20 One-Time Heroes Who Saw Themselves Become Real-Life Villains

"Was hospitalized and accidentally placed in the black ward. When the doctors found out, they tried to move him, but he refused. Then he became a cult leader and used his power and influence to end the lives of a thousand people."

"Later, he funded an experiment that involved injecting people with malaria to see if it would treat other conditions. The experiment was found to be unethical by American review boards, so he conducted them in Ethiopia."

"In WW2, after France was beaten, Petain was the head of state of Vichy France. Guy went from the Lion of Verdun to the biggest Nazi collaborator in France."

"He was witty, original, backing himself up and having a Hollywood like rise to stardom. Now he's some coke head who the whole country is ashamed of... just a walking caricature of himself. He didn't listen to his own advice. Get in. Get rich. Get out."

"Almost died during the revolutionary war, if I recall correctly, and if he had he would have been remembered a huge hero, and a martyr. Instead he lived and changed sides, and is remembered only for his being a traitor."

There's a reason why his name is synonymous for traitor, after all.

"He wrote several really solid Sci-fi books that were hugely influential to me when I was growing up, and then towards the end of his life he became a Holocaust/AIDS/climate change denier."

"To watch it gradually grow and transform into an economic power that makes Omni Consumer Products seem less like satire and more like a prediction... It's been interesting, to say the least."

"Used to be the darlings of the PC world with everything they creating being solid gold classics on launch. Now nothing but recycled trash, cash grabs, micro transactions, and sexual assault scandals. How the mighty have fallen."

"A brilliant, ballsy prosecutor who took down the mob then shepherded NY through 9/11. Now he’s just thought of as the increasingly unhinged Trump lackey that sweats hair dye in front of a landscaping company that shoulda been a hotel."

"Won the 1972 election by a landslide, with only Minnesota and DC voting for McGovern, on the back of a strong economy. Two years later resigns in disgrace over Watergate, in the midst of stagflation, and his reputation has never been rehabilitated."

"He used social media very well to craft a certain brand for himself and he came off looking competent, smart, a little sassy and genuine, which we now know was just for show."

"He started out a legitimate talented accomplished cardiac surgeon. Then he started with his snake-oil peddling on TV and has now completely devolved into a pandering narcissistic Trump-loving politician."

"Seriously. Hell, she could’ve even kept milking HP for all it’s worth (and then some) if she wanted to stay in the public eye. Instead, she chose to use her platform to spew hate… towards part of a demographic that very much loved her books. It’s baffling (and yes, really upsetting to me as a queer person who grew up with HP)."

"Is the reason half the world's current population is alive by inventing ammonium nitrate fertilizer and solving the late 1800s-early 1900s global food crisis, later became a war criminal for inventing mustard gas for the German Army in WW1."

"This was terrible to see. I was a huge pro wrestling fan back in the day. To my knowledge, Benoit was actually a great person until he suddenly wasn't. That 'suddenly wasn't' though carried a hell of a consequence."

"He was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century - won the Nobel Prize twice. Later in life he went off the deep end and became convinced that Vitamin C could cure cancer and made him immortal - an idea that lives on in various forms today."

"It’s a shame it took so long. There were stories out there for years about what a horrible person she is. Just now coming main stream."

The world went from loving Ellen to hating her really quickly.

"Yeah he went from winning one of the biggest landslides in UK history to resigning in disgrace, tanking Labours reputation to the point where they lost 4 elections in a row."

"Also the EMMYs gave him a humanitarian award. Also the President medal of freedom."

I don't think I need to tell you why Bill Cosby is considered an evil man now...

"At first he seemed like the next Carl Sagan, celebrating the wonders of science and the universe. But somewhere along the line he turned into this smug, pseudo-nihilistic wet blanket who poo-pooed on anyone getting excited over solar eclipses and stuff."