These famous people enjoyed enormous success before scandals and bad decisions cost them everything. Although some of these individuals may have bounced back, these incidents undoubtedly had a negative impact on their careers.
10) DaBaby
In 2019 and 2020, this well-known rapper was one of the world’s most popular. With several top charting billboard singles, including “ROCKSTAR” with Roddy Ricch, “BOP,” and “Suge,” you couldn’t avoid hearing his songs on the radio. He was untouchable.
But he buried his career in the ground in 2021. During his performance at the Rolling Loud Miami Festival, he made some homophobic comments which offended the LGBTQIA+ community.
Many people stated that the speech was unnecessary and disrespectful to his fans and people who are apart of the LGBTQIA+ community, with many expressing their disgust on social media.
‘DaBaby’ faced significant outrage, as several large festivals dropped him and Burger King cancelled their intentions to collaborate with him on a meal. The rapper’s removal from Dua Lipa’s smash song “Levitating,” on which he was originally featured, was the largest blow though.
The lesson for today, think before you say.
9) Scott Freeman
In the 2010s, Scott Freeman was a well-liked, rising voice actor for anime. His career was taking off and he was gaining popularity thanks to his humorous and engaging voice. He provided the voices of well-known characters, including Yuji Sakamoto from Baka and Test, Pierce Aogami in A Certain Magical Index, England in Hetalia: Axis Powers, and most notably Issei Hyoudou in High School DxD.
In 2015, Freeman was sentenced to three years in prison after it was shockingly revealed that he had been charged with eight charges of possessing child pornography and as a result, he lost many roles and was blacklisted from the anime industry as soon as the news leaked, and several of his characters were recast.
8) James Charles
It’s probably safe to say that James Charles isn’t receiving as much attention as he once did.
James Charles is a well-known YouTuber that specialises on beauty and enjoyed success from 2017 to 2020. Fans adored his videos and frequented his channel to watch his newest video because he was so well-liked.
He lost popularity in February 2021 when a video of a 16-year-old kid called Isaiyah was uploaded to TikTok who claimed that James Charles had groomed him by sending him pictures of himself in the nude and forcing him to text him even though he was aware of his age.
A month later, more young boys accused Charles of forcing them into sexting and sending them unsolicited nude pictures. As a result, people started dubbing Charles a paedophile and a groomer.
Even though he acknowledged his conduct in his apology video, he received a lot of backlash for making excuses. Nevertheless, many thought that it wasn’t enough, and as a result, the cosmetics business Morphe decided to cut ties with him.
Talk about a bad makeup day.
7) Nobuhiro Watsuki
Yeah, this one truly hurt for manga and anime community. A well-known and adored Japanese manga artist worldwide, Nobuhiro Watsuki is a favourite among anime enthusiasts, the anime industry and anime fans was captivated by his samurai-themed series ‘Rurouni Kenshin’.
As of 2019, the Rurouni Kenshin manga series is among the best-selling manga series ever, with over 72 million copies in circulation. Numerous fans and critics have given the series positive reviews for manga, anime, and other media; both have expressed satisfaction with the historical setting and character designs.
The man is culturally important and influential in the history of anime; he was even mentored by Takeshi Obata, the creator of “Death Note” and “Bakuman,” and had Eiichiro Oda, the creator of “One Piece,” working for him as an assistant, teaching him what he knew.
This is why the gifted author shocked his millions of fans when it came to light that he had been arrested and entered a guilty plea for having over 100 illegal child pornography DVDs that the police had discovered in his home.
People were horrified and devastated when the scandal made headlines, and in 2021, he received backing from Eiichiro Oda, which led to even more severe backlash. Because of the incident, reportedly many fans were debating whether to sell their copies of the popular series, as they can’t forgive the author.
A tragic tale of a cherished author becoming a disgraced criminal.
6 & 5) Riro Ron & Uruha Rushia
The VTuber community is enormous, and it continues to grow with notable figures such as “Gawr Gura,” “Ironmouse,” and numerous more increasing their followers in the millions.
But some VTubers have become embroiled in scandals; Riro Ron and Uruha Rushia, for example, were involved in two major controversies within the community.
YouTuber kyOresu was a rising star with a large following on YouTube, having over 500K subscribers. On February 16, 2023, she made her official debut as a VTuber on Idol Corp, becoming Riro Ron.
In her brief career, she received accolades from both new and returning followers. Her upbeat streaming and lighthearted demeanour won her a lot of admirers. However, rumours of drug usage during broadcasts and sleeping with a staff member, were just the beginning of the problems.
The actual drama, that landed her in deep water with Idol Corp came when she made lighthearted remarks about the prospect of seeing her followers in person and suggested that they spend the one day and night with her at random; choosing anybody she felt like picking on her private stream for members only, implying that the fortunate winner would experience something inappropriate, to say the least.
Idol Corp was not pleased at all with the situation, and she quickly apologised once it got slightly viral and made it clear that it was a joke.
That wasn’t enough, even though supporters defended her, saying it was a mistake. Idol Corp abruptly ended her contract and announced the removal of her YouTube channel, which sparked criticism.
However, she did make a positive comeback and now continues to enjoy a decent following, but the issue did have a significant negative impact on her career.
The same cannot be said about Uruha Rushia, who lost almost everything and is now only a distant memory after formerly being among the most popular & beloved ‘VTubers’ ever.
Uruha Rushia made her debut on July 18, 2019, and since then, she has became one of the most popular and successful Vtubers. She attracted people with her distinctive yandere style and endearing demeanour, garnering over 1.5 million subscribers.
One of Uruha Rushia’s most recognisable features is the sharp contrast between her humorous ear-bleeding screams and her calm, soothing voice. Uruha Rushia, who belonged to Hololive’s third generation, portrayed herself as the envious and possessive girlfriend, which endeared her to supporters looking for solace and company.
However, Uruha Rushia was embroiled in a scandal when doing a GTA stream with another well-known “VTuber,” Sakura Miko, when Rushia received a direct message on Discord that stated, “I just finished streaming, gonna go home now, Mi-chan.”
The accidental leaked DM on her Discord came from Mafumafu, sparking rumours and conjecture that Uruha Rushia and Mafumafu were dating. However, it was eventually discovered that they were married. The surprising discovery sent shockwaves across the community, resulting in a drop in subscriptions and hate comments aimed at Rushia from admirers who felt deceived.
In an effort to defend herself, Rushia reportedly contacted popular streamer ‘KoreTube’ to clear her name, and a video was released, but some of the information she provided included conversations with Rushia’s manager, as well as other information that was a major violation of the Cover Corp contract.
Cover Corp was not pleased with the revelation at all; although protecting Uruha Rushia from the dating reaction, this was too much for Cover Corp and on February 24th, Cover Corp issued the stunning announcement that Uruha Rushia was fired for exposing critical and private corporate information.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the community, with admirers and opponents expressing conflicting sentiments. Her supporters were heartbroken by her unexpected retirement, with others doubting the gravity of her actions. However, Cover Corp stood firmly in their decision, refusing to apologise.
4) Ray Rice
Raymell Mourice Rice was an American professional football running back who played six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League and was considered one of the greatest. During his six-year career with the Ravens, he was a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, as well as one of the franchise’s best running backs.
However, everything changed when he got caught up in a controversy that shocked the NFL and the sporting world. Ray Rice made national headlines during the 2014 offseason after a video leaked of him aggressively assaulting his fiancée in a hotel elevator.
After the video went viral and he was charged with aggravated assault, Ray Rice was dismissed by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Rice successfully challenged his indefinite suspension, but the event ultimately terminated his professional career because no teams signed him in free agency.
The Baltimore Ravens did honour Ray Rice as a “Legend of the Game,” but this was also met with controversy.
3) DaniLeigh
DaniLeigh is a talented musician and gifted dancer who was on top of the world in 2018 and 2019. She has maintained a devoted and loyal following throughout the years. Although her relationship with DaBaby caused the public to rally with her, it was her arrest in May 2023 that angered supporters and the internet.
DaniLeigh was arrested in Miami on May 30, 2023. According to authorities, she was driving intoxicated in a grey Mercedes-Benz G550 when she struck a man on a moped. DaniLeigh reportedly fled the scene with the wounded man’s moped became stuck under her SUV. After driving about one block, officers attempted to pull her over, but she reportedly refused to stop.
The victim who was only a teenager, suffered injuries including a lacerated kidney and a fractured spine and he was transferred by emergency responders to the Ryder Trauma Centre in Miami for treatment.
The arresting officer stated he had to beep his horn many times before DaniLeigh’s car came to an halt. After detecting the odour of alcohol, police said they discovered an open bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila before Dani failed a sobriety test. A breathalyser test revealed that her blood alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit.
The police bodycam footage from the event was released on August 29, 2024, and many people pointed out that Dani can be heard making numerous statements about her celebrity status as a singer during her investigation, and arrest, as well as laughing while she rejects her crimes and claims witnesses are lying. This infuriated long-time fans and the internet, as several pointed out that drunk driving is nothing to giggle about and should be taken extremely seriously, especially since the victim was a teenager.
Needless to say, she hasn’t recovered from the backlash,.
2) Jonathan Majors
With a huge fan base, Jonathan Majors was a rising star who gained notoriety for his roles in popular films like “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and “Da 5 Bloods” as well as the HBO horror series “Lovecraft Country,” for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
However, his career really took off when he was cast as the villain “Kang the Conqueror”, a well-known villian from Marvel comic books, in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Disney+ series Loki.
He also received critical acclaim for his performance as Dame Anderson in Creed III, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews too.
His career appeared to be impenetrable. But in a shocking shift of events, Majors was taken into custody in March 2023 after he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. He was convicted guilty of two misdemeanour counts of harassment and assault that December.
Following his conviction, Marvel fired him and said that he would not be returning to any of their previously announced projects and Entertainment 360, his talent agency, fired him.
His career is now quiet. But who knows? Perhaps he will return.
1) Harvey Weinstein
Once respected American film producer Harvey Weinstein co-founded Miramax, an entertainment company that went on to produce a number of iconic and commercially successful independent films, including Flirting with Disaster (1996), Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), The Crying Game (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Heavenly Creatures (1994), and Shakespeare in Love (1998).
He received numerous honours and founded ‘The Weinstein Company’, which produced legendary films such as Django: Unchained, The King’s Speech, and Silver Linings Playbook.
Everyone adored Harvey Weinstein, who was viewed as a nice, easygoing person however, there was a controlling, misogynistic villain hiding behind the scenes which cam to light when in 2017, the entertainment industry and Hollywood, came under scrutiny.
When “The New York Times” released an alarming piece detailing Weinstein’s extensive history of sexual harassment, it was the first domino to fall. From there, a number of his victims came forward with accusations, speaking up for the first time without fear.
More than 80 women in the film business accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault, sparking a national uproar. Following the publication of the story, The repercussions were serious and quick: he was dismissed by his own production firm, barred from the Academy, banned from the British Academy, and his wife filed for divorce.
This controversy is far from done and served as a catalyst for the “me too” movement, which encouraged people to talk about their personal experiences.
