It's a fact of life at this point that fame is no easy thing. Not everyone loves it or even remotely enjoys it. We might look at the rich and famous and think, hey, their lives must be pretty perfect. After all, they're rich and famous, right? What could they possibly be worried or upset about? What bad things could possibly be happening in their lives? Thanks to all the pretty pictures of these people, we tend to believe this for much longer than we should. It's only when we see a few stars fall from grace that we realize that, oh yeah, sometimes famous people are just like you and me. They go through tough times, they struggle, and they even remove themselves from the public eye entirely.
There are more than a few famous figures who just couldn't cut it when it comes to playing the fame game. Here are 15 celebs who weren't cut out for fame.
15 Macaulay Culkin
We all know and love Home Alone. It's a super classic Christmas movie that we all grew up with and watched every single year. Sometimes we even watch it these days because we want to get into the holiday spirit and feel all nostalgic. It's pretty great. But what wasn't so great was the way that child star Macaulay Culkin dealt with having such fame and success early on in his life. Child stars are pretty notorious for having a rougher time than older actors and actresses, and sometimes the transition to being a teen actor and then an adult one is not always super smooth. Sometimes, that transition doesn't even work at all. After he became much older than his Home Alone days, Macaulay was said to be addicted to illegal substances and he was even arrested for possession. He was also in the news for his crazy dating life and was barely acting anymore.
14 Britney Spears
Thankfully, this beloved pop diva has made a real comeback. She is now performing on a regular basis, releasing new music, and generally living life. But back in 2007, things weren't so happy, and that proves that even though she is still a successful singer, she's still not really cut out for the famous life. We all remember when Britney basically went nuts, was walking barefoot in a parking lot and then shaved her head. She was ranting and raving and no one was sure what was really going on with her. Then she was put under the conservatorship of her parents, meaning that she couldn't be responsible for her own life and her own decisions, since she was in a very unstable mental condition. While we think that is over now since she seems to be doing well, the fact that this happened proves that she's not really used to being famous and probably never will be.
13 Mel Gibson
Unfortunately, this once beloved actor revealed himself to be anti-Semitic several years ago, and things were never the same for him. He has attempted to resurrect his career by starring in several movies over the years, but no one could forget the horrible and hateful remarks he once made. This was back in 2006 and he was also arrested for a DUI and had some addiction issues. He has denied that he ever made such terrible comments, but hey, there's a record of it and it's impossible to deny something that was definitely true. Many others are able to come back from huge scandals or controversies, but this is something that you can't really come back from, and it's safe to say that Mel Gibson is one actor who is just not cut out for fame. If he was, he would know that you can't say such hateful things and that you have to be compassionate and respectful toward people of all backgrounds (and you should probably believe those things too so it's not just lame lip service...).
12 Kristen Stewart
Look, we absolutely love Kristen Stewart. Sure, haters are gonna hate, but we have loved her since her Twilight days (and yes, we love Twilight, no shame here). And we have to admit that she is crazy talented. But the thing about Kristen Stewart is that she is not into being famous... at all. She hates being interviewed, she hates being the center of attention, and she often talks about how annoying it is to be famous in the first place. So we can safely say that she is just not cut out for fame since she doesn't enjoy it and probably wishes that she could continue to act and do her work without having to be in the public eye. Unfortunately, that's just not how it works. We're sure that would be better since we're not always super into how celebs can't have any semblance of private life. But that's just how the whole thing works.
11 Robert Pattison
On that note, there's another Twilight star who just wasn't cut out for fame, and that is none other than Kristen Stewart's co-star and once boyfriend, Robert Pattison. Since the movie that brought fame into his world, he has starred in several movies, both independent ones and more Hollywood flair, and he has had mixed results in terms of how good those films were and how much critics liked them. The thing is that back when he was starring in the Twilight franchise, that was the absolute height of his fame. He was interviewed in Vanity Fair for the cover story and talked about staying in a hotel in NYC and feeling totally and completely trapped. He just wasn't a fan of having to be careful about where he went or what he was doing since so many screaming teenage girls wanted to watch his every move. He's another actor who just can't deal with fame.
10 Alec Baldwin
Oh, Alec Baldwin. We love him, we think he's hilarious, and he's definitely been in the news lately thanks to an impression of a certain controversial figure. But he's also had a few scandals along the way and when a celebrity is always in trouble with both the media and society, we can safely say that means that this person is just not cut out for fame. A few years ago, he was in the spotlight for phoning his 11-year-old daughter Ireland and yelling at her. It was a super crazy, awkward and mean moment, and no one could really believe it when the news broke. Again, she was only 11 at the time, so that must have not only been totally horrible, but completely embarrassing. Today she's in her mid-teen years and it seems like they have a better relationship... but that still doesn't change the fact that he's just not made for fame.
9 Aaron Carter
This former pop heartthrob has definitely fallen from stardom in recent years. As in, where is Aaron Carter now?! It's hard to even remember the last time that we heard from him. We don't think that he's cut out for fame because, well, is he still famous now? That would be a hard no. Things started going south for the singer when he got involved in a love triangle/cheating scandal with Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan back in 2004 -- we all heard about it, it was a pretty massive deal -- and they have only gone downhill from there. Sure, the guy may still be releasing new music, but we don't think that proves that he's still famous. It just proves that he still wants to be. He also reportedly filed for bankruptcy back in 2013 so there's that. It was for million of dollars. When that happens, we can only say one thing: not cut out for fame.
8 Miley Cyrus
Look, we love Miley. We think she's super cool and although she's controversial, well, that's kind of what we adore about her. It's interesting when a pop stars decides to become something other than your everyday, cookie cutter singer. But we do have to admit that it seems like this girl just isn't cut out for fame. After all, it's hard to think of another singer who is always getting in trouble with the media for her performances. It's like she can't just sing and dance -- it has to be this whole big deal. While that makes for good tabloid fodder, it doesn't exactly make her look too good. Sure, she doesn't care (or at least she claims that she doesn't care) but is that really what's going on? Is she doing this all for attention? Does she only want to be talked about and she doesn't care if what people are saying is good or bad? We definitely don't think she's cool with being in the public eye.
7 Jared Leto
This awesome actor made our list, but while he's not cut out for fame, in this case, it's not a negative thing. In fact, it proves just how great he really is. Jared Leto just isn't the kind of guy who would take movie roles or any other gig just for the fame or the money or whatever else. He pretty much has done the opposite. He's in the band Thirty Second To Mars and the story of how they sued their record label became the brilliant and fascinating 2012 documentary Artifact. Besides that, he's acted in a few movies -- indie ones that mean a lot to him and are clearly not just for the cash -- and has pretty much kept a low profile. Sure, he's on social media sometimes and he seems to be promoting the online store that he has where he sells his band and brand related merch. But otherwise, he keeps quiet, and he's not into being famous at all.
6 James Franco
James Franco's story is similar to Jared Leto's. Neither one of them is cut out for fame... and that's truly why we love them so much. These are the kind of actors who are more artists than anything else, and we can honestly say that we respect them a lot. We love that they don't do anything for fame or fortune and that they make creative decisions based on what moves them and what they want for their lives. They don't care what people think about them and they just want to do whatever they want. James Franco really sealed the deal with the fact that he's not cut out for being famous when he co-hosted the Oscars with Anne Hathaway back in 2011. It was super awkward and not anything even close to funny. It was just a weird thing and no one could believe how bad it turned out to be. Well, sorry James, but you're not destined for this Hollywood life (but you probably are okay with that since, again, you're super cool).
5 Selena Gomez
We love Selena. She's adorable, she's super sweet, and we get the feeling that we would be really good friends with her. That being said, the poor girl is just not cut out for fame. She keeps claiming that she's quitting social media because she doesn't like all the trouble and controversy that it brings. She even went to rehab back in 2014. She has had struggles with mental health and it seems like her super famous lifestyle has contributed to all of this. It just doesn't seem like being rich and successful and famous makes her happy... which makes total and complete sense. We definitely understand that those things don't make anyone happy or healthy and that they are definitely not indicators that your life is going to be perfect and shiny and amazing 100 percent of the time. We hope that Selena will be okay and that she can find a good balance that works for her.
4 Justin Bieber
We are very sorry to say this because we absolutely love The Biebs. We love his music, his amazing hair, his style, and his Instagram account. But no matter how much love we have for Justin, we think that he's just not cut out for fame. Unfortunately, we have way too many recent and not-so-recent examples to draw from. There was the egging of someone's house. There were all the temper tantrums on stage. There was the deleting of his Instagram account because he claimed that fans were being too mean to him. Then there's his most recent scandal: that he apparently punched a fan. Yeah, we're starting to think that no matter how awesome his music is and how talented he is, he's just not cut out for this lifestyle, and that seems to become more obvious with each passing day. He definitely doesn't seem too happy right now.
3 Giuliana Rancic
The former E! host got in major trouble for a racist tweet that started a huge scandal. It ended up being the reason why she left the channel and her job back in August. Sure, she and her husband Bill moved back to his hometown of Chicago, and they would probably argue that one thing that had nothing to do with the other. But reading between the lines, this seems to be a reason. And it is surefire proof that she is just not cut out for fame since she is now living a different kind of life away from the lights and buzz. This scandal happened back in the winter of 2015 and here's a quick refresher: Giuliana insulted Zendaya's dreadlocks by saying that she smelled like mary jane. Everyone (and the internet) went crazy and couldn't believe how rude this was. She got in tons of trouble and it's safe to say that this means she was definitely not made for fame.
2 Lindsay Lohan
We loved Lindsay Lohan back in her The Parent Trap days. We had high hopes for her acting career because she is so super talented. But despite her successful turns in movies like Georgia Rule and of course Mean Girls, Lindsay is just not cut out for fame. She has flopped in tons of movies over the years and she has even tried to resurrect her once amazing career with an Oprah-produced reality television series. Unfortunately, even that show was a total fail, since most of the documentary-style show was about how Lindsay did not show up on time for filming and generally acted like a giant diva. She has also had some run-ins with the law since she was caught shoplifting and has had two DUIs. She has also been in rehab several times. Needless to say, being in the public eye hasn't worked out too well for her.
1 Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes tops our list because, unfortunately, she is definitely not cut out for fame. This makes us super sad since we absolutely loved her in the good old days. Who didn't laugh over movies like What A Girl Wants and She's The Man? In 2012, things seemed to take a turn for the worse in her life, as she said that she was no longer going to be acting. We were confused... and not sure if we should believe it since of course tons of actors love to claim that they are quitting acting and we are never sure if that's just them talking or what. That was the year when she was in trouble for a DUI and some hit and runs. 2013 saw other run-ins with the law for having possession of an illegal substance and some other issues. Of course, that wasn't even close to the end of things, as Amanda was put under a 72-hour hold for her mental health, and her parents were officially put in charge of her. Things didn't seem to improve in recent years, but this past April People magazine interviewed her about her supposedly healthy lifestyle as she has just turned the big 3-0. We hope that is definitely the case, but for one thing is for sure: she is one celebrity is just not cut out for fame.
