Fame is a polarizing topic. Some people wouldn’t want to touch it even with a 10-foot pole. Meanwhile, others aspire to it and would do nearly anything to be in the spotlight for just a while longer. This leads to a bizarre situation where individuals who might have no real ‘call to fame’ or conventional talents end up becoming actual celebrities.
Redditor u/TonyClifton323 sparked an interesting discussion about the people who “most successfully milked” their 15 minutes of fame to entrench their reputations as ‘stars’ for a long time. Scroll down to see what celebs many internet users personally think seized the opportunity best, even if they might not ‘deserve’ all the attention.
Mike Sington, an entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle expert, was kind enough to share his thoughts about fame with Bored Panda. You’ll find his insights on how to have a healthy relationship with fame, plus why some people don’t think everyone ‘deserves’ attention, as you read on.
Image credits: TonyClifton323
#1
Kim Kardashian. OJ’s lawyer’s daughter f****d a C list rapper and now her family is worth a billion dollars.
Image source: tee142002, The Heart Truth
#2
That salt sprinkling prick
Image source: cantsleepconfused, Branded Meme
#3
Dr. Phil
In 1995, Oprah Winfrey hired Phil McGraw’s legal consulting firm to prepare for the Amarillo Texas beef trial. Winfrey was so impressed with him that she thanked him for her victory in that case, which ended in 1998. Soon after, she invited him to appear on her show, which turned into a recurring segment. He turned that into his own show and now 25 years in the spotlight.
Image source: Ollivander451, Angela George
#4
Alllllll the MTV Teen Moms
#5
Russell Brand. SO sick of that h****n addicted twit.
Image source: femsci-nerd, russellbrand
#6
Jon and Kate Gosselin.
Only famous because she had a lot of babies and then verbally abused her husband on camera for years.
The kids were adorable, but they should have had 1 television special, saved that money for kids’ college funds or whatever and then disappeared.
Image source: KimboSlice129, Kathy
#7
The cast of Jersey Shore.
#8
Basically anyone who started off with a sex tape leak
Image source: Brums86, Stas Knop
#9
Yoko Ono. If she hadn’t been with Lennon she would have been a completely forgotten 60’s artist who’s been milking that s**t for decades.
Image source: JKEddie, Joost Evers
#10
Probably Jared from Subway… i believe someone at his university wrote a story about his unusual method of weight loss, which was then picked up by national news outlets, then subway put him in an ad, that was unusually successful, which ended up leading to 15 years of being the face of their brand internationally.
Then things went downhill pretty fast from there
Image source: nightkitchen, Kafuffle
#11
The island boys, they’ve stretched that s**t out so far
Image source: cantaketheskyfrome, flyysoulja
#12
Nirvana baby
Image source: sibelius_eighth, GreasyStool88
#13
Probably one of the Paul brothers?
Boxing money and WWE fame
Not a fan of either of them but going from vine clips to all that is pretty remarkable
Image source: iconsandbygones, Erik Drost
#14
Kyle Rittenhouse 🤣🤣🤣
Image source: DMIDY, Gage Skidmore
#15
Bhad Bhabie, aka Danielle Peskowitz Bregoli “Cashme outside, how ’bout that?” 1 episode on Dr Phil…where he indended to exploit her and trash her on live tv…she just proved receipts for 52 million on OnlyFans and bought a house in Florida for 6.1 million cash. Hate all you want…but I challenge anyone to do better quicker. 😵💫
Image source: rFortressofRain, bhadbhabie
#16
DJ Khaled
Image source: KoreanThrasher, Sony Music Entertainment
#17
the damelios. cant believe they got a kardashian wannabe show on hulu
Image source: thatnegativebitch, Hulu
#18
Harry and Meghan
Image source: SecretConscious6334, Mark Jones
#19
Jeremy Meeks – that convict with the blue eyes or whatever
Image source: d_tiBBAR, Stockton
#20
Crissy Teagan
Image source: TBIrehab, Luke Harold
#21
Wendy Williams
#22
Ryan Seacrest
No talent. He hosted EDIT American Idol (not Americas got talent). Then he was everywhere. He will sell anything. He does tons of radio ads. Yet most of the population could do his job with no training. I can’t stand him.
Image source: ImCaffeinated_Chris, Salpi Bezdjian
#23
Big Ed
Image source: StackedCrooked, thisisbiged’s profile picture thisisbiged
#24
Julia Fox
Image source: CoolHangover7, juliafox
#25
While she did have a fall from grace relatively recently, Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings, certainly made good use of every second she could squeeze out of her time in the spotlight.
Image source: CorgiMonsoon, mirandasingsofficial
#26
Currently and on their way..Gypsy Rose and her Peter Griffin looking Husband.
Image source: hellooonurse23, gypsyrose_a_blanchard
#27
Omarosa. Was a villain on a reality show in *2004*, yet 20 years later you still know who I’m talking about.
Image source: wholewheatscythe, Gage Skidmore
#28
Anna Delvey
Image source: let_me_use_reddit, ariana1234567890
#29
Guy Fawkes, it’s been over 400 years and we still celebrate him every year in the UK.
Not that he lived long enough to enjoy his infamy..
Image source: bradley_b_, George Cruikshank
#30
That Canadian youtuber who says “aboot” I’ve been coast to coast in Canada 100X over and the only place I’ve heard anyone say aboot is him and South Park.
Image source: LeafintheWind88, jjmccullough
#31
Bella Poarch
She has one of the biggest Tik Toks ever and all she did was shake her head. It became the most liked Tik Tok with over 61M likes and now she’s the 3rd biggest Tik Toker, with 94M followers. Then, she somehow turned that into a music career. One song even charted on the Hot 100 and got a little bit of pop airplay.
Image source: Avicii_DrWho, VOGUE Taiwan
#32
The brown family from sister wives
Image source: No_Lifeguard_4049
#33
Guy Fieri
He was a contestant on a reality cooking show in 2005 Food Network.
He went on to win and then parlay that into almost 20 years of hosting shows, multiple restaurants owned and a lot of other successful ventures.
The show he won ran for 14 seasons with 14 winners, does anyone remember the other 13? Guy definitely seized his 15 minutes and ran with it
Image source: Surfside141, guyfieri
#34
I mean this not in a negative way at all, because “milking it” seems negative, but Brittany Broski became a meme for tasting kombucha and then took that opportunity to build an empire. Mad respect.
Image source: goblingirlie, brittany_broski
#35
Lil Tay
She was a meme for a hot minute. Got ‘exposed’ for being fake. Is apparently trying to make a comeback.
Image source: TireFryer426
#36
Trisha Paytas. Her growth was bizarre and I honestly have no clue how she was able to land so many acting/reality tv gigs.
Image source: i_love_jellyfish
#37
Ken Jennings. I feel like most people in his situation would have faded into obscurity after finally ending their Jeopardy winning streak. But he’s now hosting the show.
Edit: Yes, I know he was famous for a lot more than “15 minutes” while on his streak. But I kind of expected that fame to go away about 15 minutes after the streak ended.
Image source: jurassicbond
#38
Too many to name Josie Gibson Rylan Clarke although idk if he’s still going or not lmao Any c**t that was on Love Island (Molly Mae and Tommy Fury come to mind) same goes for Instagram influencers James Corden That prime drinking wanker Logan Majority of reality TV “stars” also Katie Price she will literally milk her worn out fame for all its worth whether it’s sex tapes, autobiographies she hasn’t written but she says she has, or numerous sob stories I’ve seen her post videos of her son Harvey when he’s been ill and laying on the sofa trying to sleep but she’s filming it on YouTube for the clout then she’s going on TV with him saying how difficult it is to raise him when she’s sat next to him. She is the dictionary definition of media w***e as well as many others.
Image source: apurpleglittergalaxy
#39
Ice spice is the most recent I can think of
Image source: poonaniewhisperer
#40
Kato Kaelin
Image source: Substantial_Word_356
#41
Deez Nuts guy. Although he is homeless he still pops up from time to time and he still makes money off a 3 second meme.
Image source: LiteBeerLife
#42
Not most successful but people talked about Ken Bone way more than I would’ve expected
Image source: kingoflint282, Gage Skidmore
#43
In Britain, Rylan
Image source: SwooshSwooshJedi, rylan
#44
Reece Donnelly – That fella from The Apprentice
Image source: ChipCob1, reecedonnelly
#45
Khaby Lame.
Image source: Elevenst, State Farm
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