Perhaps you grew up dreaming of being rich and famous. Hollywood stars seem to have it all. And celebrities have millions of fans around the world who love them, so how could they be unhappy? But the grass is always greener on the other side, and we often forget that there’s a darker side to the entertainment industry. Plus, it can be incredibly difficult to deal with any personal issues while the whole world is watching.
Redditors have been recalling some of the most tragic celebrity downfalls, so we’ve gathered their heartbreaking stories below. From stars that lost their battle with depression to talented artists who were absolutely destroyed by tabloids, these tales might make you extremely grateful for your quiet, private life.
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All the women who lost (or were blacklisted for years)their careers for saying no to Harvey weinstein. Ashley Judd, Courtney love, and selma hayak.
I remember seeing Ashley Judd in something and thinking that she was a really good actress ... then nothing. This explains it. Such an evil man.
Mira Sorvino and Rose McGowan also come to mind. Two very strong women who spoke out against him.
Brendan Fraser. So many health issues, getting assaulted, a horrible divorce etc. I'm glad he's making a comeback. I've had health issues too and I know how much they can suck.
I hope he's okay now.
He will always be imprinted in my brain as George of the Jungle. That movie still holds up.
Rick Moranis.
Guy is beloved everywhere, play in great movies then... his wife passes away. He stops everything to take care of his children full time.
a REAL hero.
I freakin' love and respect the man.
He maybe having a comeback since his kids are all grown now. Isn't there another Honey! I [BLANK] the Kid/Us coming out soon?
He hasn’t fallen, but knowing Bruce Willis is going to mentally deteriorate AT ALL made me really sad.
He apparently doesn't even remember he was a famous actor by this point. God dementia is terrifying. :(
Britney Spears she was having a mental breakdown and the whole world was beating her further down at the time it was sad to watch.
I agree, but I think she's probably compensating for the freedom she didn't have for long and will 'come good'. At least, I hope so. She deserves health and happiness after what she's been through.
Load More Replies...A conservatorship under someone who isn't in it for the money.
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Robin Williams...I have a mother with dementia and it's terrifying and soul crushing to watch someone you love forget activities they used to love. Me and my sister have prepared for the worse but that doesn't make it any easier.
Prion disease can eat a bag or richards ALONG with cancers!
Have a friend who is dealing with a mom who has Robin's affliction (Lewy Bodies Dementia) and feel that Robin did his family and himself a favor with his decision. It's a nightmare for all involved. And I say this as someone who had a mom with typical dementia. It's not the same thing.
He left when he still had at least part of himself left. My mom had typical dementia and that was hard enough.
Anthony Bourdain.
That hurt the most. I honestly envied his life, I wanted to be him or to be what he showed everyday. Traveling around the world. Eating delicious food from all around the world. That was imo the absolute epitome of success. And it was so sad...seeing that it wasn't enough...was absolutely earth-shattering for me.
He was an ex a****t so maybe his demons came back to haunt him at a time of stress. Whatever did happen truly tragic as he was a favourite of mine to watch. Very deep and interesting human.
Toxicology results were negative for narcotics. He wasn’t using again. I miss him as well.
Load More Replies...Yeah, this was one of those celebrity passings where I thought we really lost a good one. Who knows what inner demons he was struggling with.
You just never know what people are feeling or dealing with. Some people's pain just has no end until they end that pain themselves. I choose to remember him enjoying food all over the world (that I just wouldn't touch).
George Michael. Brilliant but gay in a time it was not easy. Same with Freddie m.
I shed a tear for him every Christmas and listen to one of his albums. He cancelled his final tour because of the a***e he was taking because he had gained weight and looked a bit older. His voice was as lovely as ever.
Load More Replies...He did not have any "downfall" though. Sure, there were a couple of minor legal cases, a breath of scandal, but it never really did his career any harm. And Freddie was out and proud from the very early years of Queen.
Sometimes the downfall is the prevention of your career from rising.
Load More Replies...He was in the Catherine Tate show, in a sketch with "Bernie", the Irish nurse who's kind of a sl@g. (This is a character she plays, not a real person.) She is singing a bit of one of his songs and he comes out and tells her to be quiet. She says, "Do you want my s3x?" He says, "Do you not read the papers, love?" Hilarious.
Janet Jackson after her Super Bowl mishap her career got ruined, and it wasn’t even her fault.
It's a whole misogyny thing isn't it. Women are indecent narrative. Eve's daughters etc etc
Load More Replies...Mishap? What exactly was the intended hap? But yes, I'm baffled as to why this stunt affected Janet's career and not Justin's
He was supposed to rip her top and reveal her bra, he accidentally ripped the top AND the bra
Load More Replies...Had it been Justins nip slip everyone would laugh about it but god forbid a woman has one? Oh, the double standards in the US.
Amy Whinehouse.
I didn’t realise how little support she had and she was never the type of person to handle fame to well.
Such a talent but her Dad was a jerk and cared more about money. Plus the media just ambushed her. She never had a chance.
I didn’t know anything until I watched the documentary “Amy”. Highly recommend it.
I think I might have said this elsewhere, but I used to hate her singing voice as a teenager. It wasn't until my 30s that I realised what a gem she was and what the world actually lost when she passed away. 27... she was basically a kid (said by my mid 30s self, lol, but even still).
Yeah, nope, mid 30s as well here and her voice is nails on a chalkboard to me... Never got the appeal of her or Janis Joplin...
Load More Replies...Whinehouse, however, is a very good name for the current Whitehouse!
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Celine Dion's forthcoming "downfall" is absolutely tragic. Woman loves to sing, adores her fans, and is eventually going to be unable to connect with said fans ever again due to a one-in-a-million disease.
If God is real, he has a sick sense of humor.
Even if he were, the bible made it clear he isn't exactly a nice guy anyway.
Load More Replies...Linda Ronstadt was also robbed of her amazing singing voice. She contracted a disease called: progressive supranuclear palsy.
I never knew that. My older brother just loved, loved, loved her. And then suddenly you never heard about her.
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Jennifer Lawrence
Everyone hated her for no reason.
Gets cast in Hunger games and all anyone talks about is her being to fat, even thought she is a skinny woman. She accuratly plays the quiet, shy PTSD victim the book described and everyone called her a bad actress.
she shows a charming personallity that feels more relatable (likes food, more honest anwsers, playful, doesn't take herself too seriously) everyone loves her!
Then suddenly we all hate that about her, because.... she is too... relatable. now she must be faking it.
She recently said she wants to 'obliterate all dogs' so definitely down several notches in my book.
Yeah. She was a total d-bag for what she did with her long-time dog.
Load More Replies...Her face is just not expressive enough. It was perfect for The Hunger Games, but I haven't found another fit role since.
I never heard anyone criticize her weight except she was constantly telling everyone she was too fat for Hollywood. Now she’s bone thin.
I do remember the press saying how very perfect looking she is, well when the first HG film came out. Like nothing else was as important as her looks. I really liked her film about the entrepreneur mop lady.
I find her manufactured “quirkiness” and “I’m so clumsy” persona extremely irritating
You know that some (a lot) of people are actually like that in real life ? And that celebrities are real people ?
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Amanda Bynes. Child actor downfalls are sad because they’re victims of their environment and bad parents :(
ETA: there seems to be some debate on whether her parents were bad or not. IMO, they were terrible by exploiting her as a child and then didn’t protect her which led her to allegedly getting groomed by Dan Schneider.
I'm kind of angry at comments that she's ugly and her tattoos are unattractive, like who are you to say that? All the other celebrities with face tattoos and nose piercings, are they also ugly? Give her a tiny break atleast
Dixie Chicks. They got caught up in political fodder that has been disproven.
What was disproven? They got screwed over for criticizing a president and a war that many now see in a vastly different light, but the facts remain the same. Also wild to think that the current president makes me miss dubya. Brutal times we live in.
Not sure, but I think OP means that what the critics said about the Chicks was disproven as people revised their opinions about that president and war.
Load More Replies...Will smith clearly has a toxic marriage and is not handling it well. Chris Rock caught the anger he clearly has towards the situation. Will smith is not okay.
Chris Rock was not an innocent victim here. What he said, even if he didn't know about the health issue, was bullying and unacceptable. He didn't get punched, he got slapped. And people would have seen that if Jim Carrey hadn't piled on with the energy of a man who sees an existential threat in the idea of witty men who humiliate others getting slapped.
It was a joke. Does that automatically make it ok? Maybe not but I fully believe anything can be humorous if approached right. That said dark humor has always been one of my copies mechanisms. That said if you feel chris rock deserved to be slapped what are your feelings on Nikki glaser? She's said worse literally hundreds if not thousands of time and I, for one, think she's absolutely hilarious and amazing talent3d.
Load More Replies...My favourite was his assorted interviews surrounding his starring his son in huge roles in his movies because he was the most talented of all. Of course he didn't need to audition anyone, he just knew.
Jake Lloyd, I was reading into what happened to him after watching ‘Jingle all the Way’ and recognising him as a young Anakin Skywalker.
Apparently Hollywood and the Star Wars franchise in particular, really got to him, and he wound up being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. It’s a shame learning of these unfortunate stories concerning child actors; you can’t help but want to root for them, but the reality of their situation is often disappointing.
Edit: I hear what you guys are saying in regards to schizophrenia, and all the different reasons it could manifest in a person. I wasn’t suggesting that his role in Star Wars was the root cause of his psych history, just pointing out the correlation with young Hollywood actors and the decline in mental health they tend experience.
Hayden Christensen. I know he decided by himself to step away from acting, but all the hate was extremely harsh and undeserved.
I don’t think he’s a great actor (not just in Star Wars) but nobody could have said the Star Wars script and done a good job. The infamous “I don’t like sand” speech was terrible l
Very mediocre actor at best, but no one could have made anakins dialogue or the story actually be good.
The Obi-Wan series showed that he can act when given good dialogue and proper direction. The final scene between Ben and Anakin/Vader in the series was heart wrenching.
He’s still acting regularly, including many Star Wars projects. He’s not the greatest actor but I’ve enjoyed him in other films..
He can act fine. Nobody could have put life into those stupid speeches he had to do.
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Nicolas Cage, although that was self-inflicted. He owed a lot of money and had to make a bunch of low budget movies for years to make the money back. But he always gave a good effort, and some of those low budget movies, like Mandy and Pig, were pretty great. And after he played himself in Massive Talent, hes back doing studio movies, so hes good right now.
I wasn't a huge fan of him as ghost rider, but my opinion of him has changed drastically. Used to think he was borderline terrible now I love his over the top style and absurd level of commitment to it. Renfield was incredible.
Load More Replies...I Like Nicolas Cage, One of my favorite movies is Lord of War. In my opinion one of his best roles.
That was a great movie. I have liked every movie of his that I've seen, loved some of them
Load More Replies...He lost a lot of money to that scammer, Bernie Madoff. That's why he started making films again. I'm actually a fan now that he's made some really interesting ones, like the Massive Talent film, that's so funny. He seems to be challenging himself more. It's great
Fatty Arbuckle. Totally railroaded by a prosecutor who wanted to make a name for himself, finally acquitted after three trials, basically blacklisted by moralist dirtbags, and just as he was making his comeback he loses his life after a heart attack.
And he wasn't even guilty, it was proved later Virginia put that bottle upp her rear end herself.
Michael Schumacher. It hurts.
sktchld:
Wild that skiing is what did him in when he raced cars at 200mph and nothing ever happened.
He didn't deserve it but he DID leave the marked track. He thought "it will all be okay", and then it wasn't. One small act of arrogance basically cost him his life.
The helmet failed because he drilled in the support for a camera made it weak. So focused on safety on f1 tracks, not as well privately.
Load More Replies... Martha Stewart. Only woman, only entrepreneur on NYSE board. Busted off to prison for some measly trading infraction. Guys steal billions and don't ever even get sanctioned.
Mad respect for Martha.
Yeah ... Martha's doing ok. She needs no one's sympathy. She's a bad bi*ch and might agree with you but then who knows what she gained from the fall.
The argument for her is an example of whataboutism. Well she was bad yes but these other people were also bad but they didn't get punished, therefore she shouldn't have. Honestly, she had for years been sneered at for pretending to be WASP when her family is Polish. She certainly cooked well but everything was so excess that she even starred in a commercial for a credit card that makes fun of her precise excessiveness. I do not respect her one tiny bit. I click no and turn off her recipes that pop up, and they are numerous! She's celebrated by other rich people and that's fine.
When you commit insider stock trading while you're on the board of directors of the stock exchange supposedly enforcing the rules, you deserve some time inside.
Except that she did it. And a number of men were also sentenced to jail as a part of the same conspiracy. Yes, of course many people get away with this. Also many people get away with mugging the elderly. Let's hear a big round of applause for the muggers who so unfairly get caught: so unjust.
Katherine Heigl.
Even seeing her interviews, she really just stood up for herself and was demonized. I love everything she’s been in.
Used to play a game with her before Roswell really took off (people we both knew had lunch with her and stuff IRL). She was hilarious and fun but very much someone who stood up for what was right and it sucked to see her made out to be the villain for the very things about her that made a group of us glad to know her.
I thought she was a really great actress in Grey’s Anatomy and other things I watched, but I think the issue was that (as well as the interviews) she chose to do nothing but romantic comedies for a few years and some of them were quite bad. If she had been more selective and picked better movies and more dramatic roles then her career wouldn’t have been over so quickly.
Gary Coleman
Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s making over 100K an episode on "Diff'ent Strokes"
But due to medication to treat a kidney disease he never made it past 4'8 which led to more health problems growing up. Plus his parents basically robbed him of his money until he was nearly penniless to the point he had to take a job as a mall security guard.
He was on his way to making a comeback, but died on life support after a major injury.
(Ex-wife pulled the pulled).
How can a country allow parents to steal all their child's income? USA really hates its children.
Yuuuuuup. The education system really hammers home how they have no rights and aren't allowed to think for themselves.
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I'm not sure if this counts at all, since she wasn't cancelled or anything, but Jennette McCurdy. She was a child actress, and the director she was working for was a creep. The work environment sucked. Her mom used her for money and treated her badly. She was even offered hush money, if she didn't say anything about her experience at Nickelodeon. Yet, at least, before she wrote her book, people wrote about how she loved acting so much and that she's always wanted to act blah blah blah. I remember seeing a kids book that talked all about Jennette McCurdy, and it said that. I wonder if it's still around. Anyway, I'm glad she's found a better job.
I've listened to her book in audiobook format twice so far, she narrates it. "I'm Glad My Mom Is D3ad"
I didn’t feel bad, but I was severely disappointed to learn that the great actor Kevin Spacey is an absolute creep.
Has the title of this article changed? It's currently "37 Celebrities Who *Didn’t Deserve* The Downfall They Experienced" (emphasis added)...
Yes, origianlly it was just "sad celebrity downfalls" (you can see it in the link).
Load More Replies...It was disappointing. He's played some great roles. But was anyone totally surprised? When I heard it was like, "Oh, I could see that he could be that way ..."
If he played nice guys all the time it would be surprising but he played creepy guys on screen and always seemed creepy in real life to me.
Load More Replies...It has completely ruined some films like KPax, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Good films, but his presence messes with the enjoyment now
Lindsay Lohan. She actually really has a ton of talent but who could grow up with those parents plus be a child actor and NOT have a huge downfall? She was doomed from the start.
I'm really excited to see her out and about again. Working with Jamie Lee Curtis again is a great way for her to get back out there and have a bit of backing from another woman who is old enough to protect her with her more respected voice.
Old enough to protect her? That's an odd thing to say about a 39 year old woman.
Load More Replies...Watched a couple of holiday romcoms she was in last month. Oh and the sequel to Freaky Friday. She's very talented
Didn't Chrtina Ricci get royally screwed over by her guardians. She was showing real promise after growing out the Wednesday Addams fame into things like 'Black Snake Moan' but I recall reading she had some bizarre foster parent or estranged parent / custodian situation which poisoned her career. Was glad to see her in 'Matrix Resurrections' despite loathing the film as a whole.
Al Franken - Put aside the politics, you have to admit he caught the business end of a tough break. Dismissed unceremoniously. Feel bad for how that situation went down and concluded.
And now so much corruption and terrible behavior is going on in the current administration and NOTHING is done about it. Even if something did, pardons are being handed out like candy.
Megan Fox, called out the creeps in Hollywood and got banned.
Anyone who calls her a bad actress needs to watch Jennifer's Body and get their head on right. She was never taken seriously for daring to be hot and deserved to flex her skills.
I thought she was banned for being notoriously demanding and hard to work with? Like she would be offered a project and then make crazy conditions in her contract that no producer would agree to.
Milli Vanilli. Basically did what all pop singers do now, only it was new when they were doing it. Also, they pretty much were conned into it by an evil music industry impresario who didn’t care about them.
To add insult to injury, you couldn’t even find the songs on streaming for years afterward, even though they were fairly decent late-80s pop, and massive hits at the time.
Manufactured bands are nothing new, nor is the use of technology to 'enhance' a singer's voice, but they were different in that they did not sing at all on any of their records. Literally they were not involved in the recordings at all, they were just a couple of pretty boys that could move a bit.
My memory of that is a little different. They did sing but none of their singing was used on the records released. Definitely ruined their lives.
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She’s doing well now, but Kristen Stewart around the whole cheating scandal. don’t get me wrong, she was wrong and I also felt bad for Robert Pattinson, but to take in the thing as a whole looking back on it, the way the media and her own fans treated her was horrendous. She was really young and the pressure to be a couple (if they even were) must’ve been immense. Especially when so much of the franchise that they were promoting depended on them “being in love” She lost roles because of it, which when you really think about it is ridiculous, how many men in Hollywood have had affairs and it not affect a thing about their work? Meanwhile the married, older director she had an affair with never seemed to get half the vitriol she did, the whole thing was just incredibly unfair.
That is incredibly true. I can't even remember the name of the director now, but I do remember the flack Kristen got after hooking up with him. Yeah, she fucked up. Lots of us do. We're just fortunate that we're not in the public eye so everyone gets to see and judge us when we do.
They were young and had no privacy and it would have caused just as big a kerfuffle if they broke up.
Load More Replies...I don't think she has any. If she's in a movie, I just can't watch it.
Load More Replies...I thought it was because she had no personality in her roles after Twilight. Like before that she was a happy teenage actor and after all her characters were just depressed sociopath in every role and people realized she lost her range.
I think he’s kinda in the middle of it still, but John Mulaney’s divorce, rehab, sudden kid after being clear he wasn’t interested in having children, and suspicious relationship timeline makes me sad. It’s by no means the worst situation ITT, but it stings a bit.
Nasty, nasty, just nasty. Any and all of my sympathy goes to his ex wife. He treated her so cruelly.
He is, in my opinion, a GREAT stand up comedians and also wrote for Saturday Night Life. Soooo funny!
Load More Replies... I haven’t seen this one yet so I’ll post on my own question:
Nikocado Avocado. I thought he was terrible until I saw his old videos and the young, gentle, friendly looking man he used to be, who had a pet bird on his shoulder and played violin and taught vegan recipes. Then after that I realized he wasn’t terrible, he was just a broken man blinded by fame.
A guy who nearly ate himself to death for content and routinely had massive emotional break downs and pooped himself on camera multiple times. He essentially did it all too himself. That said the fact he continued to make a giant number of those videos and upload them as if they were new all while secretly losing weight and getting his s**t together is actually kind of amazing.
Load More Replies...His entire channel was a massive social experiment. He gained all the weight on purpose to show just how quickly the internet changes the narrative based on physical appearance. Guy played the long game and nearly k.i.l.l.e.d himself because of it.
Kevin Sorbo. Idolized the dude as Hercules / Dylan Hunt, but apparently one too many hits to the head made him the whackjob he is today.
The only good thing he does is raise awareness for MS. But that's because his mother has it. If she didn't, he probably would not be a spokesperson.
For people like Sorbo, Cain, and Chachi (not even going to bother looking up his real name) I wonder how many of their ilk were raised highly conservative, if something happened in their lives that made them do a Born Again type thing, or of being a D-list actor known for one good role and delusions of grandeur make you go hyper conservative just to get your name out there again.
She hasn't fell gracefully yet, but whoopie Goldberg. She is just so ignorant and insensitive of people. Let her catch the Jewish flame like Kanye did.
W*f is this trying to say? Op wants her to become an antisemite? Huh?!?
Probably unpopular opinion, but Kanye’s downfall has been hard to watch. He needs help and has needed help for a long time… instead people keep giving this dude air time for the views.
I don't think this is sad, personally. I think this belongs more in the thread of "celebs who lost it all and only have themselves to blame" (I am aware he is mentioned in there, by the way). He's always had his head up his own ass, just now some people are trying to justify that as mental illness (which it may be, but as we often say here, mental illness is not an excuse for poor behaviour).
You're right- he doesn't have both oars in the water, but he's also dumb as a sackful of hammers.
Load More Replies...Every woman behaving badly is a bi.tch. Every man behaving badly "needs help"....
I mean he his both a b!tch and also diagnosed with bipolar disorder that is clearly not properly treated.
Load More Replies...J.K. Rowling. She was an inspiration and the world she created was a huge part of so many people's childhoods. Now she's a blatant transphobe who uses her fame and influence to justify being a bigot. It's really sad.
I thought this thread was about people whose downfalls weren’t their fault? Hers is 100% on her.
Olive oil is hydrophobic, yet I'm ready to bet that my bottle of olive oil doesn't have a fear of water. Words have meanings you know ?
Load More Replies...Adelaide, I normally really enjoy your articles, but this one is on the nose IMO. Please learn the difference between 'sad celebrity downfalls' and 'celebrities who lost it all and have only themselves to blame', especially when both articles are readily available right now on BP.
Sorry, wth is this supposed to be. SInce WHEN do we call getting sick/disabled a downfall?! Did I miss something?
It can be a career set-back which results in a downfall, meaning a severe career disadvantage. An undeserved downfall of course, as the title says.
Load More Replies...Jack Gleeson. One of the most talented actors of his generation and the character he played was so obnoxious he got tarred by the same brush. He should be the hottest box-office draw and now he's quit acting.
I get paid over 220 Bucks per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. i never thought i'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 15k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. the potential with this is endless..., COPY HERE➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Load More Replies...Adelaide, I normally really enjoy your articles, but this one is on the nose IMO. Please learn the difference between 'sad celebrity downfalls' and 'celebrities who lost it all and have only themselves to blame', especially when both articles are readily available right now on BP.
Sorry, wth is this supposed to be. SInce WHEN do we call getting sick/disabled a downfall?! Did I miss something?
It can be a career set-back which results in a downfall, meaning a severe career disadvantage. An undeserved downfall of course, as the title says.
Load More Replies...Jack Gleeson. One of the most talented actors of his generation and the character he played was so obnoxious he got tarred by the same brush. He should be the hottest box-office draw and now he's quit acting.
I get paid over 220 Bucks per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. i never thought i'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 15k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. the potential with this is endless..., COPY HERE➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
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