After years of building their careers that earned them the pride and honor they deserved, these people have their image ruined because of damning allegations about their work ethic or personal lives.
- Aug 23, 2020
AceShowbiz - Constantly being in the spotlight comes with its downside of having people judge celebrities' every single action. Not only their extra actions, but also their smallest flaws will be turned into headlines. Thus, with every step they make, it's easy to turn fans' love into hate.
While it's often instilled in people's mind that celebrity are just human beings who are flawed, public usually don't easily forgive after an idolized figure is caught making a mistake. This, often times, affects the star's career in addition to his/her reputation.
With so many celebrities being engulfed in controversies these days, let's take a look at some public figures who don't seem to be able to rebuild their images and win back people's hearts after being involved in big scandal.
1. Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer became a household name, thanks to his long tenure on NBC's "Today". A familiar face on daytime TV since he joined the program in 1997, the former news anchor began battling damning allegations in 2017 amid the rising Me Too movement after a female NBC employee reported that Lauer had sexually harassed her during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
While he claimed that their sexual encounter was consensual, more women came with sexual misconduct and assault allegations against him. Lauer was eventually fired by NBC, where he had been working for 20 years, and did not receive any form of monetary settlement because he was fired "for cause." The allegations also cost him his marriage, as his wife Annette Roque decided to leave him in the wake of the scandal. Their divorced was finalized two years later in September 2019. Lauer has not returned to television since then.
2. Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno might not be as popular as celebrities in show business industry, but his contribution to college football earned him praises and honor that made him a respectable figure on the field. With 409 victories, the former head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. However, that record had to end in 2011 after he was fired for his failure to report defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse on young boys to police.
Paterno initially received support from students who demanded he stay as coach, but the Board of Trustees voted to terminate Paterno's contract before the end of the season. An independent investigation found that Paterno along with university president Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley concealed Sandusky's actions in order to protect the publicity surrounding Penn State's celebrated football program. His statue was removed from the front of Penn State's Beaver Stadium in July 2012, six months after his death due to complications from lung cancer.
3. Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is hailed as the most visible LGBTQ+ figure in America and for paving the way for LGBTQ+ community in entertainment industry after she came out as a lesbian in 1997, when she still starred on her eponymous sitcom. An arguably No. 1 figure on daytime talk show since Oprah Winfrey ended her reign as daytime talk show queen in 2011, she is adored by her audience for bringing cheers and for her kindness.
That, however, wasn't the impression the comedian left on some people working with her. After years of rambling rumors about her alleged mean streak, she has faced serious allegations that she instigated the abuse, racism and sexual harassment against her staff after people came out more accountable stories in July of this year. As the show is under investigation for the alleged toxic work environment, fellow celebrities like Kevin Hart, Katy Perry, Jay Leno and Ashton Kutcher came in defense of Ellen, which resulted in backlash against them.
4. Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton may not fall into the category of celebrities in general, but his popularity and his fall from grace is worth mentioning in this list. The 42nd president of the United States from Democratic Party, he was known as a New Democrat, and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy that reconciled right-wing and left-wing politics, thus winning him favor from both parties.
His personal life, however, was a lot more controversial as he was exposed of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a then-22-year-old White House intern, between November 1995 and March 1997. This led to an impeachment based on accusations that Clinton committed perjury and obstruction of justice for the purpose of concealing his affair. Though he was acquitted by the Senate and completed his term in office, more than a decade later public still associates him with the so-called Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.
5. Josh Duggar
Josh Duggar gained popularity through his family's hit show "19 Kids and Counting". A member of a family who are known as devout Baptists and for stressing on purity, modesty and faith in God, he, like most of the family members, had a clean-cut image that was unfortunately tarnished when it was reported in 2015 that he had molested five girls, including four of his sisters, when he was aged 14-15. After his history of sexual misconduct was revealed, he resigned his position at the Family Research Council.
But that wasn't the end of Josh's issue as in August of the year, he was exposed as a subscriber of porn website Ashley Madison and admitted to being unfaithful to his wife Anna Keller. In a statement, he acknowledged that he was "the biggest hypocrite ever" and had "a secret addiction" to pornography, for which he sought treatment at a rehab facility. Due to his scandal, "19 Kids and Counting" was canceled. Though it was later replaced with its spin-off "Counting On", Josh has never made appearance on the show.
6. Angelina Jolie
With a brilliant acting record that included her Oscar-winning role in "Girl, Interrupted" (1999), Angelina Jolie had her breakthrough in late 1990s and became one of the most-sought actresses in early 2000s after starring in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001). Named as one of Hollywood sex symbols that captivated both men and women, she is also known for her humanitarian work with her being appointed as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva in 2001.
Her career brought her to star alongside Brad Pitt in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005) and they turned into a couple in real life. He was still married to Jennifer Aniston at the time of filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", prompting accusations that Jolie caused Pitt and Aniston's divorce in October 2005. Pitt-Aniston fans as well as fans of the "Friends" alum soon took a stand against the "Maleficent" star, whom they dub a homewrecker to this day. While their relationship survived the tribunal from public for years, Aniston and Pitt eventually separated in 2016 after two years of marriage and ten years together.
7. Chris Brown
Chris Brown was enjoying his meteorite fame with a promising future and a beautiful girlfriend, but his world was suddenly turned upside down after he was arrested for domestic violence in 2009, with the victim being his own then-lover Rihanna. He was charged with felony assault and making criminal threats and was sentenced to community labor, five years of probation and domestic violence counseling after pleading guilty to a felony.
Despite all the bad publicity due to the case, the "Kiss, Kiss" singer's music career is never over and he has released a number of albums since then, but he's never adored as much as he was before. The R&B star briefly reconciled his romance with Rihanna in 2013, signaling that she has forgiven him, but the public never cuts him some slack by frequently bringing up the assault case whenever he's trying to be friendly with the "Diamonds" songstress.
8. Tiger Woods
For years, Tiger Woods ruled golf court as one of the greatest golfers and one of the most famous athletes of all time. Not only a successful career, but he also had a seemingly happy marriage with a beautiful wife and two children, which he ruined himself after he was caught cheating with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel.
Woods took a self-imposed hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 in an attempt to resolve marital issues with his then-wife Elin Nordegren, but it didn't work as they eventually divorced in August 2010. After several setbacks due to injuries, Woods managed to win his first tournament in five years at the Tour Championship in September 2018 and his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters, but he doesn't receive as much attention from public anymore.
9. Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby was dubbed "America's Dad" for his role as Cliff Huxtable on then-number-one rated show "The Cosby Show", but it turned out that the character didn't reflect him in real life. Though the title stayed with him for years after the end of the sitcom in 1992, he suddenly turned into a disgraced comic after numerous women made sexual assault accusations against him in mid 2010s, with earliest incidents dating back decades.
More than 60 women have accused him of either attempted sexual assault, rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse or sexual misconduct, which he all denied. The statute of limitations had by the mid-2010s expired in nearly all cases, but he was brought to trial for one case involving a Toronto woman. In 2018, he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison. The verdict is upheld on appeal while he remains incarcerated in a state prison, SCI Phoenix in Skippack Township, Pennsylvania.
10. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson didn't get his title as the King of Pop for nothing. Making his professional debut in 1964 with his four brothers as a member of the Jackson 5, he rose to stardom as a solo artist with his fifth studio album "Off the Wall" (1979) during the peak of the disco era. The singer/songwriter was known for his iconic dance dubbed the moonwalk and became the most awarded artist in the history of popular music, but his life was also full of controversies due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle.
Among them, the child sexual abuse accusations were perhaps the one that turned him into a polarizing figure. First facing the allegation in 1993, he was only brought to trial in 2003 after a documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson", showed his treatment to a 12-year-old boy. Jackson was acquitted on all counts, but he's never cleared in public trial as his alleged victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, came out with sexual abuse allegations against him in 2013, years after his death in 2009.
