Hollywood may be the place where dreams come true, but for certain celebrities who find themselves caught up in mess and drama, those dreams can turn into nightmares real quick.
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Whether you’re somebody like Jonathan Majors whose ascent in Hollywood was met with a sharp decline thanks to domestic dispute allegations or R. Kelly whose years-long checkered past and sexual abuse allegations finally caught up to him—there’s truly no escaping when the pendulum of judgment and scandal swings in your direction and winds up wrecking everything that you built.
So it’s in that spirit, that we’d take a look at some Black celebs and famous figures who’ve gotten their careers derailed by scandals and mess.
Jonathan Majors
Thanks to a shocking March 2023 arrest, Jonathan Majors’ promising career in Hollywood hit a will when he was accused of a domestic dispute allegations from an ex-girlfriend. What transpired afterwards was legal ping pong game of varying narratives and a highly publicized trial which resulted in the Marvel star being convicted of third degree reckless assault and harassment back in Dec. 2023. His ex would later sue him in a civil suit just months after that conviction, but on Nov. 22, they both reached a settlement when she filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, which means she can’t sue the Marvel star again on this matter.
Jussie Smollett
Jussie Smollett, who had his breakout role in Lee Daniels’ popular show “Empire” in 2015, shocked the world when he allegedly staged a fake hate crime back in 2019. His story, subsequent puzzling interviews, spectacle of a trial and eventual conviction left many still unsure of whether or not he was telling the truth about the incident. This, in turn, caused him to be a pariah in Hollywood in the years that followed—or at least that was the case until Nov. 2024 when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that his case would be overturned.
R. Kelly
The fall of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is one that still gives people mixed feelings even though his 2020 New York City trial and subsequent Chicago trials resulted in him getting sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty on charges of federal racketeering and sex trafficking and child sexual abuse, respectively.
Bill Cosby
Allegations of sexual assault against formerly beloved actor and comedian Bill Cosby date all the way back to the 1960s. But it wasn’t the #MeToo era in 2018 that saw him get the justice his accusers felt he deserved when he was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for one count of sexual assault. However, in 2021, that conviction was overturned off a prosecutorial technicality and Cosby was freed. Yet and still, that didn’t stop him from being accused of sexual assault again in June 2022 where he would later be found guilty. But because the judgment was handed down in a civil court instead of a criminal one, Cosby faced no possibility of jail time as a result. While Cosby denied any wrongdoing in that case and sought a re-trial, he was denied that option in Sep. 2022. Since then, there have been over five more women who have brought charges against Cosby though he maintains his innocence in all cases.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Trouble for Cuba Gooding Jr., once an in-demand actor, started around 2013 when he was accused of raping a woman in New York (he later wound up walking free as he and his accuser reached a resolve on the matter.) Fast forward to 2019, more than six women accused him of sexual misconduct. He has since pled guilty to some of those charges and offered an apology to his alleged victims. But trouble followed him into 2024 when he was named as a co-defendant in Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sexual harassment suit against him and Diddy.
Isaiah Washington
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington took a fall from grace in Hollywood back in 2007 when he used a homophobic slur in reference to one his costars. Since then, his career has struggled to to make a comeback and his questionable posts on his social media accounts haven’t helped. Specifically, one posted in May 2023 when he said that “some of the best elementary school teachers and neighbors he had were Klu Klux Klan members,” didn’t go over well for obvious reasons.
Orlando Brown
To count the truly absurd ways Orlando Brown, who was once a rising actor, fell out of prominence in Hollywood would mean we’d be here all day. But just know his issues started in 2016 when he was arrested and charged with domestic battery, drug possession and obstruction of justice. Two years later, there was an outstanding warrant for Brown after he failed to appear in court for undisclosed charges. He was arrested in his underwear by bounty hunters in Las Vegas.
Later that same year, Brown spent weeks in jail on a narcotics possession charge and alleged burglary. Fast forward to 2022, he was arrested on charges of domestic violence.
Tiffany Haddish
In 2022, Tiffany Haddish and fellow comedian Aries Spears were sued over accusations of child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual battery and more.
The lawsuit stemmed from a Jane Doe who detailed two alleged instances where Haddish, described as a close family friend at the time, recruited both her and her brother (John Doe) to perform inappropriate and sexually suggestive acts when they were 14 and seven, respectively. The treatment John was allegedly subjected to, in particular, was documented in a skit that previously lived on the Funny or Die platform, titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.” That skit has since been taken off the platform, though footage of it has still been seen floating around on social media.
The news of that lawsuit immediately caused a significant drop in opportunities for Haddish though it was later dismissed with prejudice. Since then, Haddish has also made negative headlines thanks to her high-profile DUI arrest, highly publicized trip to Israel, and controversial comments about college protestors.
Wesley Snipes
Back in 2004, “Blade” star and veteran actor Wesley Snipes was met with controversy when he was accused of allegedly assaulting Halle Berry so bad that she lost hearing in her right ear. While Berry herself hasn’t named who assaulted her (though she has confirmed that an assault with a past ex did take place), the finger was pointed at Snipes by another one of Berry’s exes Christopher Williams.
Nate Parker
One year before the #MeToo movement went viral, actor Nate Parker went from rising star to edged out celebrity in Hollywood once his 1999 rape and assault cases resurfaced. As previously reported by The Root, Parker and his roommate Jean McGianni Celestin were accused of raping an 18-year-old freshman as a student at Pennsylvania State University while she was allegedly intoxicated and unconscious. Though Celestin was convicted, it was later overturned on appeal and not retried. Because of this and the alleged lack of support from the university, the accuser fell into a depressive downward spiral and eventually took her own life in 2012.
That controversy and his subsequent interviews in which many took to have no remorse took Parker’s name off the top of the call sheet in Hollywood at the time. Since then he’s been quietly living life with his wife and children, working on his own films (one of which released back in 2019, titled “American Skin”) and volunteering his time to causes fighting for gender and racial justice and the prevention of violence against women.
Colombus Short
Columbus Short, a then-promising actor who famously played “Harrison Wright,” on ABC’s popular drama “Scandal”—has kept a relatively low profile after being let go from the show after season three in 2014. This was due to his drug and alcohol abuse, tumultuous marriages and divorces, and domestic violence allegations.
O.J. Simpson
Dubbed the “case of the century,” O.J. Simpson—the late star athlete and actor—was famously accused of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman back in 1994. While Simpson was acquitted of all murder charges (much to the dismay of white people and joy of Black folks), his reputation remained forever stained. As The Root reported, Simpson died in April 2024 at age 76 after a cancer battle.
Kanye West
Where should we even start with Ye or rather the artist formerly known as Kanye West? Things began going south back in 2016 after the famous rapper revealed he would’ve voted for Trump at a concert. Ever since then, fans have been treated(?) to a myriad of random and concerning rants and musings from West with some of them being:
“Slavery was a choice”
His own unsuccessful Presidential run
Numerous social media drags against Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, Jewish people, Adidas, GAP, and more
On the legal side, West is currently facing numerous lawsuits from everything from his now-defunct school Donda Academy, battery and assault allegations and more.
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