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32 Stories Of Popular Kids Who Lost It All Because Of The Shenanigans That They Pulled
Interview With Expert
High school can either be the best or the worst part of your life, and I think it all depends on your luck. Unfortunately, sick hierarchies exist, what with the “cool” and the “uncool” kids, and they determine whether you get to enjoy your days or sulk them away.
Sometimes, though, the tables can turn even on the cool kids, and these stories are living proof. Netizens shared how the popular one in their schools became an absolute outcast, and some of them are just shocking. Scroll down to check them out for yourself, and see what we mean!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Girl in my middle school was really popular, but she was also super nice. I was a total outcast with a lot of problems, but she was the only person who ever treated me like a normal human being. She came out as bisexual, and got bullied so badly she had to move schools.
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#2
He seduced a quiet girl in school. She was really soft-spoken but super nice to everyone - basically everyone's little sister. She was absolutely beloved by everyone in her year, and he was a year older. He was her first love, and he f****d her once, took her virginity, and then essentially abandoned her. She was devastated by it, and it broke her for the rest of the time she was at school. She went right into her shell and barely spoke to anyone. When he started bragging about what he did, everyone hated him. He even got beat up a few times because people we so angry at what he did.
#3
Wholesome for once, I guess.
All popular kids in my school were complete di**heads that bullied others. This fella, King of the Hill, starts dating a girl from another school that was friends with one of the bullied kids. The kid told the girl what her boyfriend does in tht school, so the girl threatened to break up with him if he didn't change his ways.
He stoped socializing with the "cool" folks and started getting bullied by them, and none of the other kids wanted to warm up to him. He was a loner at school but he made his gf happy and he was happy.
Uncle Panda 1 month ago
See The Lysistrata, one of the bawdiest ancient Greek plays in existence.
I don't know about you, but as I was scrolling through the list, some of the things these popular kids did truly horrified me. After all, some of them committed some major criminally insane things, so it can disturb anyone. On the other hand, there were a few kids whose actions were funny, while some were truly wholesome.
To get deeper insights into the matter, Bored Panda reached out to teacher and principal Jyoti D., who has been in the teaching profession for the past 22 years. She claimed that throughout her tenure, she has witnessed the rise and fall of many such "cool kids," and how some of their actions actually impacted the whole school.
#4
Well, the popular girl at my school tried to ruin the life of a really sweet girl because of boyfriend drama. When she realized people were standing up for the sweet girl instead, she lost her mind. Accusing the other girl and her boyfriend of property damage, turning on anyone who didn’t “swear loyalty” (???) to her, turning people against one another, screaming at teachers, it was a mess.
The nail in the coffin was when she confided to me and two others that she was planning to put laxatives in the pastries she baked for the class. Obviously I let people know, and she became completely ostracized. She left at the end of junior year, and senior year was the most chill year ever.
Mel in Georgia 1 month ago
I was in a school group where some of the boys in the group horribly bullied a girl in the group. The rest of us girls cleaned up the nasty graffiti they wrote after hours in the school and read the boys the riot act. Bullying is a vile act, and I will never tolerate it when I see it.
#5
Knew a girl, she was voted homecoming princess and all, then just decided she didnt want to do it any more. I think she had a falling out with her friend group, started dating a black nerd and lived her best life afterwards under the radar the rest of high school. So it was a self-imposed exile.
#6
She was hired to dogsit for a neighbor when they went out of town. She decided to take advantage of the empty house and throw a party at the neighbors house that got out of hand. Neighbor's daughter also went to the school and had to deal with a messed up house. Pretty big deal and the popular girl never came back.
Jyoti claimed that the whole idea of a “popular kid” is kind of weird when you really think about it. She believes that it’s less about being truly liked and more about being seen, talked about, or having some kind of social power, whether that comes from being attractive, athletic, rich, or just loud and confident.
"A lot of the time, popular kids aren't even that well-liked; they are just well-known. People follow them more out of habit or pressure than actual admiration. And because their status is built on that shaky foundation, when something goes wrong, like a scandal, bad behavior, or just growing up, things could fall apart pretty fast," she explained.
#7
He got a bad haircut, was teased for it an threw a temper tantrum. He literally stormed out in the middle of class. He lost his spot as king bully after that.
KatSaidWhat 1 month ago
Just shave it off and start again? I did after a halloween temporary dye stayed, and then I cut it short and had issues on arrival in UK because my (Saffa) passport had shoulder length blonde hair and it was a mess at that point. So I shaved it. And kept it shaved for a while because I liked it. But back to that passport issue so grew it out again.
#8
There was a guy that was pretty popular, he got really drunk at a party and totally didn't know where he was. He pulled down his pants, squatted and totally started to p**p. He moved away immediately. He was a senior and I was in 8th grade...that was well over 25 years ago. Well, he friended me on Facebook a couple months ago and I kinda recognized him...I racked my brain and it came to me...the guy who po**ed at the party. Poor guy.
#9
Best answer to this happens between Elementary and Middle school.
Our elementary was small, and we fed into a middle school with a much bigger school. Think 20% us, and 80% them.
Most popular kid showed up on the first day, after only knowing what its like to be the coolest kid in the small school, and tried to start s**t with some random kid. Who was with 11 of his friends. To show how cool and "top dog" he was to everyone I guess.
Yeah, those 12 guys beat him up, and then made fun of him for years. He wasnt cool anymore. Just that fast.
By high school nobody cared anymore, but he was never really popular again.
Maim 1 month ago (edited)
Same situation, one school blended into a middle school with 3 other schools. The "cool" girls from my elementary that bullied me were just a tiny group at the new school. I made new friends and blossomed and they had the audacity to be mad that I wasn't sitting with them at lunch anymore. Scr*w you Debbie & Jennifer!
Our expert also narrated that being popular is not a personality; rather, it's a role, and roles keep changing. We also conversed with her about how a lot of these so-called cool kids gain their status by bullying or belittling others. She commented that it's becoming a growing concern these days, and cyberbullying has almost become a threat to a peaceful school environment.
She narrated, "There are a few reasons why it’s gotten worse. For one, social media gives bullies a bigger stage and more ways to target others. Then there’s the aftermath of COVID — a lot of students came back to school with social anxiety, less emotional regulation, and more stress, which made conflicts and bad behavior more common."
Jyoti added that on top of all this, kids today are under a ton of pressure, both academically and socially, and that stress can spill out in unhealthy ways.
#10
Pissed off one of the other popular guys, maybe by dating his ex-girlfriend? I can't remember exactly how, but every dude in school shut him out and he had no friends. Kinda sad because he was a decent guy and they turned on him at the slightest provocation. But that's how things were in my class. My class was known for having the meanest, cruelest cliques. We had a few substitute teachers who refused to teach our class because we were so awful. I'm glad I moved schools, that place was a nightmare.
Mel in Georgia 1 month ago
I had the best class in high school - everyone mostly got along with everyone else and all the groups (nerds, jocks, cheerleaders, band geeks, etc.) intermingled and were pretty much accepted by each other. The class after us? Not so much. Classes can develop a vibe over the years. Sorry the OP had this experience - it can ruin your experience in school.
#11
This kid in middle school used to talk s**t to everyone. He had nice stuff his parents got him and everyone thought he was tough and could fight until one day he started on a special needs kid. Nobody had ever actually seen the popular kid fight, he just was excellent at intimidation.
Now a lot of the special needs kids in my area weren't just students who were mentally challenged, but had overall learning disabilities. Many of those kids came from very tough homes and the special needs kid who the popular kid messed with was an absolute savage. He grew up in a pretty tough part of town but was really a gentle giant. He could play football, he was muscular, he could do everything the regular students could do except speak properly. A minor speech impediment.
The popular kid challenged him to a one on one fight and got his a*s kicked by the special needs kid. I'm talking blood everywhere, his clothes got ripped, one of his sneakers landed like ten feet away, and to top it all off he even tried running away after the first few punches. The special needs kid grabbed him and pulled him back. It was a m******e.
The popular kid not only lost all of his influence but didn't even have the guts to come back to school for like a week. If I ever saw instant karma it would have had to have been on this day because he was quiet as a mouse the rest of the years through high school.
#12
...she dated me.
We were in speech and debate together. Both did impromptu, and we would give each other random quotes and stupid cartoons to practice with. Spent a lot of time together because of it. We dated for about two days before people mocked her for it and she bailed on me HARD to keep her social status. She never socially recovered from the sin of liking one of the nerds.
Thing is though, she then lost all her nerd friends too.
Jyoti commented that in a twisted way, bullying becomes a shortcut to status. She further elaborated that some kids bully because they think it’ll make them look cool, untouchable, or more 'in' with the right group. Unfortunately, according to her experience, it works sometimes, at least temporarily.
She noted, "Bullying for popularity is one of the most toxic forms because it’s not just about being mean, it’s strategic. It turns other people’s pain into a performance for clout. And that’s something schools, parents, and students need to call out and shut down, not just as 'bad behavior,' but as a broken way of chasing status."
#13
There was a popular cheerleader at my school that was in a bad car wreck and she suffered severe brain damage. The day she came back some of her friends, aka the popular kids, sat with her at lunch. Every day after that though, they sat on the other side of the cafeteria in their normal spot and she was with the other special needs students. They would walk past her without saying a word. As far as everyone knew, her entire group of friends completely abandoned her. I don't think she missed them though, so silver lining, she seemed to be very happy most of the time after the accident. Not so much before.
This was in the mid-late 80s, and every teen movie with a bunch of s****y preppies pretty much accurately depicts the popular kids in my HS.
#14
He hooked up with two of his friends girlfriends. They ditched him after that.
Edit : People are asking why the girls went along with it. This was high school, and there was a lot of partying and alcohol.
No excuses, but for a lot of people, it was their first time getting drunk and completely wasted.
Edit 2 : One guy dumped his girlfriend for cheating but the other one didn’t. I guess it was because she was his first love and childhood sweetheart, so he forgave her.
#15
She tried to manipulate all her friends and pit them against each other with a bunch of catty lies. Well that in combination with wearing her pageant sash and crown to school for like a week. (All girls school).
Jyoti also expressed that these popular kids are not always the bad guys, as some are genuinely nice people. However, she claimed that the cruel one's actions on one student can actually impact the whole school. She emphasized that moments like these can either help schools grow or just expose cracks that were already there.
However, Jyoti also argued that sometimes, such incidents can actually push a school to change, if they’re willing to face the hard stuff. She believes that the ones who learn from it, talk about it openly, and actually fix what went wrong come out stronger. Although the ones that just try to cover it up or pretend it never happened, not so much, she added.
Well, that definitely gave me a different perspective on the rise and fall of a popular kid in schools. Anyway, that's it from our end, dear readers, as we leave you to scroll through the other wild stories. If you have experienced something similar, feel free to jot down your thoughts in the comments below!
#16
Our star football player lost his fullride football scholarship to LSU after beating his girlfriend into a coma. It's been like 8 years, but if memory serves correctly he didn't end up going to prison or juvie because they lacked sufficient evidence. He eventually got expelled from our school because it had a zero tolerance policy for fighting and one of his girlfriend's friends called him out for beating her while in the hallway. He didn't like being confronted and tried to beat the s**t out of the guy calling him out.
*edit* Oh s**t, this sorta blew up, finally remembered the guys name! there weren't any news articles directly about the incident in question. According to everything I could find, he got a lawyer very quickly and got the charges reduced. He got picked up by another major school...not a winning one...but certainly a big one...He under-performed his freshman year and a newer recruit way outperformed him his sophomore year...so he transferred to a much smaller school...as far as I can tell he did not come anywhere close to going pro. OH! Also, I couldn't find out what happened to his girlfriend, I'm sorry ._.
Janelle Collard 1 month ago
Too bad the girlfiend's friends and family didn't "know people who know people" to get the jock "to see the error of his ways."
#17
Got blamed for a drive by. Basically, was a star track and field sprinter and jumper as well as football player. Nice guy too, a rather typical jock type, but he got along well with virtually everyone - he was definitely popular because he was extremely athletically talented though.
He took the fall for a m****r he didn't commit. Almost everyone knew he was innocent, he was not a violent individual, just tied up with the wrong crowd at the wrong time.
He's gonna spend most his natural life behind bars now. A true shame he had a bright future - and now he's a physically literal outcast from society, albeit not-deserving.
#18
She was pretty and fairly popular and near the end of the school year told everyone she had cancer. We were approaching the end of grade 7 at the time. Eventually literally everyone knew: teachers, other parents, other grades, etc., and it kind of united everyone who weren't typically friends and that was kind of cool. Until one day (maybe a week or two in) a pair of girl friends go to visit her at her parents house and they bring it up and discover it was a hoax. She pissed off a lot of people and lost all her friends after that. Gained new ones eventually, but what a g*****n weird thing to lie about.
#19
There was a girl that was THE popular girl in school. She had all the friends and even put out an album; she was a total star locally. One day we were taking standardized tests and she runs out of the room and doesn’t return.
When we left the class there was green diarrhea ALL over the floor just down the hall from the classroom. Poor girl didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. She didn’t return to school that school year and moved to another town/school completely after that.
She married a famous NFL player and is one of these Instagram ppl now so she bounced back from a s****y situation pretty well.
#20
He was popular because he was a rebel that talked back to teachers, and insulted them openly.
He became an outcast because he made the teacher everyone loved cry.
#21
Not really outcasted, but a girl at my high school got cancer. I'm not sure exactly what type. I think it was on her lung but I remember her talking about how it was pressing against her spine and that caused pain or motor problems or something like that. A lot of people started avoiding her after word got out. It wasn't really that they were trying to be cruel or didn't feel bad for her. It was more that it was an awkward social situation they had no experience with and it was much easier to evade than to confront head on. None of her close friends did this, fortunately, but lots of casual acquaintance-grade friends. I was an acquaintance-grade friend, but I was good friends with her best friend, so we still hung out some. That's not to say anything good about me. I'm actually super avoidant of difficult situations and totally understood why people were avoiding her. I've just never felt all that uncomfortable around people with terminal illnesses for some reason.
#22
Guy got caught with a bunch of h****n in the trunk of his car, on school grounds and was over 18 as a senior. Never saw or heard about him after that, but I'm guessing it didn't go well for him.
#23
D***s. You're the cool kid in 9th grade if you're smoking w**d all the time. You're not the cool kid in 12th grade if you're addicted to h****n.
#25
Semi popular, kinda “preppy” kid. Tried to k**l his parents by pouring vodka around their bed at night and setting it on fire because they took his CDs away.
#26
Graduated high school.
He turned into that 30 year old dude that still hasn't gotten over high school.
#27
Got an 8th grade girl pregnant while he was a junior in high school. He eventually transferred out because everyone hated him so much.
JayWantsACat 1 month ago
There was a girl in my class. Super smart, quiet, trackstar. She got pregnant our senior year to everyone's massive surprise, and didn't come back. I think she got her GED.
#28
Got hit by a train. Everyone cared about him until he got out of the hospital and wasn’t the same mentally (from head trauma). All the other popular kids mock him and have him blocked on social media to this day.
#29
Graduated.
Turns out, some learn the hard way that adulthood is not the same as high school.
#30
Uh, well, everyone else grew up.
He didn't, and doesn't seem to want to. Now it's everyone else's fault 10 years later.
#31
He spilled some of the soapy water stuff from the bucket that holds the mop onto the floor, and the chill teacher that didn't care about whether you played games in class or not tripped and fractured/broke his right arm.
Sara Frazer 1 month ago
So, I'm guessing this kid put the soapy water on the floor on purpose?
#32
Somebody catfished him and was a short vid of him n**ed that went to a lot of people that most of us saw. Kinda felt bad for him but remembered hes an a*****e.
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
My mom pulled me out of public school after 7th grade and made me take the GED when I was 13. She then made me start college classes at the local community college when I was 14. I had no friends for years - and I was pretty socially messed-up for a long time. I used to be angry at her that I didn't get to go to high school like everyone else did. Maybe I didn't miss much XD
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
My mom pulled me out of public school after 7th grade and made me take the GED when I was 13. She then made me start college classes at the local community college when I was 14. I had no friends for years - and I was pretty socially messed-up for a long time. I used to be angry at her that I didn't get to go to high school like everyone else did. Maybe I didn't miss much XD
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