These celebrities lost it all in the blink of an eye. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at times high profile individuals severely damaged their star status with just one joke.
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00:00When asked to make a wish, Kyle answered,
00:02don't miss Trump next time.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at times high-profile individuals
00:08severely damaged their star status with just one joke.
00:11I didn't break the law. I didn't do anything wrong.
00:14That photo is very much covered by the First Amendment.
00:19Number 10, Kyle Gass.
00:20These men joined forces and they formed a band they called Tenacious D.
00:27That's it!
00:28One half of the comedy rock duo Tenacious D,
00:32Kyle Gass found himself in plenty of hot water following a joke he made about Donald Trump.
00:37While celebrities taking aim at Trump is nothing out of the ordinary,
00:40the joke in question pertained to the assassination attempt on the divisive political figure.
00:45Performing at the ICC Sydney Theatre the day after a bullet grazed Trump's ear at a campaign rally,
00:51Gass quipped, quote, don't miss Trump next time, in response to his birthday wish.
00:55As his longtime bandmate celebrated his birthday with a cake and candles on stage in Australia.
01:00When asked to make a wish, Kyle answered, don't miss Trump next time.
01:05Many condemned the line as both inappropriate and dangerous,
01:08with Jack Black noting that he was blindsided by his bandmate's remark,
01:12immediately cancelling their tour in the process.
01:19Number 9, Julianna Rancic.
01:21Fashion police host Julianna Rancic made headlines for all the wrong reasons
01:25during the show's coverage of the 2015 Oscars red carpet.
01:29Commenting on actress Zendaya sporting dreadlocks,
01:32Rancic joked that she looked like she smelled of, quote, patchouli oil or weed.
01:36Here we have Zendaya.
01:38This hair to me overwhelms her.
01:40Like, I feel like she smells like patchouli oil.
01:44Or weed.
01:45Yeah, maybe weed?
01:46The comment was quickly denounced as racist and culturally insensitive,
01:50prompting a surge of online criticism, including those in the industry.
01:54You need to call Zendaya Julianna and apologize.
01:58For her part, Rancic apologized for the remark, but the damage was done.
02:02Her reputation took a severe hit and her role at E! was significantly diminished.
02:06Number 8, Charles Rockett.
02:08Good evening, I'm Charles Rockett with Weekend Update.
02:12Charles Rockett was infamously hired for Saturday Night Live during the 1980-1981 season
02:18as a replacement for OG cast members Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.
02:21Hey, how's it going?
02:23Oh, it's just great.
02:24Let's see, you're, you're the one.
02:26Go kind of across between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.
02:29Talk about big shoes to fill.
02:31Unfortunately, things never panned out for Rockett,
02:34this thanks to a single one-liner in the final moments of an episode.
02:37In a parody of Dallas' Who Shot J.R., Rockett ad-libbed the forbidden four-letter F word.
02:42Charlie, how are you feeling after you've been shot?
02:45Oh man, it's the first time I've ever been shot in my life.
02:47I'd like to know who f***ing did it.
02:49While it got shocked laughs from the audience, the profanity
02:52and behind-the-scenes dissatisfaction with his performance ultimately led to his outing.
02:56While Rockett's starring days were over,
02:58he was still able to land steady work in the years following.
03:02Aren't you gonna invite me in?
03:05Number 7, Danny Mathers.
03:06As a Playboy playmate, Danny Mathers once symbolized sensual beauty.
03:10That all changed following a poor social media joke
03:13as she quickly took on the symbol of a cruel tormentor.
03:16Mathers' woes began when she posted a photo on Snapchat of a nude,
03:20elderly woman in a gym shower area.
03:22It was accompanied by the caption, quote,
03:24If I can't unsee this, then you can't either.
03:26The post was widely condemned for its body shaming, not to mention violation of privacy.
03:31Playboy fired her. She became a pariah.
03:34What are the worst things that people have said about you?
03:37The worst things I can't repeat on television.
03:39In fact, the model was later charged with invasion of privacy,
03:43resulting in community service and probation.
03:45Unsurprisingly, the scandal effectively ended Mathers' modeling career.
03:49I'm sorry.
03:51Number 6, Dina Hashem.
03:52All that. For me, the last appeal of getting married
03:56is to get to stop grooming down there.
03:59New York City comedian Dina Hashem found herself at the center of controversy
04:03after making a joke about the death of rapper XXXTentacion.
04:07Occurring during a Comedy Central set,
04:09Hashem mused about how his death could have been, quote,
04:11a commercial for Venmo.
04:12This because he was on his way to buy a car with $50,000 in cash
04:16and somebody shot him, taking the money.
04:18The bit not only angered XXXTentacion's fans, but also the rapper's family.
04:23The incident led to a widespread call for boycotts and even death threats.
04:27The clip was pulled by Comedy Central and, despite apologizing,
04:30Hashem faced significant professional setbacks.
04:33Hello. Nice to see you. Let's be friends, huh?
04:38Number 5, Shane Gillis.
04:40In 2019, Shane Gillis got the news so many comedians dream up.
04:44He was going to be a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
04:47Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived.
04:49Soon after the public announcement, clips resurfaced of Gillis making racist
04:53and homophobic jokes on the online show Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast.
04:57The criticism was swift, with Gillis being fired from the gig days later.
05:01It's very, very crazy. I don't know. It's tough to…
05:04There's not many people that you can even talk to about it.
05:07While the controversy overshadowed his talents and derailed his mainstream career at the time,
05:12Gillis has since found some success. Ironically, this included a hosting stint on SNL.
05:17I was fired from this show a while ago, but if, you know, don't look that up, please.
05:24The appearance was well-received,
05:26making it unfortunate that he blew his chance at being a weekly fixture on the sketch comedy series.
05:31Preach, brother!
05:34Number 4, Gilbert Gottfried.
05:36Boy, was that stupid or what? It was very stupid.
05:39I think I'm gonna have a heart attack or something.
05:42Gilbert Gottfried, known for his distinctive voice, was no stranger to edgy humor,
05:46this despite having significant roles in family-friendly films and TV series.
05:50Oh, boy. He's cracked. He's gone nuts.
05:54And while many of Gottfried's jokes have been accused of crossing the line,
05:58it was his quip about the 2011 Japanese tsunami on Twitter that caused the most backlash.
06:03The widely condemned jokes were seen as overly insensitive,
06:06so much so that they cost him his long-standing role as the voice of the Aflac duck.
06:12The high-profile axing was a heavy blow against Gottfried's reputation,
06:16but he continued to perform in the years following,
06:18using the incident to bolster his status as a controversial comedian.
06:22They fired me, got loads of free publicity out of it,
06:27and then hired a guy to imitate my voice for less money,
06:33thus bringing closure to a horrible tragedy.
06:37The joke that sparked the most outrage against actress and comedian Kathy Griffin
06:41was not one that she spoke, but rather one that she posed for.
06:45Yep, in a controversial 2017 photoshoot,
06:47the comic held a prop resembling the severed head of then-President Donald Trump.
06:51I really did just try to make a statement,
06:53and I truly didn't think people would think it was an actual severed head.
06:57Many at the time failed to see the humor in the image,
06:59and it was quickly deemed violent and inappropriate.
07:02Within hours of the picture going public, a torrent of backlash.
07:06Left, right, and center turned on me. Everyone turned on me.
07:10As a result, Griffin lost numerous gigs, faced an investigation by the Secret Service,
07:14and endured a significant public and professional fallout.
07:17Griffin's rise back to her previous status has been cumbersome and is still ongoing.
07:21Griffin would retract the apology, calling the fallout faux outrage.
07:26I realized the outrage and the pearl-clutching really was...
07:32Number two, Michael Richards.
07:35I'm out.
07:36It was the year 2006, and Michael Richards was still basking in the public adoration
07:40for his role as Kramer on Seinfeld. However, that all changed in the blink of an eye
07:44during a stand-up routine at the Laugh Factory.
07:47Following some heckles from the audience, Richards went on a racist tirade,
07:51making offensive jokes and insults that incorporated a heavy use of racial slurs.
07:55You guys have been talking and talking and talking!
08:00I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!
08:02The incident, which was caught on camera, quickly went viral, shocking the public.
08:06I, uh, I lost my temper on stage.
08:09Richards apologized but struggled to rebuild his career. During a 2024 media tour for his memoir,
08:15Entrances and Exits, the actor further opened up about the incident,
08:18noting that he cancelled himself.
08:20I needed to, uh, in view of that kind of behavior.
08:24What the heck is behind all this, you know, and losing it the way I lost it?
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08:44Number one, Roseanne Barr.
08:45What the hell were you thinking?
08:47Just when Roseanne Barr's career was enjoying a renaissance in 2018,
08:50it quickly came to a screeching halt. The outspoken comedian had taken to social media
08:55and tweeted a joke that was widely viewed as racist. It was aimed at Valerie Jarrett,
09:00the former advisor to President Obama. In the post, Barr compared Jarrett to an ape.
09:04With that, ABC swiftly cancelled the reboot of her hit TV show Roseanne,
09:08and Barr faced widespread condemnation from fans, colleagues, and the public.
09:13ABC pulled the plug on the show, saying Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent,
09:18repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we've decided to cancel her show.
09:23While the incident marked a dramatic fall from grace, Barr has since pushed back and
09:27found some semblance of a comeback amongst conservative audiences.
09:31I try to be even more offensive.
09:33Which of these ill-conceived jokes from celebrities shocked you the most?
09:36Share your thoughts in the comments below.
09:38Oh god, that's too much to think about.
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