Celebrities have a lot to lose when it comes to their careers .
After all, reputation is everything. One bad tweet , action, or video could make everything they’ve worked so hard for gone in a flash.
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We’ve seen it happen, time and time again, with everyone from Kevin Spacey to Armi Hammer. Even Aunt Becky from Full House has been canceled.
Trigger warning: This article contains discussion about sensitive topics that readers may find upsetting.
1. Bill Cosby
For years, the actor was known as America’s grandpa thanks to his time on The Cosby Show .
But that all changed the moment he was accused of sexual assault and rape . His reputation has been tainted ever since.
2. Jared Fogle
You probably remember him — he was the Subway spokesperson for many years.
Then, out of seemingly nowhere, he was convicted of child porn and sex crime charges . He’s currently serving his 15 years in prison.
3. J.K. Rowling
A few deeply insensitive tweets were all it took to ruin the Harry Potter author’s career that she had worked so hard to build.
In 2020, she made several controversial comments about transgender issues.
4. Mark Salling
Like Jared Fogle, the world was shocked when the former Glee star was charged for child pornography .
To add to this controversy, he committed suicide just weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced for his charge.
5. Sinead O’Conner
The singer’s career never recovered after she tore up a picture of Pope John II.
This was during her 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live where she sang a cover of Bob Marley’s “War”. She later explained she did it because of the church’s sexual abuse allegations.
6. Michael Richards
Thanks to his time on Seinfeld , the actor was known an all-around nice, goofy guy.
That all went up in flames when he went on a racist tirade against Black members in the audience of his comedy show.
7. Marilyn Manson
While he’s never had a squeaky clean reputation, it certainly didn’t help matters when the singer was accused of abuse from Evan Rachel Wood .
She claimed that he “groomed” her since she was a teenager and “brainwashed” and “manipulated” her into submission.
8. Gina Carono
The actor and mixed martial artist was fired from Disney’s The Mandalorian over an insensitive post.
The post that she shared implied that being a Republican today is like being Jewish during the Holocaust.
9. Isaiah Washington
The Grey’s Anatomy star’s career went up in flames the moment he made an anti-gay slur when referring to his gay co-star, T.R. Knight.
The show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, ended up firing him. Unfortunately, he said the slur again at the Golden Globes.
10. Roseanne Barr
The Roseanne actress ruined her career AND got the show’s reboot canceled when she posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama’s former White House advisor.
Her now-deleted insensitive tweet had said: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”
11. Shia LaBeouf
The former Disney star’s career was already rocky when FKA Twigs accused him of abusing her.
“Shia LaBeouf hurts women,” stated the lawsuit against him. “He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous.”
12. Mel Gibson
The actor’s long career in Hollywood was pretty much over in a flash when he said a slew of anti-semitic things when he was arrested for an alleged DUI in 2006.
According to TMZ , he said: “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” as well as asking one officer, “Are you a Jew?”
13. Hilaria Baldwin
A lot of people don’t trust Alec Baldwin’s wife after she came under fire for pretending to be Spanish.
It all started when a viral Twitter trend called out all the times she pretended to have an accent, despite being raised in Boston by American parents.
After the controversy started, Hilaria took to Instagram to share that she grew up spending time in Spain.
“We celebrate both cultures in our home ― Alec and I are raising our children bilingual, just as I was raised,” she said in the video.
14. Lance Armstrong
The athlete was known as the greatest cyclist in the world. He had gold medals, a huge fortune, and many endorsement deals.
So you can only imagine the fall out that came when it was discovered that he’d been using steroids the whole time.
15. Kevin Spacey
For decades, he was a renowned actor, featured in American Beauty , Horrible Bosses , and House of Cards .
But it all came tumbling down when he was accused of sexually assaulting a minor . Nowadays, we never hear from him.
16. Lori Loughlin
The world was in complete shock when Lori, aka “Aunt Becky” from Full House , was named as one of the parents who bribed admissions officers to get their children into top-tier colleges.
Felicity Huffman was also involved.
17. Armie Hammer
The Call Me By Your Name actor found himself in deep scandal when screenshots leaked of NSFW DMs discussing cannibalism between himself and multiple women.
These texts took place while he was still married to Elizabeth Chambers.
The controversy caused him to drop out of his new film, *Shotgun Wedding* opposite Jennifer Lopez.
With more troubling accusations coming to light, there’s a very good chance we won’t see much of the actor in film anymore.
