From Hollywood stars to music icons, these celebrities managed to bounce back from career-destroying scandals, only to throw it all away again. Join us as we explore the shocking falls from grace featuring controversial moments, public meltdowns, and criminal charges that left reputations in ruins.
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00:00It's my birthday, I'm not turning 42, I'm turning 5 this year.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at stars who got second chances after shocking
00:09scandals and setbacks, only to squander their career resurgence yet again.
00:13Simpson's Vegas Act comes on the same day as the release of the book, If I Did It.
00:17Charlie Sheen.
00:19Consistently making headlines for heavy substance use, wild partying, and brushes with the law,
00:23it's easy to see why Charlie Sheen is often considered Hollywood's original bad boy.
00:27Yet despite his troubles, Sheen managed to revive his career with a string of commercial
00:31hits, including a successful switch to television on Spin City and the massively successful
00:36Two and a Half Men.
00:37I wish you could have seen him in his prime.
00:39He was like Babe Ruth.
00:41He played baseball?
00:42No, he was a drunken whoremonger.
00:44However, Charlie found himself in a second career downfall when he was fired from his
00:48hit show after a series of erratic rants.
00:50You judge me, you condemn me, you discarded me.
00:53Well, not anymore.
00:54Winning!
00:56And while he's stayed out of trouble in recent years following the reveal that he's
00:59HIV positive, Charlie's stormy past remains quite the cautionary tale.
01:03I'm bi-winning.
01:04I win here and I win there.
01:06Now what?
01:07Mel Gibson.
01:08Once a beloved A-lister with films like Mad Max and Braveheart to his name, Mel Gibson's
01:12career came to a standstill in 2006 after he was arrested for a DUI and his anti-Semitic
01:17tirade against the arresting officers was leaked to the public.
01:20Are those anti-Semitic words?
01:22Oh yeah.
01:23Yeah.
01:24Absolutely.
01:25It sounds horrible.
01:26And I'm ashamed of that.
01:28That came out of my mouth.
01:29And I'm not that.
01:30That's not who I am, you know?
01:31The backlash was swift, and he found himself ostracized from mainstream Hollywood.
01:36Just when the negativity surrounding Mel looked to be simmering down, he faced a second blow
01:40to his career.
01:41In 2010, shocking recordings of Gibson making vile and hate-filled threats against his then-girlfriend
01:47Oksana Grigorieva surfaced.
01:48I'm just telling you the truth.
01:49I don't like it.
01:50I don't want that woman.
01:51I don't want you.
01:52It was back to square one for the actor, and despite a gradual resurgence, his reputation
01:58has never fully recovered.
02:00Britney Spears.
02:02Pop princess Britney Spears has had a tumultuous career.
02:05She also had one of the most public meltdowns in history.
02:07She literally grabbed the hair clipper and started doing it herself.
02:13In an infamous pop culture moment in February 2007, Britney shaved her head and attacked
02:17a paparazzi's car.
02:19The incident, combined with other troubling and erratic behavior, led to Spears being
02:23placed under a controversial conservatorship controlled by her father.
02:27The next several years promise to be very lucrative for the conservatorship estate.
02:31This conservatorship should be viewed more as a hybrid business model, which I think
02:36is probably the first time that's ever been said about a conservatorship.
02:40Years later, the hashtag Free Britney movement successfully pushed for her release, with
02:44fans rejoicing at her newfound freedom.
02:47However, post-conservatorship, Britney's disturbing social media behavior has raised
02:51concerns once again.
02:52With bizarre claims, such as saying she is turning 5 years old, Spears is once more facing
02:57controversy head-on.
02:58It's my birthday, I'm not turning 42, I'm turning 5 this year.
03:04I'm turning 5 years old, and I have to go to kindergarten tomorrow.
03:11Chevy Chase.
03:12Without question, Chevy Chase is a comedy legend.
03:15This despite a notorious reputation for being abrasive and difficult to work with.
03:19The next time you have one of your outbursts, I'd appreciate it if you'd have some consideration
03:23for your kids.
03:24Heck, accusations of unruly behind-the-scenes behavior has haunted his career since his
03:28early days on Saturday Night Live.
03:30Following a successful run of films in the 80s and 90s, his purported swollen ego made
03:34him something of a Hollywood pariah.
03:36That was until Chevy managed to make a surprising comeback with Community, a hit sitcom that
03:40introduced him to a new generation.
03:42Sadly, history repeated itself as Chase's behind-the-scenes clashes led to his high-profile
03:47exit from the show and public feud with creator Dan Harmon.
03:50As you may or may not have followed the saga, he did not want to be there.
03:55He said in every interview that he doesn't like the writing and he doesn't like the
04:00hours.
04:01Vince McMahon.
04:02Former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is no stranger to controversy.
04:07There was the infamous steroid trial of the 90s, in which he was acquitted, and various
04:11accusations of misconduct, one such involving a female referee.
04:14Yet, Vince weathered the storms and continued building WWE into a global empire.
04:19Heck, he even incorporated his unlawful reputation into storylines.
04:25However, his most recent scandal may prove too much to overcome.
04:37In the lawsuit, Janelle Grant accuses McMahon of sharing sexually explicit photographs and
04:42videos of her with the wrestlers and recruiting men to have a threesome at the WWE headquarters,
04:50even during working hours.
04:51After being hit with serious allegations from former WWE employee Janelle Grant, McMahon
04:56stepped away from the company he built.
04:59His once unshakable reputation in wrestling is now being tested more than ever, leaving
05:11quite the hill for Vince to climb.
05:13Kanye West.
05:14To say Kanye West's career has been a roller coaster of genius and self-destruction would
05:19be a wee bit of an understatement.
05:21And while the rapper faced plenty of early career backlash, including storming the stage
05:25during Taylor Swift's 2009 VMA win, he managed to continue with his craft, all the
05:30while persisting with his erratic behavior and contentious statements, too numerous to
05:34list here.
05:35Some say his true career implosion began in the 2020s, when he began making a series of
05:39hate-based comments, causing major brands to drop him.
05:47His reputation worsened as he faced further accusations of misconduct and abhorrent rhetoric.
05:52Former Yeezy project manager claims Kanye's alleged anti-Semitic tirades and conspiracies
05:57were a daily occurrence.
05:59Kanye's career might just be on its final leg.
06:02Roseanne Barr.
06:03Once America's sitcom queen, Roseanne's unpredictable and often brash behavior undoubtedly
06:08damaged her career.
06:11From mental health struggles to shocking photo shoots, Roseanne's controversy seemingly
06:15left her glory days long in the past.
06:17However, the comedian managed to get a second chance with the revival of her sitcom in 2018,
06:22only to lose it again.
06:30Roseanne faced severe backlash due to her perceived racist comments about Obama adviser
06:35Valerie Jarrett on social media, leading to a public firing from ABC.
06:49While Barr's reputation suffered with one segment of the audience, she swiftly found
06:52support from another and continues to push buttons to this day.
06:59R. Kelly.
07:00It's a wonder R. Kelly's music career thrived for as long as it did, seeing as how the singer
07:04faced deeply disturbing allegations.
07:11In December 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported shocking allegations against R. Kelly involving
07:16a youth.
07:17Just 14 months later, a similar scandal emerged, resulting in serious criminal charges that
07:22damaged his reputation, to say the least.
07:27However, due to the alleged victim's refusal to testify, Kelly was ultimately acquitted.
07:34While he dodged that conviction, the hashtag MeToo movement brought renewed attention.
07:38In 2021 and 2022, Kelly was convicted on several charges, leading to a multiple decades-long
07:44prison sentence.
07:50His career collapsed once again, and this time, it's likely the end of it.
08:03Sean Diddy Combs
08:08Sean Combs has become one of the most reviled figures in Hollywood, full stop.
08:13With a long history of controversies and high-profile feuds, Diddy's contentious
08:17track record has often hinted at a shady side, and while he has faced accusations of involvement
08:22in Tupac's death, it was his part in a 1999 nightclub shooting alongside then-girlfriend
08:26Jennifer Lopez that initially tarnished his reputation.
08:30The incident resulted in years of legal battles and public scrutiny.
08:33Despite recovering and achieving much success, by 2024, the onslaught of unlawful allegations
08:38levied against him, many involving youths, completely sunk his career.
08:42The indictment alleges that Combs abused and exploited women and other people for years,
08:47and in a variety of ways.
08:49This stunning second downfall has left his reputation in ruins.
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09:09O.J. Simpson
09:10O.J. Simpson always needed validation from those around him, and he found it in football.
09:17O.J. Simpson went from megastar to the most infamous man in America.
09:27After being accused of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, O.J.
09:31Simpson became the center of the trial of the century.
09:34While he was acquitted in the criminal case, a civil suit found him liable.
09:38O.J., however, floundered in the public eye for some time after this, even offering up
09:42a book titled If I Did It, Confessions of the Killer.
09:45Simpson found himself back in legal trouble in 2007, when he was convicted of armed robbery
09:49in Las Vegas.
09:51This second fall from grace prior to his passing cemented him as one of the most disgraced
09:55public figures in history.
09:57Which celebrity were you surprised to see derail their career on more than one occasion?
10:01Let us know in the comments down below.