Celebs Who Let Fame Go To Their Heads
Becoming a ridiculously wealthy, internationally famous, and beloved celebrity simply for acting in a few movies, appearing on a hit TV show, or recording some songs everybody likes is a goal for millions. Even more of a drug than the drugs that so many stars get hooked on is the drug that is fame itself. Sure, it must be great to count yourself among the lucky few who get to pursue their art and enjoy a lavish lifestyle, but there are some downsides to all that rarefied air.
Fame can also insulate celebrities from the real world and cause them to act out in some unfortunate ways, sometimes to the detriment of their own careers, relationships, or even the safety of others. Plus, fame doesn't care if you're a brand new reality star or a seasoned actor — notoriety is a ticking time bomb for anyone who doesn't handle it carefully. Here are some celebs who, at some point after they traversed the road of fame, seemed to have forgotten that they were just regular people. Here are some stars who let fame go to their heads.
Did sweet Justin turn bad? You better Belieb it.
After one of his YouTube cover songs caught the eye of a talent manager in 2009, then 13-year-old Justin Bieber found himself with a record deal and Usher as his mentor. Almost instantaneously, Bieber became a pop music sensation, and while he handled his early fame well, the situation started going South as the young man approached his 18th birthday.
The warning signs began when Bieber's mom told Vanity Fair in 2011 that she believed her son was a literal gift from God. Bieber compared himself to The Beatles, Tupac, and Michael Jackson in the same interview. Not good. And only it got worse from there as Bieber slowly transformed from squeaky clean pop star to bad boy wannabe. Even his once adorable relationship with songstress Selena Gomez suddenly turned into sleazy tabloid fodder, complete with cheating rumors and paternity suits.
Bieber eventually ran afoul of the law after allegedly egging a neighbor's house with his buddies, and not even two weeks later, he was arrested for drag racing while allegedly drunk. And that's just the tip of an iceberg that includes drugs, racist jokes, public urination, and lots of assault, according to Buzzfeed. Not to mention, a habit for storming off stage and leaving fans hanging if he's in a bad mood. If you want a case study on the pitfalls of fame, you can't go wrong with the Biebs.
Mariah Carey lives in a 'Fantasy' world of her own making
Mariah Carey defines diva, and she acts every bit the part. From her rivalry with Whitney Houston to her legendary MTV Cribs episode to her epic shade of Jennifer Lopez, this is clearly Mariah's World and we're all just living in it. Mimi has a reputation for being late, and while that might fly with fans who know exactly what they're getting into when they buy tickets to her show, it can wreak havoc for others.
In June 2017, actor Will Ferrell, who's not known as a gossip, stopped by Watch What Happens Live and revealed that Carey was supposed to have a cameo in his film The House (2017), until she showed up four hours late, started making demands, and refused to do a scene that was approved ahead of time, according to the Los Angeles Times. While Ferrell was generous in his account, co-star Cedric Yarbrough called Carey "unprofessional & borderline abusive to our director" in a since-deleted Facebook post.
Even though her diva antics cost her a part in the film, we're pretty sure she's not sweating it. This is Mariah Carey we're talking about. The same woman who demanded a $50 million inconvenience fee from her ex-fiance James Packer because they had a bad break-up. We doubt she's losing beauty sleep over a cameo.
Ye gotta be kidding
In a way, Kanye West is almost like the male Mariah Carey. His ego knows no bounds, and he's gone so far as to compare himself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, according to Newsweek. Plus, who can forget his epic Twitter rants—like the ones where he's not afraid to ask Mark Zuckerberg for money. Basically, West does what West wants.
But that attitude may have cost Yeezy his closest friend and supporter. In November 2016, West made headlines after going on an unhinged rant about best bud Jay Z and Jay's wife, Beyoncé, during a concert, then walking off stage after only 15 minutes. Granted, Kanye would be hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation a few days later, but insiders allege that stay was purely for insurance purposes.
Jay remained quiet until June 2017 when he dropped his new album, 4:44, which included a direct shot at Kanye. The diss lyric not only reignited a feud between the two rappers, but also dragged their whole families into it. While Kanye's ego is almost entirely to blame, according to Page Six, there's also another reason: "We're told the feud stems from West 'forcing [his wife] Kim Kardashian' on the Carters." Awkward.
Megan Fox, uh, transformed her career
Thanks to the blockbuster success of Transformers (2007), Megan Fox quickly became one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, but the fame allegedly went to her head because she got herself fired from the franchise after referring to director Michael Bay as Hitler, which did not go over well with executive producer Steven Spielberg. It was a spectacular trainwreck, and Fox's career languished for years thanks to her acid tongue and an open letter from Transformers: Rise of the Fallen crew members that detailed her diva-like behavior on set.
Fox and Bay eventually patched things up, and he graciously cast her as April O'Neil in the 2014 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. While shooting that film went smoothly, Fox found herself in hot water again after responding to negative reviews. "Let me tell you something about those people. How much money did Transformers 4 make?" she asked at a press conference. "Those people can complain — they all go to the theater. They're gonna love it — and if they don't love it, they can f**k off, and that's the end of that."
Fox made just one more movie in the next four years, a sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She changed career tacks a bit, taking a role on the sitcom New Girl and then becoming a co-owner/lingerie model for the famed Frederick's of Hollywood.
A man named Cage, imprisoned by debt
Following a string of hits in the '90s, Nicolas Cage became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and was scoring paydays of $20 million per movie. At one point, the actor was worth $150 million, according to CNBC, which seems like more money than one person could spend in a lifetime. Not Nicolas Cage.
As CNBC reports, the actor owned 15 multi-million dollar homes across the globe. His real estate portfolio included a $3.4 million haunted mansion in New Orleans and not just one, but two castles in Europe. Oh, and just to be safe, he bought a deserted island. Cage also famously purchased a dinosaur skull and routinely dropped money on cars, comic books, and shrunken pygmy heads. In fairness, who doesn't keep one of those around the house?
Unfortunately, while Cage was blowing through his massive fortune, he was learning that his real estate investment skills weren't the greatest, and he also kind of forgot to pay the IRS for a couple of years, which never ends well. Just ask Al Capone.
Run for The Hills, it's Heidi and Spencer!
In the late 2000s, MTV reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt managed to parlay their time on The Hills into tabloid fame through a series of staged photo shoots and attention- grabbing stunts. But by 2010, Montag and Pratt's antics were wearing thin, so they upped the ante by pretending to get a divorce, which they later admitted was a desperate ploy to drum up more reality TV work. By 2016, they were living in Pratt's parents' vacation home.
The couple has kept things relatively low-key in recent years. in September 2017, they welcomed their first child, which put their names back in the headlines. It remains to be seen how they navigate this new chapter in their lives, but they certainly spared no expense at the birth. Baby Gunner Stone was reportedly surrounded by $27,000 worth of crystals at birth.
John Mayer is that dude at the party with the guitar, only fabulously wealthy
By 2010, singer/songwriter John Mayer dated Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, and Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, he also had the ego of a man who dated all three, and in an unfortunate interview with Playboy, Mayer revealed way too much information about his famous relationships. He also found himself in extremely hot water after referring to a, uh, certain part of his body as a "white supremacist" and dropping the N-word. He later apologized for the interview, but it was certainly a revealing look into the crooner's psyche.
While Mayer seemed to have no trouble dishing on his old flames, he became extremely irate in 2012 when Swift released "Dear John," a song that was allegedly about their relationship. "I was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I'd already been dressed down. I mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?" he told Rolling Stone before getting nasty. "I will say as a songwriter that I think it's kind of cheap songwriting."
For the record, Mayer told Playboy some very intimate details about making Swift eggs after spending the night together, but, apparently, she can't sing a PG song about him breaking up with her. No wonder Mayer describes himself as a "recovered ego addict." Though we're not so sure about that recovered part.
We're including Shia LaBeouf even though he isn't famous anymore
While his co-star Megan Fox only made it through two Transformers movies before overestimating her star power and getting herself fired, Shia LaBeouf at least managed to finish the third film before his ego got the best of him. Although, he did brag about hooking up with Fox in a Details interview promoting Transformers: Dark of the Moon, so the signs were definitely there. Unlike Fox, LaBeouf did not reconcile with director Michael Bay. Instead, he proceeded to trash the Transformers franchise that gave him the opportunity (and cash money) to work in independent film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
But LaBeouf was just getting started. After attempting to prove his bonafides as an artiste, he got caught plagiarizing a Daniel Clowes graphic novel for a short film. LaBeouf initially apologized and admitted his mistake, but soon changed his tune and asserted that the entire incident was actually a performance art piece. That took a massive amount of ego, but LaBeouf soldiered on, embarking on a series of elaborate art pieces that were predominantly focused on "examining" his celebrity status. One such hot take: He attended the 2014 Berlin Film Festival with a paper bag over his head, which was adorned with the words, "I am not famous anymore." Most of his projects just looked like excuses for everyone to pay attention to LaBeouf, which even bored him to sleep. It might be time to call Bay back.
Jon and Kate Plus 8 Minus Each Other
It's not just Hollywood actors and pop musicians who find themselves caught up in the glitz and glamour of celebrity fame. Reality TV stars often struggle with being plucked out of nowhere and put under the spotlight. Perhaps no one flamed out more shockingly than Jon and Kate Gosselin. After finding success on TLC with Jon & Kate Plus 8, the Pennsylvania parents of a set of twins and a set of sextuplets buckled under the strain of the limelight (and the daily stress of trying to raise eight little kids!)
The cracks started showing not long after the show's success when Jon was accused of having an affair, and allegations started piling up. As for Kate, she was rumored to be cheating with her bodyguard, reported Radar. The couple divorced messily in 2009, and Jon began his descent into hanging out with Michael Lohan and whisking away women on his ATV. Kate continued her reality TV career with Kate Plus 8, but not before being accused of diva-like behavior on Dancing with the Stars.
As for custody of the kids? That's still all kinds of messy.
Heigl's Anatomy of a career implosion
Thanks to her Emmy-winning role on Grey's Anatomy (2005-), the smash success of Knocked Up,(2007), and a $6 million role in 27 Dresses (2008), Katherine Heigl was poised for movie star success. Alas, she overestimated her clout in Hollywood after famously trashing some key people who'd helped her get ahead.
It all started when Heigl revealed her true feelings about Knocked Up during an interview in Vanity Fair. "It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I'm playing such a b***h; why is she being such a killjoy?" she said. "It was hard for me to love the movie." Needless to say, writer/director Judd Apatow and co-star Seth Rogen were not happy, and according to Rogen, Heigl has not apologized.
Heigl slammed her co-workers again in 2008 when she withdrew her name for Emmy consideration for Grey's Anatomy and released a statement saying, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination," according to The New York Times. Television powerhouse Shonda Rhimes was "pissed," and Heigl was off the show by the next season. As for her career? Her latest CBS drama was cancelled after just two episodes. Ouch.
Who would Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan at this point?
While fame slowly crept up on other celebrities, Lindsay Lohan sprinted straight toward it and immediately found herself hooked on exactly the wrong kind. The Mean Girls (2004) star aggressively courted paparazzi attention, according to Vanity Fair, which only furthered her reputation as an out-of-control party girl. It didn't help that Lohan picked a time when gossip sites such as TMZ were starting to grow in popularity. The studios could no longer explain away her on-set problems as a case of "exhaustion" when there were clear-as-day photos of her partying all over the internet.
Despite two DUI arrests and being called out by Jane Fonda, Lohan failed to change her ways, and her career went down the drain. While she was handed opportunities for a comeback, Lohan continued to be an unpredictable nightmare to work with, according to a damning account in The New York Times about her behavior while filming The Canyons (2013). The message was loud and clear to Hollywood: Lohan isn't worth the risk. Insurance companies wouldn't touch her, and directors were all but guaranteed days of screaming matches and mysterious disappearances.
However, in June 2017, Lohan shocked the entertainment world by landing a role on the British TV series Sick Note. Could this finally be the career turning point she's been talking about for a decade?
Every rose has its Thorne
Bella Thorne rose to fame on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake it Up, but these days, she's best known for her scandalous outfits, questionable taste in men, and social media antics. With more than 17 million Instagram followers, Thorne is a master at causing a frenzy with her fans (and haters) by sparking pregnancy rumors or naming her new puppy after a certain feminine hygiene product. However, in January 2018, she got a little too caught up in the fame game when she lashed out on Twitter that she couldn't make it to her boyfriend's concert because Highway 101 to Santa Barbara was shut down. She quickly learned, thanks to some shaming from actor Rob Lowe, that the highway was closed because of a devastating mudslide in Montecito.
"This attitude is why people hate celebrities/Hollywood," Lowe tweeted (via TMZ). "Bella, I'm sorry you were inconvenienced. We will try to move out our dead quicker." Thorne deleted her tweet and apologized, but hopefully she'll make an effort to think twice before complaining about the harsh conditions of celebrity life.
Johnny Depp has done far worse things than Mortdecai
Thanks to the blockbuster success of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp became one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. Despite his eccentric clothing and rock star ambitions (he plays in a band called the Hollywood Vampires), Depp also had a reputation as a family man, thanks to his longtime relationship with model Vanessa Paradis. But in 2013, the actor made headlines when he broke things off with Paradis and quickly tied the knot with his much younger The Rum Diary co-star Amber Heard.
Depp's marriage to Heard become a hotbed of controversy and lead to numerous reports that Captain Jack Sparrow was spinning out of control. In 2016, the couple went through a messy divorce that included Heard accusing Depp of domestic abuse. On top of that, Depp got caught up in a nasty lawsuit with his business managers, who accused the actor of blowing through $30,000 a month on wine alone and racking up more than $2 million in other expenses. To compound matters, Depp was reportedly a mess on the set of the fifth Pirates movie and allegedly needed his lines fed to him through an earpiece. In July 2018, he found himself in another legal rigmarole when a location manager alleged the actor punched him on the set of City of Lies.
Despite all that bad press, Depp is still starring in blockbusters, so either he's learned his lesson, or he's hired one heck of a publicist.
He's Chevy Chase, and you're not
Chevy Chase was the very first breakout star from Saturday Night Live. Perhaps he stood out from the rest of the ensemble because as the host of "Weekend Update," he got a weekly solo showcase. That, and he turned his own name into a catchphrase ("I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not.") For whatever reason, Chase abandoned SNL a few episodes into the second season, looking to parlay his charm and celebrity into a film career.
In 2018, he told The Washington Post that, in a shocking coincidence, SNL started to go south right around the time he left. "I'd have to say, that after the first two years, it went downhill. Why am I saying that? Because I was in it? I guess. That's a horrible thing to say." Also horrible were his comments about SNL all-timers Will Ferrell ("Just not funny."), Tina Fey ("I didn't see what all the folderol was about.") and Eddie Murphy. He said Murphy's famed Stevie Wonder impression was "not that hard" because his "skin's the same color." Wow.
While Chase did find film success (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Caddyshack), there was apparently some chatter in his post-SNL days that he could one day take over for Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show. Chase arrogantly told New York (via the Chicago Tribune) that he'd "never be tied down for five years interviewing personalities." Carson's response: He said Chase "couldn't ad-lib a fart after a baked-bean dinner."
Do you know who Reese Witherspoon is?
When most people think about out-of-control celebs, Reese Witherspoon probably doesn't come to mind. But in 2013, the actress let her fame get the best of her when her husband/agent Jim Toth was pulled over for drunk driving in Atlanta. Instead of cooperating with the police, the presumably drunk Witherspoon allegedly began arguing with an officer and found herself charged with disorderly conduct, according to TMZ. Even worse, the whole thing was captured on dashcam video. Witherspoon is seen and heard dropping the "Do you know who I am?" card before busting out the now infamous line, "I'm an American citizen. I'm allowed to stand on American ground!"
What she should've done is let the police arrest her husband for committing a dangerous and illegal act, which is exactly what Toth told her, after making it a point to the tell the cops, who'd just received an earful of A-list actress, "I'm sorry. I had nothing to do with that." To her credit, the Legally Blonde actress apologized for her actions and hasn't shied away from addressing the embarrassing incident. "I guess maybe we all like to define people by the way the media presents them, and I think that I showed I have a complexity that people didn't know about," she said a press conference (via HuffPost). "It's part of human nature. I made a mistake. We all make mistakes. The best you can do is say sorry and learn from it and move on."
From Smashing Pumpkins to alienating everyone
Like a lot of dudes who can play the guitar, Billy Corgan started a rock band. Unlike most of those dudes, Corgan took his group to the upper reaches of fame, commercial success, and cultural relevance because his band was Smashing Pumpkins, known for dark and grungy '90s anthems such as "Today" and "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." Ever since the band broke big in 1993, Corgan has reportedly acted like a real jerk, abandoning any sort of democratic decision-making in favor of tyranny. When recording the Pumpkins' major-label debut, Siamese Dream, Corgan had such a particular sound in mind that he "notoriously re-recorded the guitar and bass parts of James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky," reported Spin. His heavy-handed power moves have allegedly prevented a reunion of the classic Pumpkins lineup from happening.
In 2014, Corgan even went after America's Sweetheart, Anderson Cooper, when the CNN personality gently teased the rocker for appearing on the cover of a pet rescue magazine called Paws Chicago holding his cats. "Sorry to disappoint," Corgan responded (via Pitchfork), "but when I'm not raising cain for a great organization like PAWS Chicago, I'm still making REAL music. I realize you're too busy being a globalist shill to know the difference."
Eddie Murphy, comedian, can't take a joke
Nineteen-year-old Eddie Murphy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980 and quickly became one of its brightest stars thanks to bits like his bizarro impression of Buckwheat from The Little Rascals, his Mr. Rogers Neighborhood parody "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood," and of course, that "James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Party." Before he left the show, he'd already starred in hit movies such as 48 Hours, Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop – the top-grossing film of 1984. Then came the first sign of a swelled head: a vanity music project.
In 1985, a year in which Murphy didn't release any movies, he hit No. 2 on the pop chart with the not (intentionally) funny single "Party All the Time." He remained a box office force well into the '90s, thanks to hits such as Coming to America, Boomerang, The Nutty Professor, and Beverly Hills Cop II. Things took a turn in 1994, when Beverly Hills Cop III and Vampire in Brooklyn bombed back-to-back. On a "Hollywood Minute" segment on SNL's "Weekend Update" that year, a still of Murphy in Vampire in Brooklyn appeared onscreen, and David Spade quipped, "Look, children, it's a falling star. Make a wish!" That hurt Murphy's feelings so much that he vowed to never appear on SNL again ... although he did make an exception to receive effusive praise during the SNL 40 special in 2015.
Taylor Swift has got bad blood
While rising up through the country music ranks and pulling off the difficult transition to pop stardom, Taylor Swift's initial fame was refreshingly free of controversy. If anything, she was mostly criticized for being "calculating," which isn't exactly a bad thing. However, Swift's ego began to reveal itself when she ignited a Twitter feud with Nicki Minaj by needlessly injecting herself into Minaj's criticism of the 2015 VMAs. The two eventually made nice, but The Guardian called Swift "at best patronizing and ignorant; at worst vacuous and self-absorbed." The whole thing was not a good look.
Despite the Minaj incident tarnishing Swift's rep, she courted the spotlight more than ever in 2016 thanks to her now-infamous summer fling with Tom Hiddleston and #Taymerica—her in-your-face star-studded Fourth of July party that dominated headlines with its professionally shot Instagram photos. But just two weeks later, Kim Kardashian would bring Swift's star crashing down by releasing a series of Snapchats that showed recordings of Swift (mostly) approving of the lyrics to Kanye West's "Famous," despite acting blindsided and hurt by them in the press. Swift suddenly looked like a liar and more manipulative than ever.
To her credit, she seems to have realized she overextended the limits of her fame andlaid low for most of 2017 ... until the November release of Reputation. That album sold nearly two million copies in just six weeks, so it would seem that any brewing Taytay backlash has subsided.