, I guess not. Wearing sunglasses and a big bushy beard, Phoenix mumbled awkwardly through
00:50 the discussion, causing the host to take verbal shots at him. What, uh, well, can you tell us
00:56 about your days with the Unabomber? While this turned out to be a spoof for his mockumentary,
01:01 I'm Still Here, the media genuinely believed Phoenix was having a breakdown and producers
01:06 stayed away from him. But you are, you're not going to act anymore? No. Oh, why is that?
01:18 I don't know. The actor admitted in a later interview that the quality of
01:22 script sent to entice him had vastly dropped after the stunt. It took several critically
01:27 acclaimed projects to put Phoenix's career back on track. Thank you for letting me come on the show.
01:32 Yes, well, we've been dying to have you back a year and a half. Number 19, Belle Gibson.
01:38 Are you prepared to tell the truth today? The whole truth? No, no, truth's no gobbledygook.
01:44 The truth? No, I've been really transparent. In 2013, Australian Belle Gibson was one of the
01:50 hottest new wellness influencers on the market after launching her mobile app, The Whole Pantry.
01:57 After releasing various cookbooks, life seemed to be going great for her. But then,
02:02 Gibson told the world she had contracted several cancers, but was managing the progression with
02:07 her healthy lifestyle. Now you've just admitted that you didn't say it was at your home and it
02:12 wasn't with a real doctor because you thought people would be disappointed in you. No, I believed
02:17 he was a real doctor. Yet in 2015, rumors emerged that Gibson was lying about having the disease
02:24 and her donations to charity. I've been openly conveying and speaking about what was my reality
02:32 and what is my reality today. And will you accept that your reality does not actually match reality?
02:37 With the pressure mounting, she spoke with the magazine, The Australian Women's Weekly,
02:42 where she admitted she'd been lying and blamed her behavior on her upbringing.
02:47 This tanked her career in an instant. In 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for her deceptions.
02:56 Despite being given a four month deadline, you're still alive.
03:00 Yeah.
03:01 Was that an indicator to you that you didn't have brain cancer?
03:06 It wasn't an indicator.
03:07 Number 18, Alex Pettifer. If you're a blossoming actor in Hollywood, it's not a great idea to slam
03:14 the city where you make a living. But that's what England's Alex Pettifer did in 2011. After making
03:20 his name in I Am Number Four and Stormbreaker, the actor's career appeared to be going swell.
03:26 Then Pettifer spoke to V-Man for an article. Within it, he slated Los Angeles in an
03:32 expletive-filled interview. Among many, many insults, he called the city a "insidious pool"
03:39 and socially "disgusting," slated the women living there, and described an acting career
03:45 like being in prison. Yikes. This, on top of a reputation as being difficult to work with,
03:51 caused Pettifer's career to stagnate as big budget productions looked elsewhere for talent.
03:57 Number 17, Tom Cruise. 2005 was a dark mark in the career of Tom Cruise.
04:04 Firstly, there was his bizarre behavior on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
04:08 -I've never seen you like that!
04:09 -I've never seen that!
04:14 -I know!
04:15 Cruise followed that by publicly criticizing Brooke Shields for admitting she used
04:19 antidepressants after developing postpartum depression. The actor then went on to the
04:24 Today program to speak with Matt Lauer about his opinions, and it was rough.
04:29 -I'm just living my life, and I'm doing the best that I can,
04:33 and doing it in a way that I feel is right.
04:36 An erratic Cruise doubled down on his anti-psychiatry views,
04:40 calling it a quote "pseudoscience."
04:43 -And I know that psychiatry is a pseudoscience.
04:50 His very patronizing approach did Cruise no favors, as he combated Lauer's questions.
04:56 With all the scandal, Paramount Pictures cut ties with the actor in 2006 after 14 years,
05:02 but eventually that relationship recovered.
05:05 Steven Spielberg also denounced Cruise's actions in 2005.
05:10 However, the duo reconciled in 2023.
05:13 -We've never seen you behave this way before.
05:15 -I know!
05:16 -Have you ever felt this way before?
05:19 Number 16.
05:21 Piers Morgan.
05:22 By 2014, thanks to poor ratings, Piers Morgan's reign on CNN was ending.
05:27 In his final days, he interviewed comedian Chelsea Handler, and she wrecked him.
05:33 Handler slated his lack of attention and called him a quote "terrible interviewer."
05:38 -I mean, you can't even pay attention for 60 seconds.
05:41 You're a terrible interviewer.
05:43 -Well, you just weren't keeping my attention.
05:44 -Well, that's not my problem.
05:46 While Morgan attempted to save face by claiming the guest had to be interesting,
05:50 Handler pointed out that it was his job to do that.
05:53 -This is your show.
05:54 You have to pay attention to the guests that you invited on your show.
05:57 -They're interesting enough.
05:58 -Yeah, they are.
05:58 Listen, it doesn't matter how interesting I am.
06:00 You signed up for this job.
06:02 -Of course it does.
06:02 -Well, maybe that's why your job is coming to an end.
06:04 With his U.S. reputation in shambles, Morgan returned to the UK and joined Good Morning Britain.
06:11 -This is a two-hour trash-a-thon of our royal family.
06:15 But after he went off on a rant about Meghan Markle disclosing her mental health struggles,
06:19 he was called out by fellow presenter Alex Beresford, causing Morgan to walk off.
06:25 -But yet you continue to trash her.
06:27 -Okay, I'm done with this.
06:28 -No, no, no.
06:28 -Sorry.
06:29 -No, no, no.
06:29 -Sorry.
06:30 -Do you know what?
06:30 That's pathetic.
06:31 -You can trash him, maybe, but not my own daughter.
06:32 -No, no, no.
06:32 -See you later.
06:33 Later, he resigned from the show and has struggled for relevance since.
06:37 -Absolutely diabolical behavior.
06:40 Number 15.
06:41 Liam Neeson.
06:42 This interview had social media bursting at the seams with comments for and against the
06:47 Irish actor.
06:48 While promoting one of his movies, Neeson opened up in an interview about the time one
06:52 of his close friends was sexually assaulted by a Black man.
06:55 -To get rid of this.
06:58 And I'm not racist.
07:00 This was nearly 40 years ago.
07:03 But because I was brought up in -- maybe I'm rabbiting on, Rob, so forgive me.
07:07 I was brought up in the north of Ireland and brought up in the Troubles.
07:12 He said that after finding out, he walked the streets looking for trouble, hoping to
07:16 kill a Black man, before realizing that what he was doing was wrong and feeling ashamed
07:20 of himself.
07:21 Many branded him a racist, while others defended his honesty, including celebrities such as
07:26 Trevor Noah and Whoopi Goldberg.
07:28 -Because I believe that Liam Neeson deserves a medal, and I'll tell you why.
07:31 It may not have destroyed his career, but it certainly put a fork in the road of his
07:35 likability.
07:36 Number 14.
07:38 John Mayer.
07:39 At one point, John Mayer had the reputation of a quality musician who was seemingly going
07:44 to reach legendary status one day.
07:46 But then, he spoke to Playboy magazine in 2010 and destroyed that possibility.
07:51 -He is giving this interview to Playboy magazine.
07:53 He wants to be provocative, and he tried a little too hard.
07:57 On top of being gross about his past relationships with Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston,
08:02 -Sexually, it was crazy.
08:04 Mayer compared "little John" to white supremacist David Duke and threw in racial
08:10 slurs a couple of times.
08:12 Yikes.
08:13 While Mayer apologized on social media, in other interviews, and at gigs, he never reached
08:18 those lofty heights again.
08:20 None of his released singles have reached the top 25 on the US Billboard chart since
08:25 2010's "Half of My Heart" with Taylor Swift.
08:27 -Oh, half of my heart's got a grip on the situation.
08:32 Half of my heart takes time.
08:35 Number 13.
08:36 Chris Harrison.
08:37 For 19 years, Chris Harrison was an American icon with his work on "The Bachelor"
08:42 and its spin-off "The Bachelorette" and many more.
08:45 But then, in 2021, he was interviewed by Rachel Lindsay, a former bachelorette, for
08:51 "Extra."
08:52 This is when his career fell off.
08:54 Harrison discussed the actions of alumni Rachel Kirkconnell after photos of her at
08:59 college attending a plantation-themed party came out and liked racial posts on social
09:04 media.
09:05 -Is it a good look in 2018 or is it not a good look in 2021?
09:09 -It's not a good look ever.
09:11 It's hard to defend that.
09:12 But Harrison did his best, even throwing in the term "woke police" and saying people
09:18 shouldn't judge.
09:19 Ew.
09:20 The public backlash was massive.
09:22 Lindsay quit the franchise due to her disgust at Harrison.
09:26 He was suspended and later fired by "The Bachelor."
09:29 -Antebellum parties are not okay.
09:32 Past, present, future.
09:35 Number 12.
09:36 Paula Deen.
09:37 -I'm so happy to be showing y'all my new stoneware.
09:41 Specializing in Southern cooking, Paula Deen seemed like a nice and kind person during
09:46 her cooking show, "Paula's Best Dishes."
09:48 But when a lawsuit came her way in 2013, her deposition threw that assumption in the bin
09:53 when she stated she used racial slurs several times and had considered a plantation-themed
09:59 wedding.
10:00 Yikes.
10:01 As the backlash grew, Deen was interviewed on "The Today Show" to discuss the controversy.
10:06 And it was weird.
10:07 -If there's anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take
10:18 back...
10:18 Painting herself as a victim of slander, she stated she wouldn't have fired herself for
10:23 the fallout.
10:24 But most notable was the lack of "sorry" from Deen, except for referring to an apology
10:29 video she'd made.
10:30 Afterward, more companies cut ties with Deen as she fell into obscurity.
10:34 Number 11.
10:36 Michael Jackson.
10:37 Interviewed by Martin Bashir for a year and broadcast to the world in 2003, the documentary
10:44 "Living with Michael Jackson" shocked viewers with a couple of massive revelations from
10:48 the singer.
10:49 -These we bought.
10:50 -Yes.
10:50 -And these.
10:51 -Yes.
10:52 -This table.
10:54 -Yes.
10:55 -These.
10:55 These.
10:57 Firstly, Jackson spoke about the abuse he sustained at his father's hands when he grew
11:02 up.
11:03 But then, the thriller performer stated that he had had sleepovers with children in his
11:08 bedroom.
11:09 But he emphasized that nothing untoward happened.
11:12 -When Gavin was there, he talked about the fact that he shares your bedroom.
11:15 -Yes.
11:16 -Can you understand why people would worry about that?
11:19 -Because they're ignorant.
11:21 The backlash was massive from the public.
11:24 This brought to life the infamous trial of The People vs. Jackson in 2005.
11:29 While Jackson was acquitted on all counts, the damage done to his reputation was permanent.
11:34 On top of that, he faced bankruptcy from other lawsuits before he passed away in 2009.
11:40 -Black people were called colored people because we come in all colors.
11:44 From very white, as bright as my hand, to very dark.
11:48 Number 10.
11:49 Lance Armstrong.
11:50 Seen as a hero for facing cancer and becoming a dominant force in professional cycling,
11:56 Lance Armstrong was beloved and one of the best athletes ever.
12:00 But then, the rumors that he had had all his success on the back of doping began to emerge.
12:05 In 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency stripped him of all his wins since 1998.
12:13 While he denied it, Armstrong was then interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2013.
12:18 -Yes or no, did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?
12:22 -Yes.
12:23 Here, the former legend told the truth and admitted his cheating,
12:27 but denied allegations he had forced teammates to dope
12:30 and bribed officials to hide his test results.
12:34 -Did you ever blood dope or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performance?
12:39 -Yes.
12:39 Afterward, brands such as Nike canceled contracts with him,
12:43 reportedly costing Armstrong millions of dollars.
12:46 -Did you ever use any other banned substances like testosterone,
12:50 cortisone, or human growth hormone?
12:53 -Yes.
12:54 Number 9.
12:55 Billy Bush.
12:56 While not an official interview per se,
12:59 we're going to allow this Access Hollywood footage due to how notorious and career-ruining it became.
13:06 It was actually captured before presenter Billy Bush and Donald Trump were able to
13:10 cruise into a TV studio to do some filming,
13:14 and while they were unaware that their microphones were on.
13:17 -I moved on her, actually.
13:18 You know, she was down in Palm Beach.
13:19 I moved on her and I failed.
13:21 I'll admit it.
13:21 I did try and f*** her.
13:23 She was married.
13:24 While on the bus, they riff about Trump's sexual escapades,
13:28 which include groping women,
13:30 and discuss how power can give you free reign to do whatever you want.
13:33 -I gotta use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her.
13:35 You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful women.
13:38 I just start kissing them.
13:39 It's like a magnet.
13:40 You just kiss.
13:41 I don't even wait.
13:43 And when you're a star, they let you do it.
13:45 You can do anything.
13:45 -Whatever you want.
13:46 -Grab 'em by the p***.
13:47 We even hear them talking about how attractive they think
13:50 Days of Our Lives actress Ariane Zucker is
13:52 before meeting her when they get off the bus.
13:54 Bush was suspended from his job on the Today show following a ratings drop
13:58 and subsequently resigned.
14:00 He's since had to repeatedly defend himself in interviews.
14:03 -The moment that is on that tape, I understand people's reaction.
14:09 I agree.
14:10 I also felt that way.
14:12 If you're a band, being interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine is a big, big deal.
14:20 So much so that it can be easy to get carried away
14:22 with trying to sound overtly rock and roll.
14:25 And that's exactly what happened with the band 5 Seconds of Summer.
14:28 In a 2015 interview, the band did everything from compare themselves to the Beatles
14:33 to dismissing or insulting the American Music Awards,
14:36 Justin Bieber, and their female fan base, also known as most of their fan base.
14:41 They were criticized for their comments and for generally sounding like
14:44 narcissistic prima donnas.
14:46 It probably didn't help that they appeared naked on the front cover either.
14:52 -What do idol fans have to look forward to this season?
14:54 And what are you looking forward to seeing?
14:56 -Well, is that what it is?
15:02 I was wondering, what is that?
15:03 You know when you're under the influence, but you don't think you sound like you are?
15:08 Well, there's a good chance that Paula Abdul knows what that feels like,
15:12 at least in hindsight.
15:13 In this 2007 interview, she's promoting the latest series of American Idol.
15:17 While she would later dismiss the idea as lies,
15:20 many viewers wondered if she'd had a few drinks or partaken in another type of stimuli.
15:25 Delayed responses, bouts of laughter, this one has it all.
15:29 -You know what?
15:29 Listen, any publicity is good publicity.
15:33 You gotta learn to eat it up and embrace it and say,
15:36 "Seattle had the best delusional people."
15:40 The interview went viral, becoming an inescapable part of Abdul's career.
15:44 Two years later, she left American Idol as a judge due to a dispute over wages
15:49 and dropped out of the public eye for a while.
15:51 Number six, The Chainsmokers.
15:54 Next up, we have another misguided attempt at sounding hardcore in a magazine interview,
15:59 this time courtesy of the musical duo The Chainsmokers,
16:02 who let it all hang out with Billboard.
16:04 -Everyone was making the same thing, and after a few years, it got really stale.
16:09 And only a few people started breaking off from that and experimenting.
16:15 When asked about their manic musical romps,
16:17 they were all too eager to brag about their wild frat boy image
16:20 and penchant for sleeping with as many girls as possible,
16:24 even though they both had girlfriends.
16:26 The two were heavily criticized and briefly became the talk of the musical world
16:30 for all the wrong reasons.
16:31 But we shouldn't hate on them too much, right?
16:34 Like they said, quote, "We're just frat bro dudes, you know what I mean?
16:37 Loving ladies and stuff."
16:39 That's an actual quote, word for word.
16:41 Number five, Prince Andrew.
16:44 Deemed a car crash by many, this interview ultimately resulted in Prince Andrew
16:49 stepping down from public duties for the royal family.
16:52 -Today, you've chosen to speak out for the first time.
16:56 Why have you decided to talk now?
16:58 When BBC's Emily Maitlis questioned him about his close ties
17:02 to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,
17:04 the prince's answer raised many an eyebrow.
17:07 For starters, Prince Andrew straight up denied ever meeting his accuser, Virginia Roberts.
17:12 -I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady.
17:15 None whatsoever.
17:17 Despite photographic evidence to the contrary,
17:19 there were other shocking answers littered throughout,
17:22 like saying he didn't regret his friendship with Epstein
17:24 as it presented him with useful opportunities.
17:27 The interviewer is clearly unimpressed with his answers,
17:30 much like pretty much everyone else who watched it.
17:32 -He has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming, yes.
17:37 -Unbecoming? He was a sex offender?
17:40 -Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm being polite.
17:42 Number four, Catherine Heigl.
17:44 Heigl has long had a reputation for being difficult to work with,
17:47 but a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair proved particularly damning
17:52 when she criticized the movie "Knocked Up," which she'd just starred in.
17:55 She branded the movie, quote, "a little sexist"
17:57 and critiqued the way in which it portrays women,
18:00 which frustrated people, considering that she'd decided to be in the movie.
18:04 A year later, she starred in the movie "The Ugly Truth,"
18:06 which was widely panned as misogynistic.
18:09 -Who's this delightful creature?
18:10 -I'm your producer.
18:12 -Oh, hey.
18:14 -I like a woman on top.
18:17 As a result of the entire episode, already hesitant directors
18:20 were given yet another reason to be cautious about working with her.
18:24 -I'm gonna be really honest right now, I'm not.
18:26 I know I'm not. -Yeah.
18:28 -I don't have to think about it. I'm not a rude person.
18:30 I'm not an unkind or mean person.
18:32 Number three, Megan Fox.
18:35 As a general rule, it's probably not a good idea
18:37 to compare the director you're working with
18:39 to Hitler, but that's what "Transformers" star Megan Fox did
18:42 in an interview with British magazine "Wonderland."
18:45 Talking about Michael Bay's conduct on set,
18:47 Fox compared the director to the Nazi leader,
18:49 which was soon all over the media.
18:51 -Whoa, nice headers.
18:53 You've got a high-rise double-pump carburetor.
18:55 That's pretty impressive, Sam.
18:57 -Double pump?
18:58 -It ultimately resulted in her being fired
19:00 from the "Transformers" franchise, but not by Bay.
19:03 According to Bay, it was the franchise's executive producer,
19:06 a certain Steven Spielberg, who insisted she be fired.
19:10 She's since worked with Bay again
19:12 on the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" films,
19:14 which the latter produced, but Fox's notable roles
19:17 have otherwise been few and far between
19:18 since giving this interview.
19:20 -Hi, guys. This is April O'Neil from Channel 6 News,
19:22 and I am here in beautiful New York City
19:24 on the first day of spring, and you know what that means.
19:27 It is time to shed that pesky winter weight.
19:29 -Number two, Charlie Sheen.
19:32 This guy has said and done some seriously shocking
19:34 and controversial things in his career,
19:36 but the reason he's on today's list may surprise you.
19:39 The interview in question is his 2015 appearance
19:42 on "The Today Show," where he announced
19:44 that he was HIV positive.
19:45 -They walked in the room and said,
19:47 "Boom. Here's what's going on."
19:49 It's a hard three letters to absorb, you know?
19:55 It's a turning point in one's life.
19:59 -While some praised his bravery,
20:01 many criticized the fact that it had taken him
20:03 four years to go public with it,
20:05 stating that it could have endangered his sexual partners.
20:07 -Were these people that you had had sexual contact with
20:12 and were claiming that you had transmitted the virus to them,
20:15 or were these people who simply found out about your status
20:19 and were threatening to tell the world?
20:21 -People also took aim at Sheen's surprisingly calm demeanor
20:24 as he told of his diagnosis
20:26 and battle with people blackmailing him.
20:28 For some, the interview humanized Sheen
20:30 more than ever before.
20:31 For others, it further solidified his reputation
20:34 as being reckless,
20:35 particularly with the lives of others.
20:37 -Have you had unprotected sex
20:41 on any occasion since your diagnosis?
20:44 -Yes, but the two people that I did that with
20:47 were under the care of my doctor,
20:49 and they were completely warned ahead of time.
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21:06 Number one, R. Kelly.
21:10 Although it's a different story today,
21:11 back in the 2000s,
21:13 R. Kelly still had his defenders
21:15 when it came to allegations of sexual misconduct.
21:17 In 2002, he was indicted,
21:19 but was eventually acquitted in 2008.
21:22 -They are still talking about you with underage girls.
21:25 -That same year, however,
21:26 an interview about the allegations
21:28 ensured that Kelly's muddied reputation
21:30 would not be forgotten.
21:32 When asked about whether he liked teenage girls,
21:34 Kelly replied with this.
21:36 -When you say teenage, how are we talking?
21:38 -Viewers and clearly the interviewer, Tor Ray,
21:41 were shocked at Kelly's reaction,
21:43 and it went on to further support the claims
21:45 that he was in fact guilty.
21:47 The infamous response became a critical moment
21:49 in the press' depiction of him
21:51 in the years to follow.
21:52 -Which controversial celebrity chat
21:54 stopped you from being their fan anymore?
21:57 Let us know in the comments.
21:58 -I made a mistake, and I own that.
22:01 -Did you enjoy this video?
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22:20 (music fades)