30+ Celebs That Ruined Their Careers Overnight

Chris Brown’s Battery

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that some of these celebs still enjoy careers. While Chris Brown may have ruined his reputation back in 2009, he’s still dancing on stage in 2021, which is saying something.

Anyway, entertainer Chris Brown beat up his then-girlfriend Rihanna at a pre-Grammy party, and pictures of the star’s bruised face were splashed all over the tabloids. RiRi ended up in hospital after the incident. Since then, Brown has had other run-ins with the law.

Jerry Lee Lewis’ Child Bride

Anyone that’s heard of singer Jerry Lee Lewis knows that he married his cousin. But, did you know that the cousin in question was only 13 years old at the time? Yeah — that’s right.

Jerry Lee Lewis was considered the first wild man of rock and roll, but his popularity plummeted when he got hitched to cousin Myra Gale Brown. Altogether, Lewis was married seven times. He was with Brown for over a decade, and they split amid her allegations of abuse.

Tila Tequila’s White Supremacy

Clearly, there’s no rest for the wicked, because now we have to talk about Tila Tequila. At one point, the TV personality was everywhere, including as the most popular person on Myspace. The celeb had her own dating show, but eventually killed her career when she appeared on the British show, Celebrity Big Brother.

Tila Tequila only lasted two days on the show when she was asked to leave based on her white supremacist views. Producers had uncovered Tequila’s website where she’d written pro-Hitler comments.

Milli Vanilli’s Lip-Sync Scandal

Listen, the presence of Milli Vanilli on this list really proves that not all of these careers were killed over the same sort of issue. Some celebs on this list are literally imprisoned because of their crimes, whereas this German-French R&B duo just messed up a performance and paid the ultimate price.

Essentially, the extremely popular ’80s duo performed live on MTV, the track skipped, and their lip-syncing was exposed. When it was discovered the pair didn’t sing on their albums, fans demanded refunds, and their Grammy was revoked!

Mel Gibson’s Anti-Semitism

Here’s another A-lister whose reputation took a serious hit, but whose career never actually died. Actor Mel Gibson was an Oscar-winning actor known for his work in Braveheart, Lethal Weapon, and Mad Max.

In 2010, recordings of the celeb ranting at his then-wife were released, and he pleaded no contest to a battery charge. Prior to that, the star was pulled over while driving under the influence and launched into an anti-Semitic rant. Gibson was blacklisted for almost a decade — not long enough!