Hard To Keep Up Your Reputation
Keeping your celebrity status can be tough work. Not only can one bad movie, song, or appearance threaten to derail a celebrities entire career, but anything that happens off the screen can have an equally devastating impact.
Today, with camera phones and celebrities and cancel culture fed by social media and gossip, a celebrities ability to maintain working can depend entirely on keeping themselves out of trouble, which isn’t always easy to do. Take a look at these 10 Celebs who ruined their careers in 2020.
Eminem
Grammy award-winning rapper Eminem is no stranger to stirring up controversy. Since he first burst onto the scene back in 1999 he has been tangled up in all sorts of media frenzy and reputation-ruining incidents.
His most recent was when he surprise-released his latest album. While the unexpected release pleased many Eminem fans, it also caused outrage online after the rapper referenced the terrible Manchester attack that happened nearly three years ago. Is it possible the real Slim Shady has gone too far?
Kanye West
To say Kanye West is no stranger to controversy would be an understatement. He may be arguably one of the best rappers and producers of all time, but his behavior in the last few years has been absolutely mind-boggling. And in 2020, things took a turn for the worse.
On July the 4th 2020, Kanye tweeted that he would be indeed running for president of the United States after years of hinting. The rapper held his first campaign rally which led to an online frenzy after it finished. During the rally, Kanye discussed some pretty controversial subjects which led to numerous attendees walking out and shunning the rapper himself.
J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" went from the boy who lived under the stairs to an entire Wizarding World that transcended eight movies and seven books into a full-blown, interconnected empire! But behind the money, there always seemed to be human goodness hiding at the heart of Potter, and of Rowling's work, right? Well, you’re wrong.
In May 2020 Rowling took issue with an article that used the phrase "people who menstruate," resulting in tweets where she argued that, "If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased." Fans immediately hit back at the author and criticized her problematic views on trans people. Shortly after #jkrowlingiscancelled start trending. Looks like no amount of magic and spells can turn her career around now!
Lea Michele
Glee superstar Lea Michele made headlines in May 2020 after she tweeted her support for the BLM movement. But her tweet soon became a lightning rod for controversy when former Glee co-star Samantha Ware claimed Lea had insulted and targeted her numerous times when they were both on Glee. She also claimed that Lea had threatened to get her fired from the show. But things got even worse for Lea shortly after.
When these accusations became public many other actors and actresses told their own stories about Lea’s bad behavior. The controversy continued when food delivery company HelloFresh severed ties with Lea. The broadway star eventually issued an apology on Instagram but people questioned whether Lea truly learned from her mistake.
Doja Cat
Shorty after up and coming pop princess Doja Cat’s singles shot straight to the top of the charts, in May 2020 a hashtag #dojacat started trending on twitter. The reason? Old videos resurfaced online that suggested that Doja ha; made appearances in racist chat rooms. But it doesn’t stop there.
A previously released song by Doja was also criticized for its reference to police brutality. Doja ultimately apologized but is an apology good enough?
Ellen DeGeneres
Award-winning talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres has long been considered a beloved celebrity for her friendly and funny public demeanor. But in 2020, that all changed as complaints of inconsiderate behavior popped up in recent news stories.
Crew members for her show spoke out saying they had not received any communication about their pay or working hours during the coronavirus pandemic. There were also stories about DeGeneres' behavior, including accusations that she wouldn't let crew members eat meat, that she fired an autistic custodian for greeting her, and that she made anyone entering her office chew gum from a bowl outside her door since she had a "sensitive nose." Amidst all the controversy Ellen won a Daytime Emmy Award for the best daytime talk show in 2020 but even so her reputation has taken a hit for sure!
Jeffree Star & Shane Dawson
YouTube superstars Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson are known for their controversial personality and drama-filled feuds, but 2020 took things to a whole new level.
Controversial content from both YouTubers resurfaced that year including screenshots of an old Jeffree Star website featuring Nazi imagery. For Shane, offensive videos resurfaced online including one referencing Willow Smith. Willow’s family, Hollywood royalty Will Smith and Jada Picket Smith responded to the videos by calling out Shane. The response resulted in Shane’s YouTube channel getting demonetized and he also lost other business deals. The YouTuber ultimately apologized but Jeffree Star stayed silent on the whole matter.
Lana Del Rey
Recent 2 time Grammy nominee and alternative pop princess Lana Del Rey took to Instagram in May 2020 to express how she felt her songs were constantly being criticized for ‘glamourizing abuse.”
In her statement, she claimed that artists like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Beyoncé were able to sing about the same topics as her, yet she was constantly villanized for it. Many people took offense with Lana’s statement, who felt she was specifically targeting women of color in her complaint. However, Lana skipped the apologies and started defending herself against angry fans.
Kourtney Kardashian
Whether you tune into their reality TV show or just know their name, The Kardashians have become a major multi-million empire. But with all that success, there’s bound to be some tension right?
Well in 2020 on their TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, it seemed for sister Kourtney tensions had reached a new high with one of the most dramatic moments unfolding in a physical fight between Kourtney and Kim leaving Kim bloodied and bruised. Fans immediately slammed Kourtney for her behavior, and the following month Kourtney announced she would be leaving the show after 14 years.
Nick Cannon
Actor, comedian, and rapper Nick Cannon’s career took a hit in July 2020 when a video surfaced online of an interview with former band member Richard Griffin. Richard left the rap group after making anti-semitic comments to the Washington Post in 1989.
In the trending video, taken from Nick’s podcast, Nick himself made many controversial statements himself. And it wasn't long before a longtime collaborators Viacom CBS dropped Nick from the roster because he, “failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-semitism.” In response, Nick claimed that he, “had no hate in his heart”, and called for “unity and understanding.”
Only Have Themselves To Blame
These celebs only really have themselves to blame for their fall from grace right?
We live in a time of cancel culture. If you mess up, you better have an apology written out. While some apologies are okay, this list just goes to show, some will never get rid of the terrible things a person has done.