20 Celebrities That Ruined Their Careers with One Interview

Celebrities-That-Ruined-Their-Careers-With-One-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.

#20: Joaquin Phoenix

Today, Joaquin Phoenix is a multi-time Oscar nominee and winner. But in 2009, his career was in a very different realm after appearing on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Wearing sunglasses and a big bushy beard, Phoenix mumbled awkwardly through the discussion, causing the host to take verbal shots at him. While this turned out to be a spoof for his mockumentary “I'm Still Here,” the media genuinely believed Phoenix was having a breakdown, and producers stayed away from him. The actor admitted in a later interview that the quality of scripts sent to entice him had vastly dropped in quality after the stunt. It took several critically acclaimed projects to put Phoenix’s career back on track.

#19: Belle Gibson

In 2013, Australian Belle Gibson was one of the hottest new wellness influencers on the market after launching her mobile app, The Whole Pantry. After releasing various cookbooks, life seemed to be going great for her. But then, Gibson told the world she had contracted several cancers but was managing the progression with her healthy lifestyle. Yet in 2015, rumors emerged that Gibson was lying about having the disease and her donations to charity. With the pressure mounting, she spoke with the magazine The Australian Women's Weekly, where she admitted she'd been lying and blamed her behavior on her upbringing. This tanked her career in an instant. In 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for her deceptions.

#18: Alex Pettyfer

If you’re a blossoming actor in Hollywood, it’s not a great idea to slam the city where you make a living. But that’s what England’s Alex Pettyfer did in 2011. After making his name in “I Am Number Four” and “Stormbreaker,” the actor’s career appeared to be going swell. Then, Pettyfer spoke to VMan for an article. Within it, he slated Los Angeles in an expletive-filled interview. Among many, many insults, he called the city an “insidious pool” and socially “disgusting,” slated the women living there, and described an acting career like being in prison. Yikes. This, on top of a reputation as being difficult to work with, caused Pettyfer’s career to stagnate as big-budget productions looked elsewhere for talent.

#17: Tom Cruise

2005 was a dark mark in the career of Tom Cruise. Firstly, there was his bizarre behavior on the “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Cruise followed that by publicly criticizing Brooke Shields for admitting she used antidepressants after developing postpartum depression. The actor then went onto the “Today” program to speak to Matt Lauer about his opinions. And it was rough. An erratic Cruise double-downed on his anti-psychiatry views, calling it a “pseudoscience.” His very patronizing approach did Cruise no favors as he combatted Lauer’s questions. With all the scandal, Paramount Pictures cut ties with the actor in 2006 after 14 years, but eventually, that relationship recovered. Steven Spielberg also denounced Cruise’s actions in 2005. However, the duo reconciled in 2023.

#16: Piers Morgan

By 2014, thanks to poor ratings, Piers Morgan’s reign on CNN was ending. In his final days, he interviewed comedian Chelsea Handler. And. She. Wrecked. Him. Handler slated his lack of attention and called him a “terrible interviewer.” While Morgan attempted to save face by claiming the guest had to be interesting, Handler pointed out that it was his job to do that. With his US reputation in shambles, Morgan returned to the UK and joined “Good Morning Britain.” But after he went off on a rant about Meghan Markle disclosing her mental health struggles, he was called out by fellow presenter Alex Beresford, causing Morgan to walk off. Later, he resigned from the show and has struggled for relevance since.

#15: Liam Neeson

This interview had social media bursting at the seams with comments for and against the Irish actor. While promoting one of his movies, Neeson opened up in an interview about the time one of his close friends was sexually assaulted by a Black man. He said that after finding out, he walked the streets looking for trouble, hoping to kill a Black man, before realizing that what he was doing was wrong, and feeling ashamed of himself. Many branded him a racist, while others defended his honesty - including celebrities such as Trevor Noah and Whoopi Goldberg. It may not have destroyed his career, but it certainly put a fork in the road of his likeability.

#14: John Mayer

At one point, John Mayer had the reputation of a quality musician who was seemingly going to reach legendary status one day. But then, he spoke to Playboy magazine in 2010 and destroyed that possibility. On top of being gross about his past relationships with Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston, Mayer compared “little John” to white supremacist David Duke and threw in racial slurs a couple of times. Yikes. While Mayer apologized on social media, in other interviews, and at gigs, he never reached those lofty heights again. None of his released singles have reached the top 25 on the US Billboard chart since 2010’s “Half of My Heart” with Taylor Swift.

#13: Chris Harrison

For 19 years, Chris Harrison was an American icon with his work on “The Bachelor” and its spin-off, “The Bachelorette” and many more. But then, in 2021, he was interviewed by Rachel Lindsay, a former contestant on “The Bachelor,” for “Extra.” This is when his career fell off. Harrison discussed the actions of alumni Rachael Kirkconnell after photos of her at college attending a plantation-themed party came out and liked racist posts on social media. It's hard to defend that. But Harrison did his best, even throwing in the term “woke police” and saying people shouldn’t judge. Ew. The public backlash was massive. Lindsay quit the franchise due to her disgust at Harrison. He was suspended and later fired by “The Bachelor.”

#12: Paula Deen

Specializing in Southern cooking, Paula Deen seemed like a nice and kind person during her cooking show, “Paula's Best Dishes.” But when a lawsuit came her way in 2013, her deposition threw that assumption in the bin when she stated she used racial slurs several times and had considered a plantation-themed wedding. Yikes. As the backlash grew, Deen was interviewed on the “Today” show to discuss the controversy. And it was weird. Painting herself as a victim of slander, she stated she wouldn’t have fired herself for the fallout. But most noticeable was the lack of sorry from Deen, except for referring to an apology video she’d made. Afterward, more companies cut ties with Deen as she fell into obscurity.

#11: Michael Jackson

Interviewed by Martin Bashir for a year and broadcast to the world in 2003, the documentary “Living with Michael Jackson” shocked viewers with a couple of massive revelations from the singer. Firstly, Jackson spoke about the abuse he sustained at his father’s hands when he grew up. But then, the “Thriller” performer stated that he had had sleepovers with children in his bedroom, but he emphasized that nothing untoward happened. The backlash was massive from the public. This brought to life the infamous trial of the People v. Jackson in 2005. While Jackson was acquitted on all counts, the damage done to his reputation was permanent. On top of that, he faced bankruptcy from other lawsuits before he passed away in 2009.

#10: Lance Armstrong

Seen as a hero for facing cancer and becoming a dominant force in professional cycling, Lance Armstrong was beloved and one of the best athletes ever. But then, the rumors that he had had all this success on the back of doping began to emerge. In 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency stripped him of all wins since 1998. While he denied it, Armstrong was then interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2013. Here, the former legend told the truth and admitted his cheating but denied allegations he had forced teammates to dope and bribed officials to hide his test results. Afterward, brands such as Nike canceled contracts with him, reportedly costing Armstrong millions of dollars.

#9: Billy Bush

Do yourself a favor - if you’re wearing a mic, just assume everyone is already listening. In this infamous “Access Hollywood” footage, presenter Billy Bush and Donald Trump are cruising into a TV studio to do some filming, unaware that their microphones are on. While on the bus, they riff about Trump’s sexual escapades, which include groping women, and discuss how power can give you free rein to do whatever you want. We even hear them talking about how attractive they think “Days of Our Lives” actress Arianne Zucker is - before meeting her when they get off the bus. Bush was suspended from his job on the “Today” show following a ratings drop and subsequently resigned. He has since had to repeatedly defend himself in interviews.

#8: 5 Seconds of Summer

If you’re a band, being interviewed by Rolling Stone Magazine is a big, big deal. So much so that it can be easy to get carried away with trying to sound overtly rock and roll. And that’s exactly what happened with the band 5 Seconds of Summer. In a 2015 interview, the band did everything from compare themselves to The Beatles, to dismissing or insulting the “American Music Awards”, Justin Bieber and their female fanbase - aka most of their fanbase. They were criticized for their comments and for generally sounding like narcissistic prima donnas. It probably didn’t help that they appeared naked on the front cover, either.

#7: Paula Abdul

You know when you’re drunk but you don’t think you sound drunk? Or maybe you don’t! Well, there’s a good chance that Paula Abdul knows what that feels like, at least in hindsight. In this 2007 interview, she’s promoting the latest series of “American Idol.” While she would later dismiss the idea as “lies,” many viewers wondered if she’d had a few drinks, or partaken in another type of stimuli. Delayed responses, bouts of laughter, this one has it all. The interview went viral, becoming an inescapable part of Abdul’s career. Two years later, she left “American Idol” as a judge due to a dispute over wages, and dropped out of the public eye for a while.

#6: The Chainsmokers

Next up we have another misguided attempt at sounding hardcore in a magazine interview, this time courtesy of the musical duo The Chainsmokers, who let it all hang out with Billboard. When asked about their manic musical romps, they were all too eager to brag about their wild frat boy image and penchant for sleeping with as many girls as possible - even though they both had girlfriends. The two were heavily criticized and briefly became the talk of the musical world for all the wrong reasons. But we shouldn’t hate on them too much, right? Like they said, “We’re just frat bro dudes, you know what I mean? Loving ladies and stuff.” That’s an actual quote, word for word.

#5: Prince Andrew

Deemed a “car crash” by many, this interview ultimately resulted in Prince Andrew stepping down from public duties for The Royal Family. When BBC’s Emily Maitlis questioned him about his close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Prince’s answer raised many an eyebrow. For starters, Prince Andrew straight up denied ever meeting his accuser Virginia Roberts - despite photographic evidence to the contrary. There were other shocking answers littered throughout, like saying he didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein as it presented him with “useful” opportunities. The interviewer is clearly unimpressed with his answers… much like pretty much everyone else who watched it.

#4: Katherine Heigl

Heigl has long had a reputation for being difficult to work with. But a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair proved particularly damning when she criticized the movie “Knocked Up”, which she’d just starred in. She branded the movie “a little sexist” and critiqued the way in which it portrays women; which frustrated people, considering that SHE’D decided to be in the movie! A year later, she starred in the movie “The Ugly Truth”, which was widely panned as misogynist. As a result of the entire episode, already hesitant directors were given yet another reason to be cautious about working with her.

#3: Megan Fox

As a general rule, it’s probably not a good idea to compare the director you’re working with to Hitler. But that’s what “Transformers” star Megan Fox did in an interview with British magazine Wonderland. Talking about Michael Bay’s conduct on set, Fox compared the director to the Nazi leader, which was soon all over the media. It ultimately resulted in her being fired from the “Transformers” franchise. But not by Bay. According to Bay, it was the franchise's executive producer, a certain Steven Speilberg, who insisted she be fired. She’s since worked with Bay again on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films, which the latter produced, but Fox’s notable roles have otherwise been few and far between since giving this interview.

#2: Charlie Sheen

This guy has said and done some seriously shocking and controversial things in his career. But the reason he’s on today’s list may surprise you. The interview in question is his 2015 appearance on the “Today” show, where he announced that he was HIV positive. While some praised his bravery, many criticized the fact that it had taken him four years to go public with it, stating that it could have endangered his sexual partners. People also took aim at Sheen’s surprisingly calm demeanor as he told of his diagnosis and battle with people blackmailing him. For some, the interview humanized Sheen more than ever before. For others, it further solidified his reputation as being reckless - particularly with the lives of others.

#1: R. Kelly

Although it’s a different story today, back in the 2000s, R. Kelly still had his defenders when it came to allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2002, he was indicted, but was eventually acquitted in 2008. That same year, however, an interview about the allegations ensured that Kelly’s muddied reputation would not be forgotten. When asked about whether he liked teenage girls, Kelly replied with this: [“When you say teenagers, how old are we talking”]. Viewers, and clearly the interviewer Touré, were shocked at Kelly’s reaction, and it went on to further support the claims that he was in fact guilty. The infamous response became a critical moment in the press’ depiction of him in the years to follow.

Which controversial celebrity chat stopped you from being their fan anymore? Let us know below!