12 Celebrities Who Did Horrible Things, But Everyone Forgot Because They’re Famous

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Ignacio Weil

Entertainment - September 9th 2025, 17:00 GMT+2

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 111708521 — Drake

In 2018, a diss track detonated a scandal that tied global superstardom to a jarring image: Drake in blackface, resurfaced as cover art and paired with claims he’d hidden a child. He later framed the photo as part of a 2007 project critiquing stereotypes in acting, then publicly acknowledged his son – but the timing felt like spin to many. The backlash wasn’t just about a feud; it was about judgment under the bright light of wealth. Fans debated intent versus impact, and the picture became shorthand for reputational blind spots. Even as his music dominated, the episode lingered as a moral bruise on the brand. For a culture tired of PR gymnastics, this looked like accountability arriving late. It remains the first thing some people think of when success meets scrutiny. | © NBC

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 112015839 — Chris Brown

One photograph changed how the public saw fame and violence: Rihanna’s injuries in 2009, and the guilty plea that followed from Chris Brown. Probation, community labor, and counseling couldn’t erase the facts; the image of harm eclipsed chart positions. Every comeback was measured against that night, and the audience split between forgiveness and refusal. Industry doors never fully closed, but the applause grew complicated. People argued about redemption, while survivors of abuse pointed to patterns the spotlight often softens. Brown’s continued success kept the ethical debate alive. The case still frames how many weigh talent against consequence. | © RCA Records

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 114530705 — Roman Polanski

Long before film retrospectives and festival ovations, a courtroom record fixed the outline of the story: in 1977, Roman Polanski was charged in a case involving a 13-year-old and later pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. In 1978 he fled the United States before sentencing and built a career in exile, which many saw as success without accountability. Each honor reignited outrage from those who remembered the victim and the flight. The divide wasn’t subtle – art versus harm, prestige versus justice. When the Academy expelled him in 2018, it felt symbolic rather than curative. The facts haven’t changed; the anger hasn’t faded. His legacy is inseparable from the plea and the plane ticket. | © HBO

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 112319190 — Woody Allen

The early ’90s brought allegations that never left the conversation: Woody Allen was accused by Dylan Farrow of child sexual abuse, which he has always denied. Investigations produced conflicting outcomes – a hospital clinic report finding no abuse, a Connecticut prosecutor saying there was probable cause but declining to press charges to avoid traumatizing a child. At the same time, his relationship with Soon-Yi Previn – Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter – emerged and reshaped public perception despite its legality. Audiences, actors, and distributors split over whether to separate art from private conduct. The #MeToo era only amplified questions that had been simmering for decades. With no criminal case, the court of public opinion kept the issue alive. His reputation now travels with those unresolved tensions. | © Medusa Film

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 112445249 — Mike Tyson

A verdict, not a press conference, redrew the arc of Mike Tyson’s fame: in 1992, an Indiana jury convicted him of raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington. Prison replaced title belts, and the world’s most fearsome boxer acquired a stigma that no comeback could fully shake. Later reinventions – stage shows, films, business ventures – met a public that remembered the crime first. Supporters spoke of redemption; critics centered the victim and the message sent by rapid rehabilitation. The result is a career permanently braided with harm. Titles and highlights haven’t erased the record. The conviction remains the hinge of his story. | © Legendary Pictures

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 112648209 — Jada Pinkett Smith

A single word turned relationship trouble into a cultural flashpoint: “entanglement.” On her own show, Jada Pinkett Smith described a relationship with August Alsina during a separation from Will Smith, then later said the marriage had functionally split years earlier. To supporters, that candor challenged stigma around imperfect unions; to critics, it looked like monetized intimacy and narrative control. The internet made it memeable, but the underlying issue was credibility in a fame economy. When private life becomes public content, sincerity is always on trial. The episode fixed a lens through which every subsequent disclosure was judged. Openness, for better or worse, became part of the brand – and the backlash. | © Warner Bros.

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113222947 — Logan Paul

A camera pointed at tragedy in Japan’s Aokigahara forest became a referendum on empathy: Logan Paul filmed and uploaded the body of a man who took his own life in 2017. The outcry was instant – sponsors recoiled, YouTube penalized him, and viewers questioned what the algorithm really rewards. Apologies arrived, but so did doubts that remorse could undo the decision to publish. The incident became a shorthand for clout over conscience. Even as he rebuilt a business empire, the clip shadowed the brand. It is still cited whenever influencer wealth collides with basic decency. | © Maverick Media Inc

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113355398 — Caitlyn Jenner

A fatal chain-reaction crash on Pacific Coast Highway in 2015 sits at the center of the public’s unease with Caitlyn Jenner. Prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, yet civil lawsuits followed and settlements – including an $800,000 payment – kept the tragedy in headlines. For some, the case illustrated how wealth cushions consequence; for others, the absence of charges and her cooperation mattered. What didn’t change was the loss of life and the feeling that celebrity tilted the aftermath. The story has trailed every new chapter of her public persona. It remains a touchstone whenever fame and accountability are discussed. | © Netflix

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113444309 — Mark Wahlberg

Decades before franchise films and business ventures, court records in Boston documented racially charged violence by a teenage Mark Wahlberg. In 1988 he assaulted two Vietnamese men and later served 45 days in jail; earlier incidents involving attacks on Black children added context that never quite faded. Years on, a request for a gubernatorial pardon sparked backlash that he was seeking to clean the slate once rich and respected. Supporters pointed to charity and change; critics said contrition doesn’t require erasing the file. Eventually the pardon effort was dropped, but the debate endures. Success didn’t silence the past – it kept it in the footnotes of every accolade. | © 20th Century Fox

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113525060 — Gwyneth Paltrow

A lifestyle empire met a regulator’s fine print in 2018, when Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop paid $145,000 to settle allegations it made deceptive medical claims about “yoni eggs.” Doctors had long warned that wellness marketing can outpace evidence; the settlement gave that criticism legal teeth. Fans argued the field evolves and missteps can be corrected, but skeptics saw a profitable pipeline for pseudoscience. The brand survived, yet the credibility hit stuck. Every new launch since has carried a shadow of doubt. It’s a modern parable of luxury aesthetics meeting consumer protection. | © Marvel

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113616819 — Jerry Seinfeld

Mid-’90s celebrity culture shrugged at an age gap that reads very differently now: Jerry Seinfeld, then 38, in a relationship with 17-year-old high-school student Shoshanna Lonstein. Legal in New York, yes – but the optics of fame meeting adolescence still unsettle many. Tabloids treated it as gossip; history treats it as a lesson in power imbalances. The pairing didn’t derail his career, which is partly why it lingers as an asterisk. People revisit it when discussing how norms shift and who gets grace. The facts aren’t disputed; the interpretation keeps evolving. | © Columbus 81 Productions

Cropped imagen 2025 09 05 113709720 — Jared Leto

Headlines in 2025 gathered years of whispers into a single narrative as nine women accused Jared Leto of sexual misconduct, with some alleging they were underage at the time; his representatives have firmly denied the claims and no charges have been filed. The reporting sparked industry-wide scrutiny of how charisma and access intersect with vulnerability. Supporters urged caution; critics saw a pattern that looked too familiar in modern celebrity culture. Regardless of legal outcomes, the accusations altered how audiences talk about the performer and his power. Projects and partnerships suddenly carried reputational calculus. Allegation and denial now sit side by side in the public record, shaping every mention of his name. | © Warner Bros.

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Fame moves fast, and public memory moves even faster. A blockbuster comeback, a viral apology, or a slick PR tour can turn yesterday’s outrage into today’s footnote. In this article, we’re revisiting a dozen celebrity scandals – some confirmed, some alleged – that briefly dominated headlines before fading into the background. We’re not here to “cancel” anyone; we’re here to remember what happened, when it happened, and how these stars managed to keep (or rebuild) their careers despite it.

For each entry, we’ll summarize the controversy, note the timeline, and explain the public-relations playbook that helped shift the narrative. Consider this a quick refresher before you decide whether we collectively forgave too quickly – or simply forgot.