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45 Celebrities Who Seemed Great Until People Found Out They Were Actually Horrible
Celebrities can be entertaining, inspiring, and even serve as role models in certain ways. But that doesn’t mean we should put them on a pedestal. After all, time and time again, the people we admire end up showing us they’re just as flawed as anyone else, sometimes in ways that are impossible to overlook.
When one Redditor asked users to share which celebrities they used to support until they found out what they were really like, the responses came flooding in. From beloved actors to chart-topping musicians, people had plenty to say about the famous faces who lost their respect. Here are some of the most popular answers.
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#1
Oprah and all her associates.
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#2
Neil Gaiman. This one felt really bad to discover.
#3
Sean Penn
People seem to forget that he kidnapped and beat Madonna for 3 days. I still can't get how people just let that go.
#4
Chris Pratt. Used to think he was cool, funny, charming as hell, and just overall a solid dude to look up to... Then I found out about his ultranationalist church that he donates obscene amounts of money to. Insanely transphobic. Trash human.
#5
Bill Cosby. From celebrated comedian to predator in a heartbeat.
#6
Nicki minaj. she hasn’t always been the greatest but she’s rly shown her dumb a*s over the last few years.
#7
Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
ConnotationalRacket:
He paid the mother of a CHILD groupie, and he BECAME HER LEGAL GUARDIAN so he could transport her over state lines for immoral purposes without getting felonies.
#8
I have never been the type to get super attached to celebrities but I did really like the message of Lizzo's music, so hearing how she treats people behind the scenes really sucked.
Rika 10 hours ago
She also got famous for her "body positive" messages, claiming how much she loved her weight and encouraging all fatties to do the same. The minute she could afford Ozempic, she got on it and now couldn't care less about the poor obese people who fattened up her bank account.
#9
Jenny McCarthy. Vaccinate your d**n children.
#10
Joss Whedon. I was a fan of so many of his projects - Buffy, Firefly, etc. It was so upsetting to find out he was an a complete jerk. Especially the way he treated Michelle Trachtenberg on Buffy and Charisma Carpenter on both Buffy and Angel.
#11
This one's easy. Roman Polanski. Such an amazing talent. Extraordinary films in entirely different genres: Rosemary's Baby (horror), The Pianist (wartime drama/biography), Chinatown (film noir), Knife in the Water (psychological thriller). Wretchedly awful childhood during the holocaust. He would have been a sympathetic character in one of his own films if he wasn't also an unrepentant predator.
David 1 hour ago
the fact hollywood gave him awards after he fled and was hiding from Justice (he pled guilty to what he did a 14 year old girl, and fled when the judge was going to sentence him). I think he reflects bad on hollywood that they gave him awards after everything and hundreds of celebs signed the petition for him to get a pardon so he can come back to the USA
#12
John Hamm until I found out he dragged a kid by the balls with a claw hammer, burned his clothes, and beat him so bad with a paddle the kid had life long injuries. The incident was so messed up the kid had to drop out of college.
Norfolk and good 11 hours ago
Then referred to it as a "bummer" and said he's moved on from it. 🙄
#13
Sean Connery - he was a proud wife-beater. Jack Nicholson - beat up an escort and left her disabled. Woody Allen, until I heard about little Dylan. Elon Musk.....oh wait. I NEVER liked Elon Musk.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 9 hours ago
Sean Connery. A Scot who was proudly pro-independence. So much so that he spent most of his time living in the Caribbean.
#14
Basically, anyone that turned full MAGA lost my respect forever. It says so much about you as a person and you can never get the putrid stench off of you... ever! Kid Rock, Kayne West, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Rogan, Niki Minaj, Elon Musk, etc. They were all respectable people before Trump.
#15
James Franco. I used to love his stuff, but he turned out to be a real pos. I can’t watch anything he does now.
#16
Danny Masterson from That 70's Show and Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis for writing letters of support to the judge. How can you support someone guilty of that?
CP 4 hours ago (edited)
I hope I personally wouldn't do it, but I have seen enough examples of humans protecting their own, no matter what, that the "how" isn't all complicated. If I was put in a similar situation, I could imagine having a hard time believing a friend (if I saw no signs) did this. It is a black mark on your judgment for having friends like that and I can imagine it would be jarring realizing you were so ignorant to what your friend was doing. Oftentimes it is easier for the brain cope by pretending it is all a mistake. Plus our society loves to guilt by association.
#17
R.Kelly
The album 12 play came out when I was a teenager. I know every single word and loved those songs. Now I can’t listen to anything by him.
meeeeeeeeeeee 6 hours ago
even as teens, we all heard rumours he was after teenage girls...it was well known
#18
Bill Murray. Nobody believes me, and I'm not joking, he is my estranged ex-uncle in law. His two oldest kids are my cousins on my dad's side.
He destroyed those kids lives. Thankfully as adults they're amazing. But holy s**t just seeing what happened to them and then the limited family interactions told me everything I needed to know.
In his elder years he's trying to make up for lost time but it's kind of too little too late. There's a reason he hangs out with strangers... People who know him too long...
#19
Mel Gibson. Such an antisemite. Also Tom Cruise after he criticized Brooke Shields for her postpartum depression treatment. Hes been very vocal about psychiatric meds and how they aren’t necessary. Bill Cosby. Michael Jackson. Ellen Degeneres. Turns out she’s a horrible person. Any celebrity who supports Trump.
Beak Hookage 10 hours ago
As well as being an anti mental healthcare scientologist shill, Cruise has been reported by multiple staff of his to be an extremely violent bully behind the scenes. Slamming people up against walls, that kind of thing. Ugh.
#20
Ellen DeGeneres.
I thought she was one of the most giving funny people for daytime tv after Oprah left. My sister and I loved her show and watched it almost everyday after school. We always wanted to go on, but the way she treated her people behind the scenes was nightmarish.
#21
Get Him to the Greek features Jonah Hill, Russel Brand, and Diddy. I loved them all so much in that movie. Now, it’s sort of a cavalcade of YIKES.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 11 hours ago
Russel Brand has recently turned right wing born again Christian since all the stories of a***e and a*****t came to light.
#22
Kevin Spacey. That man is an incredible actor, just also an incredibly terrible person.
Woody Allen has made so many all time great films but is a total POS and the more we learn the worse it gets.
#23
Well like every other 15 year old girl in 1994 I loved Jared Leto.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 10 hours ago
I allways found him a bit strange. Like he is living in his own movie
#24
The guy who hosted The Apprentice turned out to be a piece of work.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 12 hours ago
I think they used the wrong Apprentice host here. I do not want to stick up for Lord Alan Sugar but there was a far worse host of the American apprentice.
#25
Lance Armstrong. I think some part of us always knew he had to be cheating because it was just superhuman what he came back from and what he achieved but in that era, everyone was cheating, so it was a little easier to swallow.
But it turns out he was kind of a monster on top of it, threatening to ruin people’s careers and actually ruining people’s careers and stuff. His fall from grace was a tough one.
#29
Will Smith. He just feels so phoney to me now.
Stephanie A Mutti 5 hours ago
He was entertaining in the day but he only acted one character - loveable scamp lady-killer charming hero, like Tom Cruise. One character was all he could act. I think they buy that as their personality.
#30
Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys - Mike Smith. Turns out he's a well known predator and hurt many women over many years.
Edit: He's got an ongoing trial as we speak. So innocent until proven guilty and all.
Lady Eowyn 5 hours ago
It's not innocent until proven guilty. It's presumed innocent until proven guilty.
#31
Anthony Kiedis. I don’t even enjoy listening to RHCP anymore.
DrBronxx 12 hours ago
I remember reading an excerpt from his autobiography that was published in a magazine, and my thought was "this s****y person really thinks he's amazing". It was extremely off-putting, and I shudder to think what was in the rest of the book, given that the part that they thought would be good for promotion was so s****y. Thing is, I can't remember the content, just how it made me feel.
#32
Saw a video yesterday of Jessie Buckley saying she made her boyfriend get rid of his cats because she didn't like them. Trash behavior.
DrBronxx 12 hours ago
To be perfectly honest, I can't stand cats. That said, if I started a relationship with a partner who had cats, I would give it a chance, but if I couldn't get on with the cats, I would be the one to bow out, not make the person choose between me and the cats. That's just cruel.
#33
Kevin Spacey.
Movies were always better when he appeared in a scene. After hearing of the years of his s****l a***e towards young men, I definitely wouldn't want to be alone with him.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 12 hours ago
Even though he was cleared of the acts that were brought to trial, a lot of stories and allegations remain out there.
#34
Gwen Stefani - I loved her music during the noughties (and still have an appreciation for it) and thought she was such a cool chick. Now, she’s a MAGA trad wife.
#35
Datsik
A major dubstep pioneer from my little corner of the world. Made super fun music, played super fun concerts and festivals, had this great persona he portrayed.
Well he was one of the first people I saw to get #metoo'd and it turns out he is a total piece of s**t.
Rockstars have groupies we all know what's up with that. The thing he he would d**g / get these girls wasted out of their minds, s******y a*****t them, and then kick them off his tour bus leaving them stranded. Then he gave a totally insincere non apology and his career has been over ever since.
F**k you man.
#37
J. K. Rowling. I used to love Harry Potter like most people my age, and as a bookworm, I was also happy that her books inspired so many young people into reading. Then she went off the rails and I can no longer support her and her work. I think it's a pity, that she wrote a book series that basically defined a generation and yet chose THAT to be her legacy instead.
Beak Hookage 10 hours ago
I'd already washed my hands of her when she suddenly starting spewing hatred toward asexuals like myself and even then it really really hurt. :(
#38
I used to love Amanda Palmers music but apparently she's Ghislaine Maxwell.
#39
This one's gonna make some people upset, but Richard Kind. My aunt used to work a job as a waitress in NYC. There was some sort of event with a bunch of celebrities. At some point during the event, Richard Kind grabbed my aunt in a s****l manner and made s****l remarks towards her. Everybody also looks at him as a Saint but I trust my aunt and can't watch anything he does anymore.
#40
Jackie Chan.
I loved his movies as a kid, and it was cool that he actually did know martial arts.
I can sort of understand shilling for the CCP as a career move and politics are complicated over there. No reason to be terribly sexist and mistreat his wife and child though .
Fire Singer 2 hours ago
If I ever came close to "idolizing" a celebrity Jackie Chan was it. So learning the bad things he's done really hurt. :(
#41
Ronnie Radke and his band Falling in Reverse. They had some jams, and then one of my favorite drummers joined the band and then I started to see Radkes stuff online. Turns out dude is a world class jerk. Shame, because I love Hollands drumming but I won't support Radke.
#42
DIE ANTWOORD, used to love their music before I found out what they’re really like. Complete jerks and horrible people. Can’t even listen to their music anymore because of it.
#43
Neil Patrick Harris, the Amy Winehouse cake story I’ve read about just doesn’t sit right with me.
kissmychakram 9 hours ago
Yeah, not sure about this - a stupid, regrettable, one-off choice for which he has apologised should be forgiven. Many of us have been guilty of morbid humour that has crossed good-taste boundaries.
#44
Snoop. I know he's not the worst like some others here, but I was a fan and then he just fully sold out.
Friends have bought me Snoop stuff and now it's like nope, it's sitting in storage.
#45
Loved Ewan McGregor until he cheated on his wife. Loved Brad Pitt until he cheated on his wife. Loved Kenneth Branagh until he cheated on his wife. Loved Hugh Jackman until he cheated on his wife. Loved Ethan Hawke until he cheated on his wife. .
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 9 hours ago
Marriages break down. That's life. This is not the same league as many of these other people.
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What do you think ?
CP 4 hours ago
I love reading these articles. People act like celebrities are special when they are just humans like us. The difference in a lot of theses stories is the power that comes along with it and allows you to get away with things a regular person would have a harder time doing. Worshipping them gives them this power.
CP 4 hours ago
I love reading these articles. People act like celebrities are special when they are just humans like us. The difference in a lot of theses stories is the power that comes along with it and allows you to get away with things a regular person would have a harder time doing. Worshipping them gives them this power.
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