13 Celebs Who Made the World HATE Them
advertisement
VOICE OVER: Patrick Mealey
WRITTEN BY: Jordy McKen
From beloved icons to public enemies, we're diving into the shocking stories of celebrities who went from hero to zero. Discover how these once-respected stars managed to completely destroy their reputations through scandalous behavior, controversial actions, and shocking allegations. Our countdown explores the dramatic falls from grace of celebrities like Armie Hammer, R. Kelly, Kanye West, and more - revealing how quickly public perception can change when true colors are revealed! Which celeb do you think ruined their reputations the most? Share in the comments.
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining famous faces who achieved love and respect from fans or colleagues during their rise, only to destroy their reputations through terrible behavior.
Armie Hammer
In 2017, he became a household name and a rising acting talent due to his critically acclaimed work in “Call Me by Your Name.” However, 2021 saw Hammer’s rise completely tank when he was accused of abuse by an ex-partner. During the news storm, an allegation of his desire to eat human meat was the nail in the coffin of Hammer’s career. As a result, he was dropped from multiple film projects as no company wanted to associate with him. In 2022, on top of the documentary “House of Hammer” exploring the allegations, Hammer reportedly left Hollywood behind to sell timeshares in the Cayman Islands. In 2023, he partially admitted to the allegations by stating that he had used people during his heyday.
James Corden
After becoming a popular actor in the UK with his work on “Gavin & Stacey,” Corden jumped across the pond in 2015 to the States to host his own talk show, “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Rumors about his conduct slightly damaged his reputation, but those raised in 2022 severely dented it. That year, restaurateur Keith McNally accused Corden of verbally abusing his staff at Balthazar restaurant in Manhattan. On two occasions, the actor allegedly berated servers at the eatery, resulting in Corden being banned. While Corden apologized for his behavior, getting him unbanned from Balthazar, he later walked back the apology, seemingly causing the ban to be reinstated.
Lance Armstrong
Beating cancer, setting up a foundation, and setting records with Tour de France wins, Armstrong was not only a national treasure but one of the most inspirational athletes of all time. His incredible history seemed to be too good to be true. And it was. After years of rumors, in 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong of supplying substances and doping in competitions. The group stripped him of his achievements from 1998 onwards and banned him from competition for life. While Armstrong denied the accusations, he didn’t appeal. In 2013, any hope fans had that it was all a mistake was dashed when the cyclist admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he had doped.
Jussie Smollett
On the rise from his work on “Empire” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant,” Smollett became a leading light in the LGBTQ+ community. Then in 2019, horror struck when he was attacked in Chicago, Illinois, by two men who also yelled racist and homophobic slurs at the actor. However, a different story emerged when the police tracked down the attackers, who were brothers who worked as extras on “Empire.” Smollett had paid the duo to stage the attack and he was arrested. In 2022, after being found guilty, the actor was sentenced to 150 days in jail. In 2024, Smollett took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, which reversed his conviction due to making a deal to drop the charges in 2019.
Jake & Logan Paul
Both Paul brothers have had their mainstream celebrity dented due to scandal. First, in 2017 Logan released a vlog during his stint in Japan that showed a deceased man in a forest. Due to the backlash, Logan deleted the video and released an apology. However, as a result, he lost several business and production deals. At the same time as this scandal, an older video of Jake rapping racial slurs came to light. With the younger Paul having already been fired from Disney’s “Bizaardvark” due to problematic behavior involving his neighbors, it got worse in 2020 when he was filmed attending a riot in Scottsdale, Arizona protesting George Floyd’s murder. Jake was then later raided by the FBI.
Amber Heard
With roles in “The Danish Girl,” “Aquaman,” and “Justice League,” Heard’s acting career was taking off. However, in 2022, the defamation case between her and her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, got underway. Depp had sued Heard due to her allegations that he was abusive during their relationship. While neither party came out of the suit looking good, with allegations of bad behavior on both sides, Heard was particularly demonized by people. At the end of the Depp v. Heard case, he was awarded $15 million, and she received $2 million. After considering appeals, both parties settled. Heard moved to Spain to escape the criticism from the media and the general public.
Vince McMahon
Seen as a trailblazer in helping turn professional wrestling from a fringe entertainment into a mainstream juggernaut, McMahon was a co-founder of WWE alongside his wife, Linda. Yet all those decades of goodwill and respect came to an end in 2022. That year, reports came out that McMahon had used millions of company finances to suppress misconduct allegations, forcing him to retire from the WWE. While he later returned in 2023 to the company’s board, he was then accused of a litany of abuse and trafficking involving women who worked for WWE. As such, he resigned again. After one accuser issued a lawsuit against him, federal investigators stepped in. They opened a case against McMahon after the woman agreed to pause her suit.
Ellen DeGeneres
The former stand-up’s talk show quickly became the go-to program for celebrities to promote themselves and their work, with millions of people tuning in to watch. However, all that changed in 2020 when workers on the show accused DeGeneres of fostering a toxic workplace, leading to instances of abuse, racism, and harassment. In 2021, as the allegations continued to grow, DeGeneres’s program lost around a million viewers. Shortly after, the once-beloved host announced her show would end in 2022. In 2024, in DeGeneres's farewell stand-up tour to show business, she joked about the scandal, saying she was kicked out of the industry for being “mean.”
Kanye West
West’s reputation took a severe hit when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s win at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to announce his belief that Beyoncé should’ve won. While West had several controversies afterward, including being sentenced for attacking a press member in 2014, it got worse in 2022 when he began making antisemitic statements. The rapper praised Adolf Hitler and uploaded extremist imagery with the Star of David, causing him to be banned from the former Twitter and lose a brand deal with Adidas. Several musicians then refused to let him sample their songs for his work. In 2024, West drew further ire for visiting Russia, earning him the title of the “Enemy Of Ukraine.”
R. Kelly
With three Grammy awards, many number one hits, and a reputation as a leader of the R&B genre, Kelly was respected by fellow musicians and fans alike for decades. However, he also was dogged for many years by rumors of abuse. His image was tarnished, but it was forever broken in 2018 when more allegations came to light and the 2019 documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was released, resulting in his arrest. In 2022, he was found guilty in New York and sentenced to 30 years. In 2023, Kelly was found guilty in Illinois and received a sentence of 19 years concurrently with the New York verdict, plus an additional year, giving him 31 years in total.
Roseanne Barr
Despite Roseanne Barr’s history of controversial statements, her sitcom was revived in 2018. Soon after, more insensitive actions further damaged her reputation. On Twitter, Barr compared Valerie Jarrett, an advisor of Barack Obama, to an ape, leading to accusations of racism. While she apologized for the incident, Barr claimed she was only being accused of racism due to voting for Donald Trump, claimed it was a “joke,” and also blamed medication for what she did. In response, ABC canceled “Roseanne,”reworking it into “The Connors” without Barr’s involvement. Since then, she has further raised ire by making insensitive comments concerning atrocities during World War Two.
Bill Cosby
Known as “America’s Dad” for his work on “The Cosby Show,” he became a legendary figure in the entertainment industry. Yet behind the scenes, Cosby lived a very different life. In 2014, a series of allegations against him involving his abuse and assault of women over decades grew in notoriety due to comments by Hannibal Buress. This led to a criminal case being issued against Cosby in 2015. In 2018, during a retrial, he was found guilty and sentenced to between 3 to 10 years. In 2021, Cosby’s sentence was overturned due to a complicated technicality. In 2022, he lost a civil lawsuit and was ordered to pay $500,000 in damages to the victim.
Sean Combs
Under the same “Diddy” and various alternate titles, Combs grew from a successful rapper to one of music’s biggest influencers despite several legal issues. However, in 2023, that legacy was destroyed after his ex-partner, Cassie Ventura, issued a lawsuit against him for a litany of crimes, including abuse and assault. After that lawsuit was settled, more accusations from other victims came forward, as well as CCTV footage of Combs attacking Ventura at a hotel. Many celebrities distanced themselves from Combs, whose reputation spiraled downward. Facing a mountain of lawsuits and allegations, in 2024 Combs was arrested and charged with a series of despicable crimes and has so far been denied bail multiple times. He’s set to face trial in 2025.
Were you a fan of anyone in the video that you grew to despise? Or was there another beloved celebrity who you began hating? Let us know below!
Armie Hammer
In 2017, he became a household name and a rising acting talent due to his critically acclaimed work in “Call Me by Your Name.” However, 2021 saw Hammer’s rise completely tank when he was accused of abuse by an ex-partner. During the news storm, an allegation of his desire to eat human meat was the nail in the coffin of Hammer’s career. As a result, he was dropped from multiple film projects as no company wanted to associate with him. In 2022, on top of the documentary “House of Hammer” exploring the allegations, Hammer reportedly left Hollywood behind to sell timeshares in the Cayman Islands. In 2023, he partially admitted to the allegations by stating that he had used people during his heyday.
James Corden
After becoming a popular actor in the UK with his work on “Gavin & Stacey,” Corden jumped across the pond in 2015 to the States to host his own talk show, “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Rumors about his conduct slightly damaged his reputation, but those raised in 2022 severely dented it. That year, restaurateur Keith McNally accused Corden of verbally abusing his staff at Balthazar restaurant in Manhattan. On two occasions, the actor allegedly berated servers at the eatery, resulting in Corden being banned. While Corden apologized for his behavior, getting him unbanned from Balthazar, he later walked back the apology, seemingly causing the ban to be reinstated.
Lance Armstrong
Beating cancer, setting up a foundation, and setting records with Tour de France wins, Armstrong was not only a national treasure but one of the most inspirational athletes of all time. His incredible history seemed to be too good to be true. And it was. After years of rumors, in 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong of supplying substances and doping in competitions. The group stripped him of his achievements from 1998 onwards and banned him from competition for life. While Armstrong denied the accusations, he didn’t appeal. In 2013, any hope fans had that it was all a mistake was dashed when the cyclist admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he had doped.
Jussie Smollett
On the rise from his work on “Empire” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant,” Smollett became a leading light in the LGBTQ+ community. Then in 2019, horror struck when he was attacked in Chicago, Illinois, by two men who also yelled racist and homophobic slurs at the actor. However, a different story emerged when the police tracked down the attackers, who were brothers who worked as extras on “Empire.” Smollett had paid the duo to stage the attack and he was arrested. In 2022, after being found guilty, the actor was sentenced to 150 days in jail. In 2024, Smollett took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, which reversed his conviction due to making a deal to drop the charges in 2019.
Jake & Logan Paul
Both Paul brothers have had their mainstream celebrity dented due to scandal. First, in 2017 Logan released a vlog during his stint in Japan that showed a deceased man in a forest. Due to the backlash, Logan deleted the video and released an apology. However, as a result, he lost several business and production deals. At the same time as this scandal, an older video of Jake rapping racial slurs came to light. With the younger Paul having already been fired from Disney’s “Bizaardvark” due to problematic behavior involving his neighbors, it got worse in 2020 when he was filmed attending a riot in Scottsdale, Arizona protesting George Floyd’s murder. Jake was then later raided by the FBI.
Amber Heard
With roles in “The Danish Girl,” “Aquaman,” and “Justice League,” Heard’s acting career was taking off. However, in 2022, the defamation case between her and her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, got underway. Depp had sued Heard due to her allegations that he was abusive during their relationship. While neither party came out of the suit looking good, with allegations of bad behavior on both sides, Heard was particularly demonized by people. At the end of the Depp v. Heard case, he was awarded $15 million, and she received $2 million. After considering appeals, both parties settled. Heard moved to Spain to escape the criticism from the media and the general public.
Vince McMahon
Seen as a trailblazer in helping turn professional wrestling from a fringe entertainment into a mainstream juggernaut, McMahon was a co-founder of WWE alongside his wife, Linda. Yet all those decades of goodwill and respect came to an end in 2022. That year, reports came out that McMahon had used millions of company finances to suppress misconduct allegations, forcing him to retire from the WWE. While he later returned in 2023 to the company’s board, he was then accused of a litany of abuse and trafficking involving women who worked for WWE. As such, he resigned again. After one accuser issued a lawsuit against him, federal investigators stepped in. They opened a case against McMahon after the woman agreed to pause her suit.
Ellen DeGeneres
The former stand-up’s talk show quickly became the go-to program for celebrities to promote themselves and their work, with millions of people tuning in to watch. However, all that changed in 2020 when workers on the show accused DeGeneres of fostering a toxic workplace, leading to instances of abuse, racism, and harassment. In 2021, as the allegations continued to grow, DeGeneres’s program lost around a million viewers. Shortly after, the once-beloved host announced her show would end in 2022. In 2024, in DeGeneres's farewell stand-up tour to show business, she joked about the scandal, saying she was kicked out of the industry for being “mean.”
Kanye West
West’s reputation took a severe hit when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s win at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to announce his belief that Beyoncé should’ve won. While West had several controversies afterward, including being sentenced for attacking a press member in 2014, it got worse in 2022 when he began making antisemitic statements. The rapper praised Adolf Hitler and uploaded extremist imagery with the Star of David, causing him to be banned from the former Twitter and lose a brand deal with Adidas. Several musicians then refused to let him sample their songs for his work. In 2024, West drew further ire for visiting Russia, earning him the title of the “Enemy Of Ukraine.”
R. Kelly
With three Grammy awards, many number one hits, and a reputation as a leader of the R&B genre, Kelly was respected by fellow musicians and fans alike for decades. However, he also was dogged for many years by rumors of abuse. His image was tarnished, but it was forever broken in 2018 when more allegations came to light and the 2019 documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” was released, resulting in his arrest. In 2022, he was found guilty in New York and sentenced to 30 years. In 2023, Kelly was found guilty in Illinois and received a sentence of 19 years concurrently with the New York verdict, plus an additional year, giving him 31 years in total.
Roseanne Barr
Despite Roseanne Barr’s history of controversial statements, her sitcom was revived in 2018. Soon after, more insensitive actions further damaged her reputation. On Twitter, Barr compared Valerie Jarrett, an advisor of Barack Obama, to an ape, leading to accusations of racism. While she apologized for the incident, Barr claimed she was only being accused of racism due to voting for Donald Trump, claimed it was a “joke,” and also blamed medication for what she did. In response, ABC canceled “Roseanne,”reworking it into “The Connors” without Barr’s involvement. Since then, she has further raised ire by making insensitive comments concerning atrocities during World War Two.
Bill Cosby
Known as “America’s Dad” for his work on “The Cosby Show,” he became a legendary figure in the entertainment industry. Yet behind the scenes, Cosby lived a very different life. In 2014, a series of allegations against him involving his abuse and assault of women over decades grew in notoriety due to comments by Hannibal Buress. This led to a criminal case being issued against Cosby in 2015. In 2018, during a retrial, he was found guilty and sentenced to between 3 to 10 years. In 2021, Cosby’s sentence was overturned due to a complicated technicality. In 2022, he lost a civil lawsuit and was ordered to pay $500,000 in damages to the victim.
Sean Combs
Under the same “Diddy” and various alternate titles, Combs grew from a successful rapper to one of music’s biggest influencers despite several legal issues. However, in 2023, that legacy was destroyed after his ex-partner, Cassie Ventura, issued a lawsuit against him for a litany of crimes, including abuse and assault. After that lawsuit was settled, more accusations from other victims came forward, as well as CCTV footage of Combs attacking Ventura at a hotel. Many celebrities distanced themselves from Combs, whose reputation spiraled downward. Facing a mountain of lawsuits and allegations, in 2024 Combs was arrested and charged with a series of despicable crimes and has so far been denied bail multiple times. He’s set to face trial in 2025.
Were you a fan of anyone in the video that you grew to despise? Or was there another beloved celebrity who you began hating? Let us know below!
Marlon Tucker
“How can I track, trace and recover my cryptocurrency from a scammer? Lost Recovery Masters
Lost Recovery Masters is renowned for its cutting-edge instruments and proficiency in monitoring cryptocurrency transactions. Lost Recovery Masters, often utilized”
0
0
report