These celebs had the world in the palm of their hand...and threw it in the garbage. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable celebrities who once had it all, only to lose everything at the peak of their careers.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Your reaction to that verdict?
00:03Shock.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:08notable celebrities who once had it all, only to lose everything at the peak of their careers.
00:12I'm a competitor. It's what I've done my whole life.
00:16Number 10. The Chicks.
00:18Formed in 1989, The Chicks rose from obscurity to become one of the most popular bands in a decade.
00:23By the early 2000s, they dominated country music, becoming the best-selling all-female
00:32band in history and winning multiple Grammy Awards. However, after the tragic September
00:3711th attacks, lead vocalist Natalie Mains opposed George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
00:42During a 2003 performance in London,
00:44Mains criticized Bush, a move that was deemed unpatriotic by the country music industry.
00:52Number 4.
01:00We're ashamed of the present United States of America.
01:05This backlash led to the group being blacklisted,
01:07resulting in a sharp decline in music sales and a loss of sponsorships.
01:11The Chicks eventually made a comeback with their Grammy-winning 2006 album,
01:14Taking the Long Way, though it failed to reach their former level of success.
01:23Number 9. Charlie Sheen.
01:26Throughout the 80s and 90s, Charlie Sheen established himself as a leading man on the
01:29big screen. But it was the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men that made Sheen a television powerhouse.
01:44By the eighth season, Sheen was earning a whopping $1.78 million per episode,
01:49making him the highest-paid actor on TV. Having attained such unprecedented heights,
01:54Sheen proved there was nowhere to go but down.
02:06The actor, who was grappling with substance use disorder at the time,
02:09publicly insulted creator Chuck Lorre during a radio show appearance.
02:13This ultimately led to him being fired and replaced with Ashton Kutcher.
02:21Sheen may no longer be the bankable star he once was,
02:24but at least he appears to have achieved sobriety.
02:27Number 8. Millie Vanillie.
02:28Many aspiring singers dream of winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
02:32For Millie Vanillie, the R&B duo from Munich, that dream became a reality in 1990.
02:43The duo had seen an unprecedented rise to fame in the late 80s,
02:48fueled by their album Girl You Know It's True. This album not only won them the Grammy,
02:53it also produced three consecutive No. 1 singles, a remarkable feat for a new act.
03:02However, their rapid success was short-lived. It was soon revealed that the duo didn't sing
03:06any of the songs on the album and only lip-sync during live performances. Just like that,
03:11their Grammy was revoked, their recording contract terminated, and their legacy forever tarnished.
03:18Number 7. Paula Deen.
03:20With multiple TV shows, a string of successful cookbooks, and her own restaurant chain,
03:24Paula Deen was at the pinnacle of her culinary career.
03:41However, her reputation took a severe hit when a former employee sued her for racial
03:50and sexual discrimination. When she was deposed, Deen admitted to using racial slurs in the past.
03:55Although the lawsuit was eventually dropped, the transcript of the deposition leaked,
03:59resulting in a massive public backlash.
04:01Context is never an excuse for using derogatory
04:04statements towards any group or race of people.
04:07Deen tried to quell the flames by releasing a series of bizarre apology videos online
04:11and appearing on The Today Show to apologize further, but none of these attempts seemed to work.
04:16It's important to me that I tell you and everyone out there what I believe and how I live my life.
04:25Consequently, the Food Network terminated her contract,
04:28and she lost several other endorsement deals.
04:30Number 6. Jussie Smollett.
04:32The Fox musical drama series Empire became a huge hit in the mid-2010s,
04:36propelling its lesser-known actors to global fame.
04:46Among them was Jussie Smollett, who portrayed middle son Jamal Lyon.
04:50This role seemed like the ideal launching pad for a successful Hollywood career,
04:53but Smollett confounded everyone when he fabricated a fake hate crime against himself in 2019.
05:05He then paid two brothers who had appeared as extras on Empire to go along with his
05:09elaborate hoax by posing as his attackers.
05:11Once this revelation came to light,
05:13Smollett was fired from the show and his character was written off.
05:16We're also told there are deep divisions among the cast over whether to continue to support him.
05:20He was subsequently convicted of felony disorderly conduct for lying to the police
05:24and sentenced to 150 days in jail.
05:26You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this.
05:29Number 5. Roseanne Barr.
05:31Following the original run of her eponymous sitcom,
05:34Roseanne Barr tried her hand at various other comedy series and reality shows,
05:37but none were nearly as successful.
05:39In 2018, her show was brought back for a 10th season revival,
05:43which became a huge ratings hit and brought Barr renewed acclaim.
05:46First let's say grace. Jackie, would you like to take a knee?
05:50The comedian seemed poised for a late career resurgence,
05:53but she sabotaged all of that with her own hands.
05:55Roseanne Barr has been very controversial over the years,
05:59but people managed to look past that to a certain degree until now.
06:03After posting a racially insensitive tweet aimed at former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett,
06:07Barr was heavily criticized by fans and her industry peers.
06:11She was fired by ABC, and Roseanne was cancelled that same day.
06:14The show was eventually retooled as The Conners,
06:16and Barr subsequently faded back into obscurity.
06:19We could not have held this all together without you.
06:21Well, that's why I'm here. I know Roseanne would want me to step in and watch over the family.
06:25No, it'd kill her.
06:28But she's already dead, so carry on.
06:31Number 4. Jonathan Majors.
06:33After graduating from Yale in 2016,
06:35Jonathan Majors quickly rose to fame with roles in The Last Black Man in San Francisco
06:39and the HBO series Lovecraft Country.
06:50In 2023, Majors debuted as Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
06:54a role that was considered transformative for his career.
07:05However, his portrayal of the villain was cut short in March
07:08when he was arrested for assault and aggravated harassment of his ex-girlfriend.
07:12Over the weekend, actor Jonathan Majors was charged with assault
07:15after a 30-year-old woman told cops he attacked her.
07:18The following month, more women accused Majors of assault,
07:21leading to his management and PR firm dropping him,
07:23and Disney removing his upcoming film, Magazine Dreams, from its release schedule.
07:27Majors was ultimately convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment charges,
07:31following which he was fired by Marvel Studios.
07:33You know, everything is... everything's kind of gone away.
07:38Throughout the 2010s, Armie Hammer was on a steady rise in Hollywood,
07:43starring in major projects such as The Lone Ranger and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
07:55His most celebrated role came with 2017's Call Me By Your Name,
07:58which brought him international fame.
08:08However, in January 2021, all of that public favor dissipated
08:12when the actor's text messages were leaked,
08:14showcasing his violent fantasies against various women.
08:17Hammer initially denied the messages were his,
08:19but multiple women came forward with corroborating claims.
08:22If you look for something, you're gonna find something that you're not gonna like, always.
08:26As a result, Hammer either pulled out or was dropped from several upcoming projects.
08:31He subsequently moved to the Cayman Islands,
08:33where he reportedly was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
08:36Prior to the controversy that derailed his career,
08:39Kevin Spacey was a highly respected actor with two Academy Awards to his name.
08:48In the early 2010s, he transitioned smoothly to TV,
08:52producing and starring in the highly acclaimed political series House of Cards.
09:06In 2017, after the fifth season premiered,
09:13Spacey was accused of sexual assault by actor Anthony Rapp in an incident from 1986.
09:18This prompted more individuals to come forward with their own
09:20allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
09:26Spacey's career quickly collapsed.
09:28His contract with Netflix was terminated, and he was dropped from his future projects.
09:32Although he has been cleared of legal charges in these cases,
09:34Spacey's public reputation appears to be permanently damaged.
09:371. Lance Armstrong
10:06In one year, Lance Armstrong went from being one of the most celebrated athletes
10:10to an international pariah.
10:19How did he manage that? Well, Armstrong had brought global attention to cycling
10:22by winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Even more impressive,
10:26he achieved that remarkable feat after beating testicular cancer just a few years prior.
10:30Despite this acclaim, Armstrong was dodged by allegations of doping for years,
10:34which he consistently denied. Those allegations made headlines in 2012,
10:37when an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency
10:41found that he not only used enhancement drugs, but also ran a doping ring.
10:50He was stripped of his record-setting titles and received a lifetime ban from the sport.
11:04Are any of these celebrities worthy of a second chance in the spotlight?
11:11Let us know in the comments below.
11:34And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this!