A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in these cases, a career. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most widely known public figures whose careers or political campaigns were severely damaged because of compromising photographs.
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00:00I didn't break the law. I didn't do anything wrong. That photo is very much covered by the First Amendment.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most widely known public
00:10figures whose careers or political campaigns were severely damaged because of compromising
00:14photographs. My biggest probably fear was to tell my parents. Number 10, Kate Moss. British
00:24supermodel Kate Moss built her career appearing in prestigious fashion campaigns and iconic
00:28magazine covers. People really look up to what she's wearing and look to her as an icon. Kate
00:33Moss I think always looks good. Everyone wants to look like Kate Moss. However, in 2005, Moss
00:38made news for all the wrong reasons when the Daily Mirror ran front page pictures of her engaging in
00:43drug use alongside a damning headline. This publication ignited a major controversy, resulting
00:48in Moss being dropped by major fashion brands including Chanel, Burberry, and H&M, with whom
00:54she held an estimated four million pounds annual contract. Nervous advertisers cancelled Kate's
00:59contracts, and it looked like her career in fashion was over. She was even investigated by
01:03the London Met police, although all charges were eventually dismissed. The damage to her career may
01:07have been extensive, but Moss managed to weather the storm, bouncing back to the forefront of the
01:12industry in a matter of months. Even if she did things in her life that weren't necessarily
01:17accepted, people are always willing to give you a second chance. The bottom line is she's a
01:22fantastic model, and she sells clothes. Women respond to Kate. Number nine, Chris Lee. While the
01:27damning picture in this case may pale in comparison to the others on the list, it nonetheless marks
01:32the end of this politician's career. Before yesterday afternoon, Christopher Lee was known
01:37as an up-and-coming Republican congressman from New York. By yesterday evening, the two-term
01:42congressman was resigning amidst a cheating scandal on the internet. In February 2011, a few
01:48months after winning re-election in a landslide, New York congressman Chris Lee got ensnared in a
01:53scandal when it was revealed that he had solicited a woman on Craigslist. Despite being married, Lee
01:58had sent the woman a shirtless photograph of himself flexing his muscles and falsely portrayed
02:02himself as a divorced lobbyist. This picture, as well as the messages the two exchanged,
02:15eventually got leaked to the website Gawker. Within hours of their release, Lee issued a public
02:20apology and resigned his congressional seat. And just hours after this photo went viral,
02:25the congressman from the 26th district resigned. Number eight, Bow Wow. If you ever needed a
02:31reminder not to trust everything on social media, this would be it. In May 2017, Bow Wow shared a
02:36picture that appeared to capture a typical day in the life of a celebrity. So basically I was
02:40traveling to New York, right, and I was on a commercial flight. So I saw a picture that I
02:44liked. It was my mood picture, so I posted it. I put travel day. The post showed a luxury car parked
02:49beside a private jet on an airport tarmac, suggesting he was about to embark on a lavish
02:53trip. Initially, no one thought much of it until hours later when another picture emerged showing
02:58the rapper seated in economy class on a commercial flight. Oh, you just posted a picture you like.
03:02Yeah. Well, what the hell, what the hell's the problem? Because the way it looked, it looked as
03:07if I was taking the big boy jet going to New York and really I was on Delta. Eagle-eyed fans quickly
03:12traced the original picture to the website of a V.I.P. transport company. The gaffe sparked
03:16widespread ridicule on social media and portrayed Bow Wow as a very dishonest individual. But you
03:21know, a private jet is just for you, not for other people who buy tickets. No. Well, they got
03:26this thing called Jetsmart. Are you on that? Number seven, Ed Miliband. Throughout history,
03:31several politicians have ruined their careers for a variety of shocking reasons. Corruption scandals,
03:36sex scandals, bigotry. However, for British politician Ed Miliband, his downfall came
03:41from a simple act many of us engage in daily, eating a sandwich. If she's looking for a new
03:46challenge, she should try wrestling a bacon sandwich. Back in 2014, while campaigning for
03:54local elections, Miliband, then Labour Party leader, was photographed eating a bacon sandwich.
03:59Granted, almost anyone would look awkward if caught mid-bite, but Miliband's depiction was
04:03particularly cringeworthy and quickly invited widespread ridicule. They said his advisors
04:08stepped in. I just imagine they stepped in and like that. Yeah. As the 2015 general election
04:19approached, the image resurfaced on the front page of the tabloid The Sun, effectively
04:24overshadowing any substantive policies with mockery. Needless to say, Miliband lost the
04:28election and resigned as the Labour Party leader shortly after. I don't think I lost
04:33was the bacon sandwich. Do you know what I mean? Do you know how absurd that phrase
04:36sounds in itself? Well, indeed. The very fact I've got to say that. I lost for deeper reasons than
04:44that. Number six, Gary Hart. Rarely ever has a promising presidential bid crashed and burned
04:49as quickly as Gary Hart's. I intend to seek the presidency of the United States in 1988.
04:57Hart was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, but his
05:00campaign was plagued by rumors of extramarital affairs. He vehemently denied these allegations,
05:05even challenging the media to follow him around and prove them. Well, they did, in fact,
05:10accept his challenge. What we were doing there, Michael, was verifying the tip that he in fact
05:15was going to spend the weekend with Donna Rice, which we verified. And you can only do that by
05:21The press linked Hart to Donna Rice, a young woman seen spending the night at his house.
05:25Even worse, they unearthed a damning picture of Rice sitting on Hart's lap with him wearing a
05:30shirt referencing a yacht they had partied on, aptly named Monkey Business. It didn't take long
05:34for Hart to suspend his campaign and drop out of the race. I believe I would have been a successful
05:39candidate and I know I could have been a very good president, particularly for these times.
05:44But apparently now we'll never know. Number five, Michael Ducotte.
05:48Following Gary Hart's withdrawal from the 1988 primaries, Democrats ultimately chose
05:52Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as their nominee. When the convention was over and I saw
05:58the big lead that Dukakis had, obviously I thought it was going to be pretty tough for the vice
06:03president. However, Dukakis is untested in a national campaign. This other guy is tested.
06:09Despite running an impressive primary campaign, Dukakis's abysmal bid for the White House was met
06:13with a resounding defeat. This was due to various shortcomings, notably the now infamous tank photo.
06:18Having been portrayed by Republicans as weak on crime and defense issues, Dukakis sought to
06:23bolster his tough image by posing in a military tank. However, this backfired spectacularly as the
06:25photograph, depicting Dukakis in an oversized helmet with his name splashed across it,
06:29was never seen again.
06:30And so someone came up with the idea that Mike Dukakis should be shown in a military posture.
06:37However, this backfired spectacularly as the photograph, depicting Dukakis in an
06:41oversized helmet with his name splashed across it, was exploited by his opponent and widely ridiculed.
06:46It became a symbol of the ineptitude of the campaign. It became a laughingstock.
06:51Today, even Dukakis himself concedes that the tank photo was a huge misstep.
06:56Vanessa Williams
06:58In September 1983, Vanessa Williams made history as the first African-American to win the Miss
07:03America title. She fulfilled her duties gracefully until just before the end of her reign,
07:16it was revealed that explicit images of her would be published in Penthouse magazine.
07:19The pictures were taken in 1982, when she worked as an assistant for a photographer,
07:24who led her to believe they had been destroyed.
07:33She turned to her parents.
07:39Even before their publication, the Miss America organization pressured Williams to resign,
07:43subsequently awarding the title to the first runner-up.
07:46Williams faced severe ridicule in the media, and for a while, it seemed her career was over.
07:50Nevertheless, she managed to rebound,
08:03establishing a successful career as a versatile entertainer.
08:07Al Franken
08:08He first gained recognition as a comedy writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live,
08:12but it appears sometimes, Al Franken's jokes might cross certain boundaries.
08:20While serving the U.S. Senate in 2017,
08:24Franken faced accusations of sexual misconduct from radio broadcaster Leanne Tweeden.
08:29These allegations gained further traction when a compromising photograph emerged,
08:33showing Franken with his hands positioned above Tweeden's breasts.
08:47According to the senator, this was intended as a joke.
08:51While the accusations were still being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee,
09:02several Democratic senators called for Franken's resignation.
09:05He ultimately succumbed to pressure and stepped down from the Senate, a decision he now regrets.
09:102. Anthony Weiner
09:21Some people just never learn from their mistakes.
09:23Everyone, it seems, is piling on, even at his own campaign events.
09:30This confrontation came at his most recent stop.
09:38Anthony Weiner represented New York's 9th congressional district and was viewed by some
09:42as a rising political star. However, in 2011, Weiner dug himself into a hole and never found
09:47his way out. The congressman used his public Twitter account to share a link to a suggestive
09:51picture of himself, but initially denied responsibility. Faced with insurmountable
10:11evidence, he confessed and resigned from office. Yet, this wasn't the end of Weiner's troubles.
10:15He resurfaced to run for New York City mayor in 2013, but encountered another setback due
10:19to yet another sexting scandal. In 2017, he was implicated in a third scandal, ultimately
10:24receiving a 21-month prison sentence for engaging in explicit communication with a minor.
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10:58Number 1. Kathy Griffin
11:00Donald Trump has divided public opinion ever since he first announced his presidential
11:04candidacy in June 2015. But nearly everyone came together in condemnation of this horrifying stunt.
11:17In May 2017, months after Trump's inauguration, comedian Kathy Griffin posted a graphic image
11:22online in which she held a bloody mask that closely resembled the then-president. The
11:26backlash was immediate. Criticism filtered in from both sides of the political divide.
11:38As a result, Griffin took the picture down and apologized, but the damage was already done.
11:42She lost multiple business deals, was fired by CNN, and had to cancel her upcoming tour dates.
11:47Griffin eventually retracted her apology and reposted the controversial photo on the day
11:51after the 2020 presidential election. What other career-ending photographs exist out there?
12:06Bring them to our attention in the comments below.
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