Being in the spotlight means everything you do is going to be examined with a microscope – that’s the price of fame, after all. A celebrity’s life is one of constant scrutiny, which is why they enjoy such dizzying highs, and equally destructive lows. Many of the times, famous celebrities in India and abroad have destroyed their entire image and career all by their lonesome. Here’s a few examples.

1. Vivek Oberoi

Perhaps the most infamous case of a Bollywood career irrevocably tanking, this whole saga began when Vivek was dating Aishwarya Rai. Apparently, Salman Khan would call them incessantly and harass them – information that Vivek went to the media with. Aishwarya refused to take sides in the matter, and Salman allegedly used his clout to make sure Vivek didn’t get any solid work in the future.

Stars Unfolded

2. Shakti Kapoor

A sting operation by India TV all the way back in 2005 purportedly showed the popular actor requesting sexual favours in exchange for professional help. The undercover reporter then went on to expose the entire situation, resulting in a media scandal that destroyed his career.  

Bollywood Direct

3. Abhijeet Bhattacharya

The popular Bollywood playback singer has a long and chequered history of posting highly sexist, homophobic and altogether hateful tweets. This article lists the many shocking posts he’s made on social media, apart from also going on tirades in interviews against actors like Salman and Shah Rukh. As time progressed, his career dug its own grave. 

India Today

4. Mel Gibson

Once a star of extremely famous movies like Braveheart and the Lethal Weapon series, Gibson’s downfall began in 2009 when he was caught by the police for driving under the influence of alcohol. He proceeded to go on an anti-Semitic rant, exclaiming, ‘The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?’. In 2010, he was also recorded making racist and extremely hateful comments towards his girlfriend at the time. Since then, he’s not really done much acting, but he has still be able to secure various directing jobs.   

BBC

5. Lindsay Lohan

The star of The Parent Trap went down a rocky road as time went on, and many directors and actors complained about how hard she was to work with. Lohan was known for her heavy partying, which resulted in her missing several shoots and constantly being late for work, among other erratic behaviour. As time went on, her career options dwindled.

Zee News

6. Jussie Smollett

Jussie was on the path to stardom for portraying his groundbreaking role as a gay black man on the drama series Empire. It all came crashing down in a bizarre turn of events when he was charged with staging a fake hate crime assault where he paid 2 men to attack him. The media frenzy that followed pretty much ended his career.   

ABC News

7. Shiney Ahuja

The Gangster actor was arrested in 2009 on charges of raping, detaining, and threatening his 19-year-old domestic help. While the victim later recanted her statement, the judge in the case believed she testified under pressure and awarded Shiney a jail term of 7 years. He’s been out of the news for a long time since.

Huffington Post

8. Fardeen Khan

Fardeen Khan had a half-decent run in Bollywood for a short while. However, a 2001 drug charge for buying cocaine spelled doom for his career. The media scandal that ensued meant he had to lay low, and soon his acting career was pretty much over.  

Superstars Bio

9. Charlie Sheen

The Two and a Half Men star had a very public meltdown where he proclaimed he had ‘tiger blood’ and where he also waxed eloquent about how he was indestructible. He also insulted the show’s creator Chuck Lorre, for which he was fired. Following these incidents, he’s been pretty much jobless in the acting field.

ABC News

10. Bill Cosby

Serious allegations of sexual assault spanning decades from the 1960s to the 2000s came crashing onto this comedy legend, absolutely demolishing his career in the process. Once a beloved family actor, Cosby now spends his time in jail on a slew of charges.

NY Times

11. Amanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes was highly popular when we were kids, essentially because she was one of the stars on Nickelodeon. It’s hard to realise these icons of your childhood are human just like the rest of us, but you can’t avoid growing up. Amanda’s erratic behaviour later on became quite a topic of discussion – she was charged with multiple DUIs, she started a fire in a random person’s driveway, and she was even caught shoplifting. Following all of this, she took a long hiatus from acting.    

ABC News

12. Zayed Khan

Zayed Khan, the son of Sanjay and Zarine, had quite a few opportunities to make it in the business. His family name and the number of roles he got should have ensured steady business. But he made multiple bad choices in terms of the movies he acted in, with flops such as Speed, Cash and Rocky. This led to a dip in his career that he wasn’t able to climb out of.

Superstar Bio

13. Aman Verma

Aman Verma, who you must have seen host countless TV shows and who was also a part of Bigg Boss 9, actually went through a sting scandal. India TV had conducted an undercover interview of his where he was embroiled in a casting couch situation. When this went public, his career suffered a massive blow.

Amar Ujala

14. Manisha Koirala

Manisha Koirala was a massive star, but the ravages of alcoholism resulted in a decline in performance and popularity as time went on. This affected her career pretty badly, and she went from being one of the top names in Bollywood to losing out on a bunch of roles.

Hindustan Times

The definition of high highs and low lows.