From controversial statements to criminal charges, these artists have faced major public backlash yet continue making music. Join us as we examine musicians whose careers survived scandals that would have ended others. Despite legal troubles, offensive remarks, and disturbing allegations, these performers remain active in the industry.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at musicians that, in the aftermath of widely
00:12publicized scandals, wasted no time in returning to the studio.
00:196ix9ine No, the artist sometimes known as Tekashi
00:326ix9ine isn't on here for his extensive social media trolling or his public feuds with other
00:38hip-hop performers.
00:40No, the man born Daniel Hernandez is here as a result of his disturbing 2015 guilty
00:46plea to abuse of a minor, as well as a two-year prison sentence for his involvement with the
00:52violent Nine Trey Gangsters.
01:02While we'll spare you the details, those are available elsewhere, just know that the
01:07rapper's considerable legal drama has hardly impeded his recording career, since his release
01:13from prison, 6ix9ine has released three albums, which, with each successive drop, has garnered
01:20less and less critical and commercial recognition.
01:29Kodak Black A central figure in popularizing the 2010s
01:41phenomenon of mumble rap, troubled performer Black has, like 6ix9ine, had his fair share
01:47of legal difficulties and run-ins with the law.
01:51Over several arrests throughout the course of a decade, the rapper has been charged with
01:56battery, weapons possession, armed robbery, and drug trafficking.
02:06Perhaps the most damaging charge to hit Black's career though, would be in response to a 2016
02:12incident in which he was accused of sexual assault, eventually being given a plea bargain
02:17and sentenced to probation.
02:19Later in 2019, Black was sentenced to four years in prison for making false statements
02:25about possessing weapons.
02:27Throughout his legal ordeals, the rapper has remained prolific, releasing seven albums
02:32since 2017.
02:40Robin Thicke While R&B singer Thicke hasn't faced legal
02:48problems in the vein of Kodak Black or 6ix9ine, his reputation has.
02:54In the latter part of his career, taken a number of serious beatings from which Thicke
02:58has struggled to recover.
03:00The son of actor Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, Thicke's big mainstream breakthrough would
03:05also prove to be his downfall.
03:13His song Blurred Lines, a massive hit in 2013, received harsh backlash for its apparent disregard
03:20of consent in an intimate encounter.
03:23His raunchy performance with Miley Cyrus at that year's MTV Video Music Awards didn't
03:28help matters, nor did model Emily Ratajkowski's later accusations that Thicke had groped her
03:34during the Blurred Lines video shoot.
03:41Ted Nugent
03:49Before we lace into the outspoken hard rock guitarist, we'll first preface by saying
03:55that there's nothing inherently wrong with being politically conservative.
03:59After all, debate and open discussion are integral parts of a healthy democracy.
04:05However, Nugent has often taken his political passion several steps too far.
04:16For example, in criticizing former President Barack Obama, Nugent publicly mused that he
04:22was beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War.
04:28This was in addition to referring to the President as a communist-educated, communist-nurtured
04:34subhuman mongrel.
04:36As if that wasn't bad enough, Nugent has openly admitted to sleeping with multiple
04:41underage girls, as well as trying to marry a 17-year-old in 1978.
04:53DaBaby
05:00This is one fall from grace that had music fans everywhere scratching their heads and
05:05going, huh?
05:06Charlotte, North Carolina native Jonathan DaBaby Kirk broke out onto the hip-hop scene
05:11in a major way in 2019, in which his viral single, Shug, and subsequent second album,
05:17Kirk, propelled him to superstardom.
05:24Several Billboard smash hits later, including the blockbuster, Roddy Ricch collaboration
05:29Rockstar, DaBaby inexplicably torpedoed his career by making unprompted, deeply homophobic
05:36remarks at the 2021 edition of the Rolling Loud festival in Florida.
05:41This led to many of his hits being pulled from radio play, as well as several scheduled
05:46gigs abruptly cancelled.
05:47Since then, the rapper's music hasn't reached the same heights as his earlier work.
05:57Ryan Adams
06:09Don't blame yourself if you thought we meant the Canadian radio rock mainstay, that's
06:13Ryan Adams.
06:15Ryan Adams is the alt-country, indie-folk renaissance man whose prolific output in music
06:21across multiple genres earned him rave reviews and a devoted fanbase.
06:26Adams' recording career has been marked by the occasional experimental gimmick, like
06:31covering Taylor Swift's 2014 album, 1989, in its entirety.
06:39However, Adams' warm, critical notices came to a screeching halt when seven women accused
06:47the musician of harassment once they had rejected his romantic advances.
06:52While his reputation received a significant bruising, especially in the hashtag MeToo
06:56era, Adams has remained very active, releasing 15, yes, one-five albums since the scandal.
07:12Travis Scott
07:19Following the release of his star-studded 2015 album, Rodeo, Scott became a bonafide
07:25A-lister, releasing a flurry of commercially successful, critically well-received albums
07:30in the subsequent years.
07:32However, a damaging and deadly 2021 incident threatened to permanently derail Scott's well-established
07:40career.
07:41During that year's edition of his Houston-based
07:52Astroworld Festival, the rapper continued his typically rowdy stage show, despite obvious
07:58signs that something was amiss.
08:00What followed was a tragic crowd crush which saw 10 people killed and hundreds more injured.
08:06Although Scott managed to avoid criminal charges, the festival was permanently cancelled
08:11and he lost out on several sponsorships and collaborations.
08:21Marilyn Manson
08:29You might be somewhat surprised to learn that this eternal provocateur's career wasn't
08:34damaged by his early career controversies.
08:37Rather, the metal musician thrived off of them.
08:40Blending grotesque visual imagery with thoughtful social commentary, Manson and his band made
08:46lemonade out of their seemingly constant public spotlighting in the late 90s and early 2000s.
09:02One scandal that Manson couldn't flip in his favor was the disturbing 2021 allegations
09:08of abuse leveled against him by former fiancé, actor Evan Rachel Wood.
09:14Manson did not end up having charges filed against him and eventually released a new
09:18album in 2024, touring extensively to promote it.
09:28Chris Brown
09:36Pop and R&B singer Brown entered the music industry with a splash, dazzling audiences
09:41with his vocals, dancing skills, and charismatic stage presence.
09:46His debut single, Run It, topped the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first male artist
09:51to accomplish that feat in 10 years.
09:54Brown continued the streak with Exclusive, his next album.
10:05All the while, Brown and fellow musician Rihanna had established themselves as a power couple,
10:10raising each of their respective profiles.
10:14That is until Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault charges, stemming from an argument
10:18the two had just ahead of that year's Grammy Awards.
10:22While Brown has continued to make music, landing a few hits in that time, his career
10:27has never returned to its pre-scandal levels.
10:52Kanye West
11:01You might have seen this one coming, but how could Kanye not top our list?
11:07Once upon a time, West was considered, basically, uncancellable, bouncing back from scandals
11:13that would've tanked any other artist's career in a heartbeat.
11:22These included, among others, interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs, referring
11:29to slavery as a choice, and his endorsement of President Donald Trump, which was chastised
11:35by many in the recording industry.
11:37West's relative untouchability seemed to come to an end in 2022, following a series
11:42of openly anti-Semitic remarks made on social media.
11:47Although several brands he had partnered with dropped him, plummeting his net worth, West
11:51has defiantly continued to pump out music at a furious pace.
12:02Are there any disgraced artists we missed?
12:05Be sure to let us know in the comments!