Building up a career can take years of hard effort, sometimes without a guarantee. It can take money and resources to get qualifications and education. So one would think that a person who made it would never do anything to jeopardize it. Well, think again.
Someone asked “Who ruined their entire career in the dumbest way possible?” and people online cracked their knuckles and got to sharing. So get comfortable as you read through folk’s misfortune, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own examples to the comments down below.
#1
Prince Andrew
He had the opportunity to do nothing or anything with his life and either way he’d still have been wealthy and lived an extremely comfortable life. All he had to do to secure the most comfortable life ever was to not be a a freaking pervert.
Image source: stanley_leverlock, Titanic Belfast
#2
A couple years ago I would have said ‘anyone who was found on Epstein’s list’, but alas, they all seem to be doing really well unfortunately.
Image source: r3l0ad, Wikimeida Commons
#3
A woman I went to grad school with…she had just landed a job doing data analysis for this organization when covid lockdowns started.
She got drunk and started DMing Asian students from our University (some who graduated with us and some still finishing their degrees) telling them to go back to China, along with other much worse stuff I won’t repeat.
They took screenshots and emailed them to the director of our graduate program as well as the organization where she worked. In less than 24 hours, she lost her job and all ties to our graduate institution, and gained significant infamy in the field.
Image source: lucygetdown, Lawrence Krowdeed
#4
You guys are all talking celebrities and social media scandals.
William Kampiles had always wanted to be spy and he was lucky enough to end up working for the CIA after college. Unfortunately, his job was not being a spy, it turns out that takes training. His job was boring and he didn’t have time for training, so he hatched a plan.
He would steal a spy satellite manual from the CIA and quit his job. He would then fly to Greece, walk into the Soviet embassy and sell that manual. Now here comes the brilliant part: he would then call the CIA and let them know he had done this so they would be impressed and give him a job as double agent.
For some reason, the US government was not impressed and sent him to prison instead.
Image source: animosityiskey, NCSCStreet
#5
Coldplay couple. That clip is still funny every time
Image source: Salinadelaghetto, instaagraace
#6
Probably John Edwards. He was running for president and had an affair and fathered a child out of wedlock while his wife was passing of cancer. Ruined his reputation and political career.
Image source: afdc92, United States Senate
#7
Gerald Irving Ratner. He was formerly chief executive of the British jewellery company Ratner Group. Ratner achieved notoriety after making a speech in 1991 where he jokingly denigrated his company’s products as “total trash”, leading to the company’s near-collapse and his exit from the business in 1993. The notorious speech led to the creation of the phrase “doing a Ratner”, meaning to make ruinous comments about your company or products.
Image source: Jktjoe88 , Gerald.ratner
#8
Terry Kath, guitar player for Chicago. Playing with a weapon that he thought was unloaded he put it up to his head and pulled the trigger.
Image source: Affectionate_Reply78, Frank White
#9
I used to work with some guys in the Oil & Gas industry. They were actually really great to work with, and generally fun. They made very good money (especially since most of them had no formal education past high school) and bought houses, cars, trucks, toys, etc…
They got busted for falsifying expense reports.
Like they would go to a restaurant, and buy gift cards for that restaurant, and then expense it and then pocket the money. I can’t imagine that they each maybe netted less than $2-3k on the “enterprise”.
So, they went from being some of the top earners in the small-ish oil and gas tech company (that was a subsidiary of a very large company) to out on the street and probably branded a bit around the industry. All for like less than one week’s worth of pay.
Image source: minuteman_d, Getty Images
#10
That lady from Smallville, Allison Mack. Decided to take a promising and active acting career, into feeding a crazed lunatic cult leader a steady diet of girls for him to use and hurt.
Image source: ok-SFG, greg2600
#11
Will Smith ruined his big Oscar win by slapping Chris Rock over a joke about his wife’s hair.
Image source: PurpleDreamer28, oscars.org
#12
Ezra Miller
At the height of his career he groomed a twelve year old girl, strangled some woman at a night club, lots of weird incidents where he was either arrested or accused of doing shady things, and claiming he was a Messiah, to just name a few of the career ending things he did.
Image source: Jmaverik1974, Gage Skidmore
#13
Jussie Smollett.
He was already on a popular show, he had already made it as an actor. Faking a hate crime to try to increase his popularity and show salary?
Just dumb.
Image source: 93195, Dominick D
#14
Kristi Noem went from being a governor of a state where she could have ruled forever to running an agency where she lasted for, what, a year?
Image source: deckchair1982, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
#15
Anthony Weiner.
Up and coming young Democrat married to Hillary Clinton’s right hand woman.
Dumb photos and stupid scandals. Idiot.
Image source: BoxFullOfSuggestions, United States Congress
#16
O.J. Simpson. Remember when he ended those folks?
Image source: OkJoke4711, NBC Sports
#17
Late to the party, but anyway:
I work for a major retailer. Screw it, I work for Nike.
One of our department managers went all in for the job. He was already a sneakerhead when he got hired, literally has a Swoosh (the Nike logo) tattooed ON HIS NECK and quit his university degree when he was offered a promotion.
He was promising, great feedback, well liked.
Then he stole from the company. Stupid way, freaking obvious. Was fired immediately, sued and is now unemployed, without a degree but has a criminal record.
Image source: clueless_mommy, chrisp6.tattoo
#18
D4VD.
NetworkEcstatic:
Never even heard of this dude until my sister sent me an article saying a body had been found in his tesla. She was all… “this is terrible. He’s on tour, I love him who would do this.” I responded with…he did. I guarantee it. No one breaks into your tesla to hide a body.
Image source: MZay4JESUS, Narasi
#19
Lots of people these days who go online and post themselves doing something stupid in their work uniform or saying something horribly offensive.
Image source: WorkerClass
#20
Natalia Kills (Teddy Sinclair). She was a judge on X Factor NZ and accused a contestant of copying her husbands look. The look in question was a suit and a standard hair cut
Image source: upsetmainframe96
#21
Many, many decades ago my father decided that shagging his big boss’s wife was a really good idea.
He got fired and blacklisted all over the Pacific Northwest.
We all had to move across the country to be able to find a job again.
Image source: SultanOfSwave, Getty Images
#22
Ashton Kutcher choosing to defend his criminal friend after the trial.
Image source: misterecho11, European Union
#23
Remember that guy who posted on Reddit many years ago about how he was at a work conference at a hotel (fairly senior fellow IIRC) and harassed a guest (not affiliated with his work) at the hotel pool, and she reported it to the hotel staff, who reported it to his boss, who fired him?
Image source: Malnurtured_Snay, Ana Azevedo
#24
Bill Burr. All this eat the rich, be principled grandstanding. Then turns around, takes a bunch of Saudi government money and got extremely weird and combative with his fans.
Image source: MusashiUdon
#25
Lance Armstrong going in Oprah
Image source: nalc
#26
All those nurses who complained about fluids being left behind at Gynecologist office then posted selfies with the paper. I hope all of them got their license stripped and can never work in the medical field again.
Image source: Mystery1001
#27
The woman, Gina Carano, on Mandalorian who torpedoed her career because she bought into antivax/antimask grift is a recent example.
She could have spun that into something huge and had dependable lifetime income from the convention circuit if nothing else.
Image source: Chairboy
#28
Howard Dean, even though it wasn’t really deserved
Image source: picknwiggle •
#29
I’d say Conor McGregor (UFC fighter, billionaire). After consuming stimulants for years, attacking people and after he hurt that woman, lost the trial in the worst way and was found guilty yet didn’t face prison. He’s hated in Ireland after trying to run for president there.
But he is coming back, president supports him and people don’t care about all his crimes.
Image source: Disastrous_Goat8865, U.S. Secretary of Defense
#30
Rosanne Barr. Her nosedive into crazy caught me completely off guard.
Image source: cigr •
#31
Michael Dukakis riding that tank. Poor guy.
Image source: najaga
#32
In the sports world at least, Wander Franco. He got charged with having intercourse with a 17 y/o in his home country after just agreeing to a nine figure contract with the Rays. Believe he lost the chance at almost all of that money and went to jail.
More depressing one but Jose Fernandez. Elite pitcher for the Miami Marlins passed at the age of 24 due to driving a boat drunk and on stimulants.
Image source: yankeeblue42
#33
George Lazenby – Had he not been such an insufferable jerk to everyone involved in the production, he could’ve been James Bond for more than just one movie.
Image source: Lukeh41
#34
I second every answer here and then add Ned Fulmer. TL;DR version is he was a member of a successful quartet called the Try Guys and was marketing himself as this vanilla ‘Wife Guy’, even turned the births of his kids into videos and content. Turns out he’d been having an affair with one of his film editors who also did content, they are even in videos together. Try Guy fans saw them out together and outed him on social media. He threw away his marriage, his career, and his self-respect.
Also adding Chud the Builder, because he truly thought he would get away with doing what he did in front of a courthouse with no consequences. Now hes facing a 1.25 million bond and becoming the face of FAFO: Racist Edition. EDIT: Grifter may fit him better.
Image source: GingerEccentric •
#35
Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens place kicker. Arguably one of the best kickers all time, possibly a future hall of fame. Lost his job and ruined his reputation trying to get handjobs from multiple massage clinics.
Image source: Andredamus, Maryland GovPics
#36
Every celebrity who decided “you know what this situation needs? A ukulele apology video.”
Image source: MistyBi
#37
The Moody Mayor
Cincinnati was once so morally conservative that adult entertainment had no foothold there when a certain young man became its mayor. One night, he was in the mood. So he found an establishment where agreeable young ladies entertain visiting gentlemen for a fee.
Had there been such places in town, most likely he’d have been comped, and no one would have said a word. As it was, he had to visit a neighboring town, where no one felt the need to offer him any favors. So he paid for his entertainment – with a personal check.
Had it been entirely a moral failing, he might have survived it. But voters had thought the young man to be one of their best and brightest. But after this, voters realized that he was as dumb as anyone in town.
Luckily for Jerry Springer, neither stupidity nor notoriety are any problem in the entertainment industry.
Image source: WanderersEndgame
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