Hollywood is full of Cinderella stories. But with every story of a star plucked from obscurity, there’s another of a celeb fallen from grace: And for some of these actors, it’s been a longggg fall down. Here are 23 celebs who went from famous and successful to absolutely abhorred seemingly overnight — and why.
1.
As a former child star, Shia LaBeouf seemed poised to become a major star in the 2010s. Not only had he starred in major blockbuster franchises like Transformers and Indiana Jones, but he’d broken into the indie scene with Honey Boy, which was loosely based on his own childhood. While he was a polarizing figure with many run-ins with the law, he was still enjoying critical success.
However, things took a turn for LaBeouf in 2020 when ex-girlfriend FKA twigs accused him of sexual assault, battery, and infliction of emotional distress. She sued him in a lawsuit that also claimed he had knowingly given her an STD. Other past girlfriends echoed FKA twigs’s claims with stories of similar behavior. LaBeouf originally claimed that “many of these allegations are not true,” though in 2022, he acknowledged, “I hurt that woman. And in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman.”
Just before the allegations came to light, LaBeouf was dropped from Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, with Wilde claiming after the allegations that he had a “combative energy” and did not create a safe and trusting work environment. “A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior,” she added. LaBeouf later claimed he had left the production on his own. He was replaced with Harry Styles.
Since 2020, LaBeouf has only acted in two films: the minuscule-budget Italian-German film Padre Pio and Francis Ford Coppola’s ensemble film Megalopolis, which premiered at Cannes in May to mixed reviews. While the film’s wide release at the end of the month could represent a comeback for LaBeouf, it also coincides with his trial with twigs, set for this fall. And as public perception of the once beloved child star has drastically changed, I find a comeback unlikely.
2.
James Franco was similarly no stranger to controversy by the time allegations of him having sex with his students came to light in 2018 (he had previously admitted to sending texts to a 17-year-old asking her to come to his hotel room), but the scandal marked the start of a sharp decline in his career. He was removed from a Vanity Fair cover, but he did remain in the show The Deuce (though viewers were left confused and disappointed by this decision).
In 2019, several of his former students sued him for “widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior toward female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.” Franco’s lawyer called these claims “false and inflammatory” and “legally baseless”; the case was eventually settled. Franco did eventually admit to having sex with his students, but claimed sex addiction left him “blind to power dynamics” and that he hadn’t created his acting school, Studio 4, as a “master plan” to sleep with students.
Since 2019, he’s only had one project come out, a Spanish-language French film that premiered at Cannes in May and is set to release in the US in November. While he has been cast in two upcoming projects, it still seems unlikely his career will ever recover to the levels it was at. Longtime collaborator and friend Seth Rogen has even said he would not work with Franco again.
3.
Stephen Collins was best known for appearing as the beloved patriarch in 7th Heaven in the ’90s and 2000s. However, in 2014, he was exposed as having sexually abused multiple young girls between the ’70s and ’90s — which he admitted to People magazine. “Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since,” he said, denying that he had done anything similar since. He was quickly fired from The Fosters and Ted 2, and has appeared in no projects since.
4.
In 2020, Ansel Elgort was accused of having sexually assaulted a 17-year-old in 2014, when Elgort was 20. More women came forward to share their stories of troubling behavior from Elgort, including a woman that went on two dates with him at 16 and a woman who said he sent her a dick picture when she was in eighth grade. Elgort responded with claims that “I have never and would never assault anyone” and said his relationship with the first accuser was consensual. He largely retreated from the public eye after this, and notably did very little press for West Side Story, the highly anticipated Steven Spielberg remake in which he had starred. Even the original trailer barely featured him, despite his casting as one of the two starring roles. Other cast members were frequently asked about the allegations against Elgort in his absence.
Since then, Elgort has only appeared in a few music videos and the show Tokyo Vice — one reviewer noted, “His presence makes a good show hard to bear.” It was recently announced that the show would not get a third season. He appears to be getting more into art; he hosted an exhibition of his calligraphy, photography, and ceramics in Japan in April.
5.
While perhaps not quite as famous as some of the examples on this list, Allison Mack from Smallville seemed poised to make a career for herself in the 2000s. However, she soon became heavily involved in the “personal development company” NXIVM, which was exposed as an MLM and cult in 2017. She was eventually arrested with charges of sex trafficking and forced labor after leading a sex cult within NXIVM that allegedly involved starving and branding women, essentially enslaving them.
She was released last year, but it’s doubtful she’ll return to acting. Mack hasn’t worked since 2015 except for a voice-only role on a 2017 animated series — but after her arrest, she was replaced, and her lines were re-recorded.
6.
Former Glee and The Edge of Seventeen star Blake Jenner’s career largely ended in the wake of the abuse allegations from ex-wife Melissa Benoist in 2019 (which Jenner admitted to, though he also accused Benoist of abuse). He has appeared in only one straight-to-VOD project and one TV movie since then and was replaced in Merrily We Roll Along with Paul Mescal. Jenner was also arrested on a DUI last year.
7.
Armie Hammer was fired from just about every upcoming film and show he was meant to be in (including Billion Dollar Spy, Shotgun Wedding, and the TV series The Offer) after sexual assault allegations and alleged messages in which he called himself a cannibal became public. He was also dropped by his agency and publicist.
He retreated from Hollywood and wasn’t spotted for a long time until he was discovered to be seemingly working as a timeshare salesperson in the Cayman Islands. He did finally publicly speak on the allegations last year, denying criminal wrongdoing but admitting to an “imbalance of power” with the woman he had relationships with, as well as to having been emotionally abusive. “I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an asshole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on,” he said.
But this damage control did little to save his career. He recently revealed he is starting “a new life in Los Angeles” and is selling his truck as he claims he cannot afford the gas. He has no projects lined up.
8.
In early 2021, Gina Carano posted a photo to social media comparing being a Republican to being a Jew during the Holocaust, which caused fans to dig up some other past problematic social media posts by The Mandalorian actor, in which she denounced wearing face masks and claimed voter fraud in 2020.
She was quickly asked not to return to the Lucasfilm and Disney show, and plans were scrapped for her character to have her own show. “Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable,” a representative for Lucasfilm said in a statement. She was also dropped by her agency.
Shortly after, Carano announced that she would develop, produce, and star in the film White Knuckle with conservative media company the Daily Wire. However, Carano later canceled the film because she refused to adhere to Hollywood’s masking policies. She decided to quit her union (presumably the Screen Actors Guild) and make a different movie in Montana. The film was released in 2022 to little fanfare, and it’s clear that Carano doesn’t have the budding career she once had. Carano also had a role in My Son Hunter, the far-right fictionalized portrayal of Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals.
9.
Jussie Smollett made headlines in early 2019 for experiencing a hate crime in Chicago…except, as it turned out, Smollett had actually staged the attack. He was then fired from his hit show, Empire, which was in its fifth season.
Charges were filed against him for making a false police report and wasting police resources. A 2021 trial found him guilty of five out of the six counts he’d been charged with, and he was sentenced to 150 days in county jail. He was released on bond after just six days. Smullott has continued to maintain his innocence.
Earlier this year, the Illinois Supreme Court said it would hear an appeal from Smollett (his attorneys are arguing he was punished for the same crime twice), but the results have yet to be seen. As for his career, he has only appeared in one recent project, which he also co-wrote, directed, and produced. He also directed B-Boy Blues. He does not appear to have other acting projects lined up, though Empire co-creator Lee Daniels recently said he would work with Smollett again.
10.
Hartley Sawyer was fired from The Flash in 2020 after his old racist, misogynistic, and homophobic tweets surfaced on social media. More than one tweet referred to assaulting women, with one reading, “Date rape myself so I don’t have to masturbate.”
Sawyer apologized on Instagram: “My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply. This was not acceptable behavior. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today.” However, the damage was done, and he has no upcoming projects.
11.
Roseanne Barr was fired from the Roseanne reboot after making an offensive and racist comment about Barack Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett, which ABC’s entertainment president, Channing Dungey, called “abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values.”
The show was canceled and then came back as The Conners, with Roseanne’s character killed off. Barr’s career never recovered, though polarizing network Fox did give her a comedy special last year that was not quite a critical darling. This year, she also provided a voice for an animated series streamed by The Daily Wire (a conservative news outlet), but she makes more headlines for her controversial comments and actions.
12.
Another actor to go on a racist tirade that ruined his career was Michael Richards. After becoming a household name playing Kramer on Seinfeld, he reentered a successful career in stand-up comedy. But in 2006, at one of his shows, he went on a racist rant against audience members who were heckling him.
The video made the rounds online, and Richards stepped away from performing. He did apologize, but even his apology was mocked for being insincere. He later briefly appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm with the rest of the Seinfeld cast, as well as in some other minor roles. He then had a larger role in the one-season canceled 2013 sitcom Kirstie, but it did not succeed in relaunching his career. Since then, he has appeared in only one small film. He recently released a memoir in which he discussed having ruined his own career.
13.
Jason Mitchell rose to prominence over the 2010s in films like Straight Outta Compton, Keanu, and Kong: Skull Island. He was set to star in the Netflix movie Desperados but was fired after allegations of misconduct (including, according to the Hollywood Reporter, making “highly inappropriate remarks” to two female costars while “lingering close to their quarters”). He was then fired from the third season of Lena Waithe’s series The Chi (also due to claims of misconduct on set) and dropped by his agency.
Mitchell’s career stagnated, and then, in 2020, he was arrested after being found with firearms and drugs. However, in 2021, he appeared in one small film, and he executive produced Everything Is Both in 2023. He has appeared in (and been cast in) a few more smaller films since then; time will tell if he’s able to make a full comeback.
14.
Another actor whose career tanked overnight — but who may still yet make a comeback — is Lori Loughlin. Loughlin, whose most notable role was Aunt Becky in Full House, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud in 2020 and served two months in jail for her part in the 2019 admissions scandal. In the scandal, wealthy parents paid bribes to get their children accepted into prestigious universities.
When she was first accused, she was fired from the Full House reboot Fuller House, as well as from When Calls the Heart. However, post-jail time, she did appear as her When Calls the Heart character in the show’s spinoff, When Hope Calls. She also appeared in two Christmas films last year and in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm this year as herself. However, she has not returned to any roles of the same caliber as that of Fuller House.
15.
Felicity Huffman was similarly convicted for her role in the college scam, serving just 11 days in prison in 2019. She has struggled more than Loughlin to find roles since, as tabloid OK! reported. She did appear on one podcast episode, in one TV film, and in one episode of The Good Doctor last year.
16.
Bill Cosby was known and beloved as “America’s Dad” after a decades-long career in comedy and a starring role on The Cosby Show. However, in 2014, it came out that he had an equally long history of sexual assault.
Cosby was accused of dozens of counts of sexual assault, leading to his conviction and imprisonment in 2018. He was released in 2021 after his conviction was overturned — still, it remains unlikely that his career will ever recover.
17.
Kevin Spacey is another example of someone who ruined their career through sexual assault. He starred in the Emmy Award-winning role of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, but Spacey’s career quickly derailed after Anthony Rapp made sexual assault allegations against him. Soon, other people came forward and alleged inappropriate behavior, harassment, and assault, and Spacey was promptly fired from the Netflix series.
Netflix also scrapped his planned film Gore, and in an unprecedented move, Christopher Plummer was hired to reshoot Spacey’s part in All the Money in the World — even though the film had already been completed. Reshoots took nine days, and Plummer was nominated for an Oscar for the role.
Spacey was later ordered to pay $31 million to the production company for House of Cards because he was also accused of misconduct behind the scenes. Last year, the actor was found not guilty of sexual assault in London, but that doesn’t clear him from the court of public opinion, and it seems unlikely his acting career will ever be what it once was. Since then, he’s mostly appeared in a few foreign and independent films, and he reprised his role as Frank Underwood in an “interview” with Tucker Carlson.
He was subsequently fired from the show he was then appearing on, The Ranch, and his character, Rooster, was killed off. He was also dropped from his agency. Masterson denied the claims, pleading not guilty after his arrest. He was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape and is currently in prison.
19.
Chris Noth, best known for Sex and the City, appeared in its reboot, And Just Like That…, in 2021. However, as the show began airing, two women came forward claiming that Noth had sexually assaulted them.
Noth denied the claims, but the damage to his career was done. A $12 million deal to sell his tequila brand was canceled, he was fired from The Equalizer, and his Peloton commercial (inspired by his character’s fate in And Just Like That…) was pulled. He has not appeared in a TV show or film since.
And finally, let’s end on two actors who ruined their careers overnight…and then came back.
20.
Louis C.K. admitted to masturbating in front of colleagues in 2017 after the New York Times published an article accusing him of this behavior. FX (which had broadcast his show Louie) severed ties with C.K., and his upcoming film I Love You, Daddy was shelved days before its premiere.
However, he seems to have made a comeback in the last few years, winning a Grammy, going on an international comedy tour, releasing new specials, and co-writing and directing the film Fourth of July.
21.
Mel Gibson took a break from Hollywood after his 2006 DUI. As he was being arrested, he went on a tirade against Jewish people, which was leaked to TMZ. A few years later, a phone call of him making racist, misogynistic comments to his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was also leaked. He was later charged with misdemeanor domestic violence against Grigorieva.
However, just six years after this second incident, he returned in 2016 with Hacksaw Ridge, which he directed. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two. Gibson himself was even nominated for Best Director.
22.
And finally, I cannot make this list without mentioning Will Smith, who suffered a major fall from grace after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022. He was barred from attending Academy events for a decade, and many of his upcoming projects were delayed or halted. Public perception of Smith drastically dropped, and his next film, Emancipation, came and went without much fanfare.
However, Smith does seem on the way to making a comeback. Bad Boys: Ride or Die is a box office hit, and he also just released his first single in years, which he performed this year at the BET Awards…though it doesn’t seem that everyone is happy with his comeback attempts.
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