These celebrities should have never agreed to give an interview. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for famous folks who severely damaged their reputations for a time after scandalous behavior in a single interview, even if they have since bounced back.
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00:00You continue to trash her.
00:01Okay, I'm done with this.
00:03No, no, no.
00:03Sorry, no.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today we're counting down our picks for famous folks
00:09who severely damaged their reputations for a time
00:12after scandalous behavior in a single interview,
00:15even if they have since bounced back.
00:17Yes or no, did you ever take banned substances
00:21to enhance your cycling performance?
00:22Yes.
00:24Number 20.
00:25Joaquin Phoenix.
00:27Today, Joaquin Phoenix is a multi-time Oscar nominee
00:31and winner.
00:32But in 2009, his career was in a very different realm
00:36after appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman.
00:39Is there something wrong?
00:40I can't be the first one to make you feel weird about it.
00:44No, I guess not.
00:46Wearing sunglasses and a big bushy beard,
00:49Phoenix mumbled awkwardly through the discussion,
00:52causing the host to take verbal shots at him.
00:55Well, can you tell us about your days with the Unabomber?
00:58While this turned out to be a spoof for his mockumentary,
01:01I'm Still Here,
01:02the media genuinely believed Phoenix was having a breakdown
01:06and producers stayed away from him.
01:08But you are, you're not going to act anymore?
01:11No.
01:12Oh, why is that?
01:18I don't know.
01:19The actor admitted in a later interview
01:21that the quality of script sent to entice him
01:23had vastly dropped after the stunt.
01:26It took several critically acclaimed projects
01:28to put Phoenix's career back on track.
01:31Thank you for letting me come on the show.
01:33Yes, well, we've been dying to have you back
01:35a year and a half.
01:36Number 19, Belle Gibson.
01:38Are you prepared to tell the truth today?
01:41The whole truth?
01:42No little half truths, no gobbledygook.
01:45No, I've been really transparent.
01:47In 2013, Australian Belle Gibson
01:50was one of the hottest new wellness influencers
01:53on the market after launching her mobile app,
01:55The Whole Pantry.
01:57After releasing various cookbooks,
01:59life seemed to be going great for her.
02:01But then Gibson told the world
02:03she had contracted several cancers
02:05but was managing the progression
02:07with her healthy lifestyle.
02:09And you've just admitted that you didn't say
02:11it was at your home and it wasn't with a real doctor
02:14because you thought people would be disappointed in you.
02:16No, I believed he was a real doctor.
02:18Yet in 2015, rumors emerged that Gibson
02:22was lying about having the disease
02:24and her donations to charity.
02:26I've been openly conveying and speaking
02:29about what was my reality
02:32and what is my reality today.
02:34And will you accept that your reality
02:36does not actually match reality?
02:38With the pressure mounting,
02:39she spoke with the magazine,
02:40The Australian Women's Weekly,
02:42where she admitted she'd been lying
02:44and blamed her behavior on her upbringing.
02:47This tanked her career in an instant.
02:49In 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for her deceptions.
02:56Despite being given a four-month deadline,
03:00it was still alive.
03:01Yeah.
03:02Is that an indicator to you
03:04that you didn't have brain cancer?
03:06It wasn't an indicator.
03:07Number 18, Alex Pettifer.
03:10If you're a blossoming actor in Hollywood,
03:12it's not a great idea to slam the city
03:14where you make a living.
03:16But that's what England's Alex Pettifer did in 2011.
03:19After making his name in I Am Number Four
03:22and Stormbreaker,
03:23the actor's career appeared to be going swell.
03:26Then, Pettifer spoke to V-Man for an article.
03:29Within it, he slated Los Angeles
03:32in an expletive-filled interview.
03:34Among many, many insults,
03:36he called the city a, quote,
03:38insidious pool and socially, quote,
03:41disgusting.
03:42Slated the women living there
03:44and described an acting career
03:45like being in prison.
03:47Yikes.
03:48This, on top of a reputation
03:49as being difficult to work with,
03:51caused Pettifer's career to stagnate
03:53as big budget productions
03:55looked elsewhere for talent.
03:57Number 17, Tom Cruise.
04:002005 was a dark mark in the career of Tom Cruise.
04:04Firstly, there was his bizarre behavior
04:06on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
04:08I've never seen you like that.
04:13I've never seen that.
04:14I know.
04:15Cruise followed that
04:16by publicly criticizing Brooke Shields
04:18for admitting she used anti-depressants
04:21after developing postpartum depression.
04:23The actor then went on to the Today program
04:25to speak with Matt Lauer about his opinions,
04:28and it was rough.
04:30I'm just living my life,
04:31and I'm doing the best that I can
04:33and doing it in a way that I feel is right.
04:36An erratic Cruise doubled down
04:38on his anti-psychiatry views,
04:41calling it a, quote,
04:42pseudoscience.
04:44And I know that psychiatry is a pseudoscience.
04:50His very patronizing approach
04:52did Cruise no favors
04:54as he combated Lauer's questions.
04:56With all the scandal,
04:57Paramount Pictures cut ties with the actor
05:00in 2006 after 14 years,
05:02but eventually that relationship recovered.
05:05Steven Spielberg also denounced
05:07Cruise's actions in 2005.
05:10However, the duo reconciled in 2023.
05:13We've never seen you behave this way before.
05:15I know.
05:16Have you ever felt this way before?
05:19Number 16.
05:21Piers Morgan.
05:22By 2014, thanks to poor ratings,
05:25Piers Morgan's reign on CNN was ending.
05:27In his final days,
05:29he interviewed comedian Chelsea Handler,
05:31and she wrecked him.
05:33Handler slated his lack of attention
05:36and called him a, quote,
05:37terrible interviewer.
05:38I mean, you can't even pay attention
05:40for 60 seconds.
05:41You're a terrible interviewer.
05:43Well, you just weren't keeping my attention.
05:45That's more of an issue for you than me.
05:46While Morgan attempted to save face
05:48by claiming the guest had to be interesting,
05:51Handler pointed out
05:52that it was his job to do that.
05:54This is your show.
05:54You have to pay attention to the guests
05:56that you invited on your show.
05:57They're interesting enough.
05:58Yeah, they are.
05:59Listen, it doesn't matter
06:00how interesting I am.
06:01You signed up for this job.
06:02Well, maybe that's why
06:03your job is coming to an end.
06:05With his US reputation in shambles,
06:07Morgan returned to the UK
06:09and joined Good Morning Britain.
06:11This is a two-hour trash-a-thon
06:14of our royal family.
06:15But after he went off on a rant
06:16about Meghan Markle
06:17disclosing her mental health struggles,
06:19he was called out by fellow presenter,
06:22Alex Beresford,
06:23causing Morgan to walk off.
06:25But yet you continue to trash her.
06:27Okay, I'm done with this.
06:28No, no, no.
06:29Sorry.
06:29No, sorry.
06:30Do you know what?
06:30That's pathetic.
06:31You can track him, maybe.
06:32No, no, no.
06:32See you later.
06:33Later, he resigned from the show
06:35and has struggled for relevance since.
06:37Absolutely diabolical behavior.
06:40Number 15.
06:41Liam Neeson.
06:42This interview had social media
06:44bursting at the seams
06:45with comments for and against
06:47the Irish actor.
06:48While promoting one of his movies,
06:50Neeson opened up in an interview
06:52about the time one of his close friends
06:53was sexually assaulted by a black man.
06:56To get rid of this.
06:58And I'm not racist.
07:02This was nearly 40 years ago.
07:03But because I was brought up in...
07:06Maybe I'm rabbiting on, Robyn,
07:07so forgive me.
07:08I was brought up in the north of Ireland
07:10and brought up in the Troubles.
07:12He said that after finding out,
07:13he walked the streets looking for trouble,
07:15hoping to kill a black man,
07:17before realizing that
07:18what he was doing was wrong
07:20and feeling ashamed of himself.
07:21Many branded him a racist,
07:23while others defended his honesty,
07:25including celebrities such as
07:26Trevor Noah and Whoopi Goldberg.
07:28Because I believe that Liam Neeson
07:30deserves a medal,
07:30and I'll tell you why.
07:31It may not have destroyed his career,
07:33but it certainly put a fork
07:35in the road of his likability.
07:37Number 14.
07:38John Mayer.
07:39At one point,
07:40John Mayer had the reputation
07:42of a quality musician
07:43who was seemingly going to reach
07:44legendary status one day.
07:46But then he spoke to Playboy magazine in 2010
07:49and destroyed that possibility.
07:51He is giving this interview
07:53to Playboy magazine.
07:54He wants to be provocative,
07:56and he tried a little too hard.
07:57On top of being gross
07:59about his past relationships
08:00with Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston,
08:03Mayer compared, quote,
08:04little John,
08:05to white supremacist David Duke
08:08and threw in racial slurs
08:09a couple of times.
08:11Yikes.
08:11While Mayer apologized on social media,
08:14in other interviews,
08:15and at gigs,
08:16he never reached those lofty heights again.
08:19None of his released singles
08:20have reached the top 25
08:22on the US Billboard chart
08:23since 2010's
08:24Half of My Heart with Taylor Swift.
08:33Number 13.
08:34Chris Harrison.
08:36For 19 years,
08:37Chris Harrison was an American icon
08:39with his work on The Bachelor
08:41and its spinoff, The Bachelorette,
08:43and many more.
08:44But then in 2021,
08:46he was interviewed by Rachel Lindsay,
08:48a former bachelorette,
08:49for Extra.
08:51This is when his career fell off.
08:53Harrison discussed the actions of alumni
08:55Rachel Kirkconnell
08:57after photos of her at college
08:58attending a plantation-themed party came out
09:01and liked racial posts on social media.
09:04Is it a good look in 2018
09:05or is it not a good look in 2021?
09:08It's not a good look ever.
09:10It's hard to defend that.
09:11But Harrison did his best,
09:13even throwing in the term
09:14woke police
09:15and saying people shouldn't judge.
09:18Ew.
09:18The public backlash was massive.
09:21Lindsay quit the franchise
09:22due to her disgust at Harrison.
09:24He was suspended and later fired
09:26by The Bachelor.
09:27Antebellum parties are not okay.
09:31Past, present, future.
09:34Number 12.
09:35Paula Deen.
09:36I'm so happy to be showing y'all my new stoneware.
09:39Specializing in Southern cooking,
09:41Paula Deen seemed like a nice and kind person
09:44during her cooking show,
09:45Paula's Best Dishes.
09:47But when a lawsuit came her way in 2013,
09:50her deposition threw that assumption in the bin
09:52when she stated she used racial slurs several times
09:56and had considered a plantation-themed wedding.
09:58Yikes.
09:59As the backlash grew,
10:01Deen was interviewed on The Today Show
10:02to discuss the controversy.
10:04And it was weird.
10:06If there's anyone out there
10:10that has never said something
10:15that they wish they could take back.
10:17Painting herself as a victim of slander,
10:19she stated she wouldn't have fired herself
10:21for the fallout.
10:22But most notable was the lack of sorry from Deen,
10:26except for referring to an apology video she'd made.
10:29Afterward, more companies cut ties with Deen
10:32as she fell into obscurity.
10:34Number 11, Michael Jackson.
10:36Interviewed by Martin Bashir for a year
10:38and broadcast to the world in 2003,
10:41the documentary Living With Michael Jackson
10:44shocked viewers with a couple of massive revelations
10:46from the singer.
10:47These we bought.
10:48Yes.
10:49And these.
10:50Yes.
10:52This table.
10:52Yes.
10:54These.
10:55These.
10:56Firstly, Jackson spoke about the abuse he sustained
10:59at his father's hands when he grew up.
11:01But then the thriller performer stated
11:04that he had had sleepovers with children in his bedroom,
11:07but he emphasized that nothing untoward happened.
11:11When Gavin was there,
11:11he talked about the fact that he shares your bedroom.
11:14Yes.
11:15Can you understand why people would worry about that?
11:19Because they're ignorant.
11:20The backlash was massive from the public.
11:23This brought to life the infamous trial
11:25of the People versus Jackson in 2005.
11:28While Jackson was acquitted on all counts,
11:30the damage done to his reputation was permanent.
11:33On top of that,
11:34he faced bankruptcy from other lawsuits
11:36before he passed away in 2009.
11:39Black people were called colored people
11:41because we come in all colors.
11:43From very white, as white as my hand,
11:46to very dark.
11:47Number 10.
11:48Lance Armstrong.
11:50Seen as a hero for facing cancer
11:52and becoming a dominant force in professional cycling,
11:55Lance Armstrong was beloved
11:57and one of the best athletes ever.
11:59But then,
12:00the rumors that he had had all his success
12:02on the back of doping began to emerge.
12:04In 2012,
12:05the United States Anti-Doping Agency
12:07stripped him of all his wins since 1998.
12:11While he denied it,
12:12Armstrong was then interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2013.
12:16Yes or no,
12:17did you ever take banned substances
12:19to enhance your cycling performance?
12:21Yes.
12:22Here, the former legend told the truth
12:24and admitted his cheating,
12:26but denied allegations he had forced teammates to dope
12:29and bribed officials to hide his test results.
12:32Did you ever blood dope
12:34or use blood transfusions
12:36to enhance your cycling performance?
12:37Yes.
12:38Afterward,
12:39brands such as Nike canceled contracts with him,
12:42reportedly costing Armstrong millions of dollars.
12:45Did you ever use any other banned substances
12:48like testosterone,
12:49cortisone,
12:50or human growth hormone?
12:52Yes.
12:53Number nine.
12:54Billy Bush.
12:55While not an official interview per se,
12:58we're going to allow this Access Hollywood footage
13:01due to how notorious and career ruining it became.
13:04It was actually captured
13:06before presenter Billy Bush and Donald Trump
13:08were able to cruise into a TV studio to do some filming.
13:12And while they were unaware that their microphones were on.
13:15I moved on her actually.
13:16You know,
13:17she was down on Palm Beach.
13:18I moved on her and I failed.
13:19I'll admit it.
13:21I did try and...
13:22She was married.
13:23While on the bus,
13:24they riff about Trump's sexual escapades,
13:27which include groping women,
13:28and discuss how power can give you free reign
13:30to do whatever you want.
13:31I've got to use some Tic Tacs
13:33just in case I start kissing her.
13:35You know,
13:35I'm automatically attracted to beautiful.
13:37I just start kissing them.
13:38It's like a magnet.
13:41I don't even wait.
13:41And when you're a star,
13:42they let you do it.
13:43You can do anything.
13:44Whatever you want.
13:45Grab them by the...
13:46We even hear them talking about
13:47how attractive they think
13:48Days of Our Lives actress Ariane Zucker is
13:51before meeting her when they get off the bus.
13:53Bush was suspended from his job on the Today show
13:55following a ratings drop
13:57and subsequently resigned.
13:58He's since had to repeatedly defend himself
14:01in interviews.
14:02The moment that is on that tape,
14:05I understand people's reaction.
14:07I agree.
14:09I also felt that way.
14:14If you're a band,
14:15being interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine
14:17is a big, big deal.
14:18So much so that it can be easy
14:20to get carried away
14:21with trying to sound overtly rock and roll.
14:24And that's exactly what happened
14:25with the band 5 Seconds of Summer.
14:27In a 2015 interview,
14:28the band did everything
14:30from compare themselves to the Beatles
14:32to dismissing or insulting
14:33the American Music Awards,
14:35Justin Bieber,
14:36and their female fan base,
14:37also known as most of their fan base.
14:40They were criticized for their comments
14:41and for generally sounding
14:42like narcissistic prima donnas.
14:45It probably didn't help
14:46that they appeared naked
14:46on the front cover either.
14:48Number seven, Paula Abdul.
14:50What do idol fans have to look forward
14:52to this season?
14:52And what are you looking forward to seeing?
14:56Well, is that what it is?
15:00I was wondering, what is that?
15:02You know, when you're under the influence,
15:04but you don't think you sound like you are.
15:07Well, there's a good chance
15:08that Paula Abdul knows
15:09what that feels like,
15:10at least in hindsight.
15:11In this 2007 interview,
15:13she's promoting the latest series
15:15of American Idol.
15:16While she would later dismiss
15:17the idea as lies,
15:18many viewers wondered
15:20if she'd had a few drinks
15:21or partaken in another type of stimuli.
15:23Delayed responses,
15:25bouts of laughter,
15:26this one has it all.
15:27You know what, listen,
15:30any publicity is good publicity.
15:32You got to learn to eat it up
15:34and embrace it and say,
15:36Seattle had the best delusional people.
15:39The interview went viral,
15:40becoming an inescapable part
15:42of Abdul's career.
15:43Two years later,
15:44she left American Idol as a judge
15:46due to a dispute over wages
15:48and dropped out of the public eye
15:49for a while.
15:50Number six,
15:52The Chainsmokers.
15:53Next up, we have another misguided attempt
15:55at sounding hardcore
15:57in a magazine interview,
15:58this time courtesy of the musical duo
16:00The Chainsmokers,
16:01who let it all hang out with Billboard.
16:03Everyone was making the same thing
16:05and after a few years,
16:06it got really stale
16:08and only a few people
16:10started breaking off from that
16:12and experimenting.
16:13When asked about their manic musical romps,
16:16they were all too eager to brag
16:17about their wild frat boy image
16:19and penchant for sleeping
16:20with as many girls as possible,
16:22even though they both had girlfriends.
16:24The two were heavily criticized
16:26and briefly became the talk
16:27of the musical world
16:28for all the wrong reasons,
16:30but we shouldn't hate on them too much, right?
16:32Like they said,
16:33quote,
16:33we're just frat bro dudes,
16:35you know what I mean?
16:36Loving ladies and stuff.
16:37That's an actual quote,
16:39word for word.
16:40Number five,
16:42Prince Andrew.
16:43Deemed a car crash by many,
16:45this interview ultimately resulted
16:47in Prince Andrew stepping down
16:48from public duties for the royal family.
16:50Today, you've chosen to speak out
16:53for the first time.
16:55Why have you decided to talk now?
16:57When BBC's Emily Maitlis
16:59questioned him about his close ties
17:00to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,
17:03the prince's answer raised many an eyebrow.
17:05For starters,
17:06Prince Andrew straight up denied
17:08ever meeting his accuser,
17:09Virginia Roberts.
17:10I have no recollection
17:12of ever meeting this lady.
17:14None whatsoever.
17:15Despite photographic evidence
17:17to the contrary,
17:18there were other shocking answers
17:19littered throughout,
17:20like saying he didn't regret
17:22his friendship with Epstein
17:23as it presented him
17:24with useful opportunities.
17:25The interviewer is clearly
17:27unimpressed with his answers,
17:28much like pretty much
17:29everyone else who watched it.
17:30He has quite obviously conducted himself
17:33in a manner unbecoming,
17:35yes.
17:37Unbecoming?
17:37He was a sex offender.
17:38Yeah, I'm sorry,
17:40I'm being polite.
17:40Number four,
17:42Catherine Heigl.
17:43Heigl has long had a reputation
17:45for being difficult to work with,
17:46but a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair
17:49proved particularly damning
17:50when she criticized the movie
17:52Knocked Up,
17:52which she'd just starred in.
17:54She branded the movie,
17:55quote, a little sexist
17:56and critiqued the way
17:57in which it portrays women,
17:58which frustrated people
18:00considering that she'd decided
18:02to be in the movie.
18:03A year later,
18:03she starred in the movie
18:04The Ugly Truth,
18:05which was widely panned
18:06as misogynistic.
18:07Who's this delightful creature?
18:11I'm your producer.
18:13Hey.
18:16I like a woman on top.
18:17As a result of the entire episode,
18:19already hesitant directors
18:20were given yet another reason
18:22to be cautious about working with her.
18:24I'm going to be really honest right now,
18:25I'm not.
18:26I know I'm not.
18:27Yeah.
18:27I don't have to think about it.
18:29I'm not a rude person.
18:30I'm not an unkind or mean person.
18:32Number three,
18:33Megan Fox.
18:34As a general rule,
18:36it's probably not a good idea
18:37to compare the director
18:38you're working with to Hitler,
18:40but that's what Transformers star
18:41Megan Fox did
18:42in an interview with
18:43British magazine Wonderland.
18:45Talking about Michael Bay's conduct on set,
18:47Fox compared the director
18:48to the Nazi leader,
18:49which was soon all over the media.
18:51Whoa, nice headers.
18:53You've got a high-rise
18:54double pump carburetor.
18:54That's pretty impressive, Sam.
18:57Double pump?
18:58It ultimately resulted in her
18:59being fired from
19:00the Transformers franchise,
19:01but not by Bay.
19:03According to Bay,
19:04it was the franchise's
19:05executive producer,
19:06a certain Steven Spielberg,
19:08who insisted she be fired.
19:10She's since worked with Bay again
19:12on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films,
19:14which the latter produced,
19:15but Fox's notable roles
19:16have otherwise been
19:17few and far between
19:18since giving this interview.
19:20Hi, guys.
19:20This is April O'Neill
19:21from Channel 6 News,
19:22and I am here in beautiful New York City
19:24on the first day of spring,
19:25and you know what that means.
19:27It is time to shed
19:28that pesky winter weight.
19:29Number two,
19:30Charlie Sheen.
19:32This guy has said and done
19:33some seriously shocking
19:34and controversial things
19:35in his career,
19:36but the reason he's on today's list
19:38may surprise you.
19:39The interview in question
19:40is his 2015 appearance
19:42on The Today Show,
19:43where he announced
19:43that he was HIV positive.
19:59While some praised his bravery,
20:00many criticized the fact
20:02that it had taken him
20:03four years to go public with it,
20:04stating that it could have
20:05endangered his sexual partners.
20:11People also took aim
20:22at Sheen's surprisingly
20:23calm demeanor
20:24as he told of his diagnosis
20:25and battle with people
20:26blackmailing him.
20:28For some, the interview humanized
20:29Sheen more than ever before.
20:31For others,
20:32it further solidified his reputation
20:33as being reckless,
20:35particularly with the lives of others.
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21:07Number one,
21:08R. Kelly.
21:09Although it's a different story today,
21:11back in the 2000s,
21:12R. Kelly still had his defenders
21:14when it came to allegations
21:16of sexual misconduct.
21:17In 2002, he was indicted,
21:19but was eventually acquitted in 2008.
21:22They are still talking about you
21:23with underage girls.
21:25That same year, however,
21:26an interview about the allegations
21:28ensured that Kelly's muddied reputation
21:30would not be forgotten.
21:31When asked about
21:32whether he liked teenage girls,
21:34Kelly replied with this.
21:35When you say teenage,
21:36how are we talking?
21:38Viewers and, clearly,
21:39the interviewer, Tor Ray,
21:41were shocked at Kelly's reaction,
21:43and it went on to further support
21:44the claims that he was, in fact, guilty.
21:46The infamous response
21:47became a critical moment
21:49in the press' depiction of him
21:50in the years to follow.
21:52Which controversial celebrity chat
21:54stopped you from being their fan anymore?
21:56Let us know in the comments.
21:58I made a mistake,
22:00and I own that.
22:01Do you agree with our picks?
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