The pressures and responsibilities that celebrities are held up to are not easy. It’s difficult to grow up constantly under the public eye and having all of your decisions under scrutiny. For these reasons, it’s not unusual for celebrities to succumb to temptations and leave the industry because of the fallout or repercussions of their actions. Celebrities can often have a very short shelf life, yet there are obviously individuals who remain famous for their entire lives.
What’s also interesting is when celebrities undergo drastic changes due to the accumulated pressures of the industry. People who play beloved characters can slowly turn into monsters or barely resemble how they were when they entered the entertainment industry. It’s becoming increasingly easy to burn bridges in Hollywood. Accordingly, here are 20 once-loved 90s stars who’ve been blacklisted by Hollywood.
20 Roseanne Barr Became Her Own Worst Enemy
Roseanne Barr’s sitcom Roseanne was one of the most popular comedies of the ‘90s and it looked like one of the few revived sitcoms that could actually work and last for a few years. Barr took to Twitter and gave some very opinionated racist thoughts that quickly took her under fire and then fired from her sitcom. It’s one of the first examples of statements on Twitter leading to series repercussions and ABC stuck by their word and Roseanne slowly morphed into The Conners.
19 Mel Gibson Ranted His Way Off The A-List
Mel Gibson was one of the biggest names in action films throughout the ‘90s, but a series of increasingly rash mistakes unveiled what were seemingly Gibson’s true colors and destroyed his former image. Gibson went through a messy DUI arrest in 2006 where he drunkenly proclaims some very anti-Semitic statements that have followed him throughout his career. It took some time, but the tide has slowly turned on Gibson, with him recently earning an Oscar nomination for Hacksaw Ridge and co-starring in Daddy’s Home 2.
18 Charlie Sheen Turned “Winning” Into Losing And Was Fired From His Sitcom
Charlie Sheen was one of the stars of the biggest comedy on television at the time, Two and a Half Men, yet the actor went through a very public meltdown that not only led to him getting fired from the series, but marked as volatile within Hollywood. Sheen’s breakdown was a combination of many things, but the unstable presence that it brought forward was never sustainable. It gave him a brief moment in the sun, but that goodwill is now all gone.
17 Kirk Cameron Has Become A Religious Zealot And Controversial Mouthpiece
Kirk Cameron was an adorable face from the ‘90s in the television series, Growing Pains, but he’s grown into a figure that’s taken up some controversial views that have alienated him from most of Hollywood. Cameron has become a serious figure for hard conservative values and he pushes a dangerously close-minded style of religion. While he still acts, most of his roles are now to serve this agenda, rather than a love for the craft.
16 Katherine Heigl Bit The Hand That Feeds And Gained A Bad Reputation
With all of the attention placed on celebrities and how dangerous and quickly social media spreads now, it’s frightening how quickly careers can be ruined thanks to a single interview. Heigl basically blasted the writing on her series, Grey’s Anatomy, and the poor treatment that her character was receiving. She didn’t submit herself for the Emmy’s one year because she didn’t think her character had done anything worthy enough to warrant a submission tape. Heigl has since heavily backpedaled and regretted her statements, but she’s still treated like a liability in Hollywood. Heigl’s biggest role was certainly on Grey’s Anatomy, but she was still popular in the ‘90s because of series like Roswell.
15 Mo'Nique’s Oscar Cost Her More Trouble Than It Was Worth
Mo’Nique hit the scene in the ‘90s and was a big deal on television with starring roles in Moesha and The Parkers. It took some time for Mo’Nique to breakthrough to film, but after she made serious waves after winning an Oscar for her work in Precious, she found herself effectively blacklisted. Lee Daniels had to tell Mo’Nique that because she didn’t “play the game” and was a frightening force of nature that she was going to lose roles, which she did.
14 Brendan Fraser Didn’t Submit And Then The Roles Stopped Coming
Brendan Fraser was a major presence in the ‘90s, whether it was through oafish children’s fare like George of the Jungle, fun adventure/action hybrids like The Mummy series, or even comedies like Bedazzled. Then Brendan Fraser was suddenly gone and it looked like he was on harsh times. It took Fraser a while to find the courage to come forward, but he spoke towards his own difficulties with sexual harassment and being betrayed by those that he trusted. His career is beginning to come back around, but it went through a heavy drought.
13 Tara Subkoff Was Wrongly Labeled As “Difficult To Work With”
Tara Subkoff was a big name in the ‘90s thanks to roles in films like As Good As It Gets and The Last Days of Disco, but she’s not someone that gets a lot of attention anymore. Subkoff suffered from not giving into the typical casting couch games and was accordingly branded as "too difficult to work with." This reputation became so intense that she had to switch careers and start the art and fashion label, Imitation of Christ.
12 Stacey Dash’s Politics Cut Short Her Acting Career
Stacey Dash was very memorable in her role in Clueless, but now the actress has taken on a whole new personality that would definitely conjure glares from her Clueless persona. Dash has become a staunch voice for conservatives, which negatively impacted her career, not only limiting her roles, but she couldn’t even hold onto an agent. She went as long as a year without even going on auditions.
11 Ashley Judd Was Labeled As A "Nightmare" And Restricted From Blockbuster Franchises
Ashley Judd is a very talented actress who refused Harvey Weinstein's advances and he permanently hung her out to dry by labeling her as a "nightmare" and to be avoided "at all costs." Peter Jackson explicitly spoke about how he wanted to consider her for a role in Lord of the Rings, only for Weinstein to shut it down and guarantee she be held back.
10 Vince Vaughn’s Volatile Off-Screen Antics Stopped Being Funny
There was a solid stretch of time where Vince Vaughn was a legitimate comedy star and one of the biggest names in the genre. Vaughn definitely could have maintained this reputation, but he went on a very inflammatory pro-gun rant that burned most of his bridges in Hollywood. This in combination with Vaughn’s missteps with the law have gotten him in plenty of trouble, although he’s beginning to get interesting roles again.
9 Thora Birch’s Father Took Her Down With The Ship
Breakout roles in films like Ghost World, American Beauty, or even Hocus Pocus made Thora Birch a regular presence in the ‘90s. She’s an actress that’s slowly disappeared over the years, but her absence from film is unfortunately not by choice. Birch’s father was her manager and he’s developed a contentious reputation that’s led to him being overprotective over his daughter in unusual ways and aggressive towards Birch’s fellow cast and crew. This got out of control when Birch’s father threatened one of Thora’s co-stars and it led to her dismissal from the production.
8 Mira Sorvino’s Career Was An Unfortunate Casualty Of The #MeToo Movement
Mira Sorvino was a big hit in the ‘90s with memorable performances in films like Mighty Aphrodite and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, but she found herself blacklisted when she didn’t sell herself to get roles. Suddenly, a “bad reputation” started to grow around her, even though it was all based on conjecture and spite. Sorvino has said that this sort of unfair attention has plagued her since she was a teenager.
7 Vanessa Marquez Claims A Famous Co-Star Had Her Ousted
Marquez was a fixture on NBC's E.R. in the '90s, but this all came to a premature end when she suggested that her fellow co-star, George Clooney, actually had a kibosh put on her career. Marquez insists that this was retaliation after she complained about work conditions and harassment on the NBC series. Clooney stands by the fact that he had nothing to do with Marquez' fade from Hollywood and that casting decisions would have been far above his call.
6 Randy Quaid Has Adopted Increasingly Erratic Behavior And Become A Conspiracy Nut
Randy Quaid has gone through a crazy transformation that kind of started when he defrauding an innkeeper for $10,000, failed to appear for their court appearance, and continued to belittle and cause problems with the court system. Quaid has continued to have legal issues that are only becoming more intense. He’s now a much more vocal presence in the conspiracy theory and vigilante community than he is a successful actor.
5 Rose McGowan Was Unfairly Manipulated, Abused, And Rejected By Hollywood
Rose McGowan lasted five years on the WB's Charmed and had an enviable film career during the '90s, appearing in such hits as Scream and Jawbreaker. Rose McGowan was one of the major voices and figures during 2017's important #MeToo movement and the takedown of Harvey Weinstein. McGowan's roles and films were negatively affected and it did a real toil on McGowan's psychological state, too.
4 Jim Caviezel’s Portrayal Of Jesus Made Him A Controversial Target
Jim Caviezel was seeing a decent career in film when he took on the titular role in Mel Gibson’s controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. Anyone who plays Jesus is going to take on a certain level of criticism and Gibson was transparent to Caviezel about this when he cast him. After Gibson’s film, many of Caviezel’s opportunities began to disappear. He’s still been able to find a healthy career on television and starred in Person of Interest for five seasons, but he’s still not a large presence in cinema.
3 Annabella Sciorra Was Pushed Into A Decade-Long Cycle Of Abuse And Career Anxiety
Annabella Sciorra is an actress who had a healthy career through the '80s and '90s with films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and What Dreams May Come being particular standouts. Sciorra is someone who Weinstein manipulated for years, which he continued to use against her and tarnished her career in the process. Sciorra didn’t just face professional hardships, she was psychologically scarred and slept with a baseball bat for years, still raw and vulnerable from the subjugation that she experienced.
2 Martin Lawrence's Behavior Turned Into A Liability For His Co-Stars
Martin Lawrence has experienced some major hits with the Bad Boys series. However, he then fell into a run of some very critically reviled films, which also came at the time of reports of bad behavior. There were rumors of substance abuse issues and Lawrence encountered some difficulty on his sitcom, Martin, when co-star Tisha Campbell filed for sexual harassment, briefly quit the show, and then refused to film any scenes with Lawrence present. Lawrence’s career is finally starting to come back around (Bad Boys For Life is right around the corner), but it still pales in comparison to where it once was.
1 Sondra Locke’s Breakup With Clint Eastwood Destroyed Her Career
Sondra Locke has a storied career that really got kickstarted back in the 1960s, but she remained a present even in the late '80s and '90s, too. Her debut role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter netted her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and dated Clint Eastwood for a stretch of time. Unfortunately, when Eastwood and Locke went through a volatile breakup, Locke found that all of her roles were disappearing and presumed Eastwood had vindictively made things difficult for her in Hollywood. It wasn't for another decade that Locke could find steady work and even then it still felt like Eastwood's stink was present on her.
Sources: MentalFloss.com, RumorJuice.com, Fame10.com
