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Fame can vanish in an instant... Join us as we examine the precise moments when celebrities witnessed their careers implode right before their eyes! Our countdown includes Matt Lauer's on-air firing, Will Smith's Oscar slap, Diddy's home raids, and more! Do you think any of these stars could ever stage a successful comeback?
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00:00This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain
00:07and anger of racism to promote his career. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking
00:13at the precise moment celebrities realized their reputations and careers were forever
00:17damaged beyond repair. Do you have any response to those charges? Shaking your head no.
00:23Matt Lauer on-air axing. For years, Matt Lauer was the face of NBC's Today Show,
00:30a trusted presence in America's morning television routine. But on November 29, 2017,
00:35that image imploded live on air when Savannah Guthrie, alongside co-host Hoda Gottby,
00:41somberly announced that Lauer had been fired after an internal complaint of inappropriate
00:45sexual behavior. Just moments ago, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack sent the following note to our organization.
00:50Dear colleagues, on Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague
00:55about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented,
01:00after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result,
01:05we have decided to terminate his employment. Guthrie's uneasy composure in a studio gripped
01:09by silence made the moment instantly historic. And with the country watching the fall of a television
01:15titan in real time, that live morning announcement surely became the moment Matt Lauer realized.
01:19His career and credibility were all but permanently gone.
01:23We are grappling with a dilemma that so many people have faced these past few weeks.
01:29How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly?
01:35And I don't know the answer to that.
01:37Danny Masterson, The Guilty Verdict
01:39When that 70s actor Danny Masterson stood in court on May 31, 2023, he wasn't just awaiting a verdict,
01:45he was confronting the end of his showbiz career. After years of accusations and retrials,
01:50Masterson was formally convicted of two of the three counts of sexual assault,
01:54with the third charge being hung by the jury.
01:56I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with.
02:01I am so sorry, and I'm so upset. I wish I'd reported him sooner to the police.
02:06He would later be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
02:08This morning, a judge sentencing Danny Masterson, star of that 70s show, to 30 years to life behind bars.
02:15The echoes of The Guilty Verdicts marked the precise moment he lost everything.
02:19Career, reputation, and freedom.
02:21As Hollywood distanced itself, and the Church of Scientology faced renewed scrutiny,
02:26Masterson's identity as a celebrated sitcom star dissolved in an instant.
02:30You missed your shift at the photo hut.
02:32You better have a damn good excuse.
02:34I got busted.
02:36Kevin Spacey, fired by Netflix.
02:39He made sexual advances toward him after a party when they were both on Broadway.
02:43Spacey was 26.
02:44In 2017, Kevin Spacey's downfall unfolded faster than almost any in Hollywood history.
02:50Just days after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual misconduct,
02:54Netflix announced it was cutting all ties,
02:56firing him from their award-winning original series, House of Cards,
03:00and shelving his biopic, Gore.
03:01The company issued a statement saying, quote,
03:04Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards.
03:07That includes Kevin Spacey.
03:09The stunning Netflix announcement didn't just end a contract, however.
03:12It marked the exact moment Spacey's career was excommunicated from the industry
03:16that once celebrated him.
03:18With a two-time Oscar winner and beloved prestige TV star facing a stunning collapse,
03:23Hollywood's message, via Netflix, was clear.
03:25Kevin Spacey wasn't just out of work.
03:27He was radioactive.
03:29After that, my guess is you'll never hear from him again.
03:34The moment Empire actor Jesse Smollett had to realize that his once-promising career was over
03:47came on February 21, 2019.
03:49This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jesse Smollett took advantage of the pain
03:56and anger of racism to promote his career.
04:00This is the date that the Chicago police held a nationally televised press conference
04:04accusing him of staging his own hate crime.
04:07Police superintendent Eddie Johnson laid out the evidence,
04:10claiming Smollett orchestrated the attack for publicity,
04:13turning public sympathy into outrage.
04:14Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago's reputation through the mud in the process.
04:24And why?
04:26This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary.
04:30The words publicity stunt made any credibility Jesse Smollett had evaporate instantly.
04:36Empire actor Jesse Smollett is in police custody after turning himself in overnight.
04:40He is accused of faking a hate crime after his story of being attacked by racists fell to pieces.
04:48Fox cut him from Empire and his story became a punchline.
04:51Despite the subsequent complicated legal history,
04:54that press conference marked the precise moment Smollett was transformed from victim to villain,
04:59all in a single broadcast.
05:00To make things worse, the accusations within this phony attack received national attention for weeks.
05:08Celebrities, news commentators, and even presidential candidates weighed in on something that was choreographed by an actor.
05:16R. Kelly. Surviving R. Kelly premieres on Lifetime.
05:19For years, singer R. Kelly had evaded consequences for decades-old sexual misconduct allegations
05:24until the world saw the evidence laid bare in Lifetime's surviving R. Kelly docuseries in January 2019.
05:31Featuring harrowing testimony from survivors, former employees, and associates,
05:36the six-part expose shattered the illusion of the R&B icon.
05:39His bodyguard handed me his phone number and said,
05:42R. Kelly, we'd like you to call him.
05:44The public reaction was immediate, and protests demanded justice.
05:48Within months, Kelly faced multiple criminal indictments,
05:51and by 2021, he was convicted on federal sex trafficking charges.
05:55The premiere of Surviving R. Kelly marked the undeniable turning point.
05:58For Kelly, watching his life dissected on television must have made one thing unmistakably clear.
06:03There was no coming back from this.
06:04I did you wrong, I admit I did.
06:09Bill Cosby. The NPR Weekend Edition Interview.
06:12Once America's favorite dad, now the king of no comment.
06:16During a 2014 interview on NPR's Weekend Edition,
06:20host Scott Simon asked Bill Cosby point-blank about the mounting sexual assault allegations against him.
06:25Rather than defend himself, Cosby sat in total silence for nearly 10 excruciating seconds.
06:30Questions about the allegations were met with silence.
06:34This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby,
06:36but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days.
06:42You're shaking your head no.
06:44Just earlier, accuser Barbara Bowman had written a damaging Washington Post op-ed
06:49asking why it took 30 years for people to believe her story.
06:52In that moment, Cosby had to understand what millions of listeners did too.
06:55The beloved image of America's dad was gone,
06:58and there will be no returning from this monumental downfall.
07:01Michael Richards. Laugh Factory Rant Leaked.
07:04In November 2006, Seinfeld star Michael Richards took the stage at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles,
07:10and within minutes, he destroyed his illustrious career.
07:12I lost my temper on stage.
07:14After being heckled, Richards lost control,
07:17launching into an unhinged, racially charged tirade.
07:20You guys have been talking and talking and talking!
07:24I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!
07:28Richards might have expected this to be just an ugly moment confined to a single club,
07:32but when audience footage surfaced online,
07:34and the video went viral,
07:35any illusion of damage control evaporated.
07:37The laughter that had once defined him
07:39was instead replaced by outrage.
07:41Watching the viral clip dominate headlines,
07:44Richards had to know there was no PR fix for what he'd said and done.
07:47That's a lesson I learned
07:49seven years ago
07:51when I blew it in the comedy club.
07:53I lost my temper
07:53because somebody interrupted my act
07:55and said some things that hurt me,
07:57and I lashed out in anger.
07:58Right.
07:59I should have been working selflessly that evening.
08:02Will Smith
08:03Slaps Chris Rock at the Oscars
08:05It was the slap heard around the world,
08:08and the exact moment Will Smith's spotless image came crashing down.
08:11The feed goes silent,
08:13and so does the audience
08:14after Will Smith takes a swing at Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.
08:19On March 27th, 2022,
08:21during the live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards,
08:24Smith stormed the stage and struck comedian Chris Rock
08:27after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
08:29The stunned silence that followed was unlike anything in Oscar history.
08:34As Smith sat back down,
08:36shouting obscenities at Rock,
08:38it was clear he crossed a line he couldn't uncross.
08:40Even as he accepted the Best Actor award later in the night,
08:43the panic behind his teary speech said it all.
08:45The damage to his rep was already done.
08:53Sean Diddy Combs
08:54Raid footage airs live
08:56On March 25th, 2024,
08:58Sean Diddy Combs faced a sight no celebrity ever wants to see,
09:02armed Homeland Security agents
09:03swarming his Los Angeles and Miami homes
09:05in a coordinated raid.
09:07Looking for videos, photos,
09:10any mementos that he may have been keeping
09:13that would corroborate what accusers have said.
09:18The dramatic footage aired live on major news networks,
09:21showing helicopters circling overhead,
09:23officers in tactical gear,
09:25and boxes of evidence being hauled away.
09:27In that instant,
09:28Diddy's carefully crafted image of power and control
09:31unraveled on national television.
09:33The heavy guns and people's hands over their heads being cuffed.
09:37What more are his attorneys,
09:39what more is his camp saying about this?
09:40Well, they're complaining about the tactics.
09:42The optics were catastrophic,
09:43not just for his brand,
09:45but for his legacy.
09:46For a mogul who once ruled hip-hop's biggest empire,
09:49watching his home become a televised crime scene
09:51had to be the moment he knew there was no hiding
09:54and no spinning this.
09:55He had to face the music.
09:56He sees firearms and ammunition,
09:58including three defaced AR-15s
10:01and the large capacity drum magazine.
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10:19Harvey Weinstein.
10:21The New York Times expose drops.
10:23On October 5th, 2017,
10:25Harvey Weinstein's life changed in an instant.
10:27When the New York Times published its bombshell expose,
10:30Hollywood's most feared and powerful producer
10:32suddenly became its most disgraced.
10:34New York Times reports names actresses Ashley Judd
10:37and Rose McGowan as some of Weinstein's supposed victims.
10:41Reporters Jodi Cantor and Megan Toohey
10:43laid bare decades of sexual harassment
10:45assault and secret settlements.
10:48Houcho tells the New York Times
10:49the movie mogul summoned her to his hotel suite for a meeting,
10:52then allegedly placed his hands on her
10:54and suggested they head to the bedroom for massages.
10:57The actress says she refused
10:58and later told then-boyfriend Brad Pitt
11:01who confronted Weinstein.
11:03A source tells ABC News
11:04Pitt told him to never touch her again.
11:06As the story spread,
11:08Weinstein had to realize that his iron grip on Hollywood
11:10had just been shattered.
11:12Within days, he was fired from his own company,
11:14expelled from the academy,
11:16and abandoned by former allies.
11:18But the damage ran deeper than any headline.
11:20That article didn't just expose a predator,
11:22it ignited the hashtag MeToo movement,
11:24ending Weinstein's reign in the process.
11:27Congratulations, you five ladies
11:28no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.
11:31Do you think any of these stars
11:33could ever stage a successful comeback?
11:35Let us know in the comments down below.
11:36Let us know in the comments down below.
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