A person is born with a purpose. Some are born to lead the world or to set new heights in the field of science or arts. Whereas some astound the world by their talents which are par excellence. If one realizes their reason, their purpose of life and goes on to fulfill it, he is no less than perfect. However, it is not as easy as it seems. It requires utter devotion and dedication towards one’s goal and strict adherence to the morals which lay strewn across the path to success. If you don’t adopt those morals, then alas you are sure to get deviated.

And deviation just does not takes us far from a success, it ruins our lives. And if you’re a public figure, then you are doomed. That is because your personal life is not private anymore. Things that you do surface out in the public media and something negative will bite you badly. For some celebrities, it has been easy to re-surface from the past and improve upon their image. But that is not the case for all of those out there whose single mistake ruined their whole life.

Here is a list of 15 celebrities who destroyed their career with unforgivable mistakes and as a result, they either served in prison, spent days in rehab, died broke or even committed suicide to get away from all the accusing glares.

15. Lindsay Lohan

The “Mean Girl” Lindsay Lohan is the second one on our list. Since childhood, Lohan had begun to live the dream life of millions of children when she started her career in Hollywood at the age of 3. But as it is said, the worth of something is not realized until it’s gone. Alcohol, drugs and crimes have derailed the career of many celebrities and Lohan, succumbing to them, ruined everything in her life, including her career. She got fired repeatedly from movie sets and several TV series and over the years, the lady became one of the most controversial actresses in Hollywood. Trapped on a never-ending carousel of court, jail and rehab, Lindsay, who bagged many successful flicks, tried hard to crawl out of her drug addiction, but nothing helped her regain the stature she earned in the past. After failing on several TV series and movies in the last decade, she now plans to start a lifestyle website.

14. Tiger Woods

If there ever existed a person who knew absolutely nothing about golf, he would still have known about Tiger Woods. A gentleman beyond doubt and champion at his game. However, he has taken an indefinite break from professional golf. And that is a result of one of the most shameless cases of infidelity the world had ever seen. Everything was absolutely fine until 2009, when the media started reporting about Woods’ sexual relationships with several women. Soon after these revelations, many women came up to reveal that they had relations with the professional golfer who has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. His infidelity to his wife is a blemish on his splendid career and all of his faults led to the tragic end of his career.

Woods’ involvement in affairs with porn stars, cocktail waitresses, and club girls not only destroyed his career as a professional golfer, apart from the sponsors, but his wife Elin Nordegren also left him soon after the entire drama.

13. Chris Brown

Money corrupts the mind, and when thousands of fans jump and shout your name, often than not, stardom gets to your head. The same happened with Chris Brown, one of the brilliant dancers and singers of nowadays. It all began when he assaulted his then girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. The domestic violence case led Brown’s career to hit the floor and the R&B singer got all of his deals cancelled and songs withdrawn from many radio stations. Due to this case, his request for a UK visa was rejected too and even after repeatedly apologizing to Rihanna and his and her fans combined, he could never touch the heights he could have touched had he behaved like a real man. After a couple of years at Times Square, Brown again lost control and threw an object at a window causing damage to property. Other than the domestic violence case, several legal issues have been haunting Brown even today. So keep these things in your mind when the next time you idolize him or any other person.

12. Katt Williams

Remember the man with those ponytails making weird faces to make the audience laugh with sick jokes? Yes, none other than Katt Williams and he is the same man who has been on the road to self-destruction for years. The stand-up comedian is one of the dumbest celebrities who ruined their career in seconds. Katt is infamous for his stupid acts that have landed him in jail and rehab several times. From stealing things (camera, jewelry, coins etc.) to beating a 7th grader and getting his own ass kicked, Katt is well-known for the things he does which he probably finds funny. But in reality, he is a big time loser who has lost all the opportunities he could have gotten. From beating a tractor driver to throwing a salt shaker at a restaurant manager, it seems like Williams is on a mission to destroy himself and needs some serious counselling.

11. Caitlyn Jenner

How would you want to remember Caitlyn Jenner? As the Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Bruce Jenner or a television personality who went under a sex reassignment surgery and became Caitlyn? Well, it’s up to you, but the dramatic changes in Jenner’s personal life led her career to a dead end. Jenner is legally a female now and all the cosmetic surgeries, hard-to-explain affairs and complex marriages she share with the world has killed her career. Jenner’s new name, a new image and the announcement in which she described herself a transgender did nothing but worsen the path of her success. She got involved in several career options and she badly failed at almost all of them. Her film Can’t Stop The Music (when she was Bruce) even won her a Golden Raspberry Award for The Worst Film.

10. Oscar Pistorius

There was a time when Oscar Pistorius was South Africa’s decorated hero because he won many gold medals for the country in sprint running. His life was an inspiration to many as his legs were amputated from the knees when Pistorius was just 11 months old. Success was kissing his feet, but on the Valentine’s Day in 2013, Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Soon after the confirmation of murder charges on Oscar, Nike suspended its contract with him, and Pistorius also lost other sponsors. In 2016 he was sentenced to six years imprisonment for murder. Now when he has completely destroyed his career, no gold medal, no degree or charities would be able to help him gain the celebrity status he once enjoyed.

9. Mel Gibson

Hollywood has blacklisted Mel Gibson who once earned the label of an “action hero.” But nowadays he is now one of the most hated celebrities in the world. He was found guilty in many crimes ranging from rash driving to domestic violence. The downfall of his career started when he was arrested by a Jewish police officer at whom Gibson yelled “F*cking Jews… the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?” Later he tried his acting skills and tried to cover things up but failed badly. But his drama didn’t end there. In a bid to prove that he was remorseful, he had even requested to meet Jewish leaders to help him follow the appropriate path.

Another controversy became public when Gibson’s call to his lady love Oksana Grigorieva was recorded. He had a nice message for his partner saying that she looks like “a f*cking pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of niggers, it will be your fault.” Wow! Mel, what a great man you are.

8. Charlie Sheen

The man who was one of the highest paid actors took his stupidity and drug addiction to an unforgivable level and destroyed his career in seconds. The painful decline of this film star began when he got fired from television shows for several reasons including drug addictions and anti-Semitic comments. His derogatory comments about Chuck Lorre gave his career a red signal and his acts of stupidity got covered and broadcasted by mainstream media. Sheen told media persons, during several TV and radio interviews, that he was a “warlock” and that too with “tiger blood.” His insanity went to a level that he even started uploading videos of himself smoking and cursing his employers. According to him, he was a rock star from Mars. He was right, of course, because his acts were not at all normal and were completely different from anyone living on earth. He also revealed that he had HIV and he after knowing this fact, he had sexual relations with around 200 partners.

7. Britney Spears

Her mental health issues, alcohol and drug abuse have ‘helped’ Britney to destroy her own career. We never saw Spears performing in the same way she used to. Once she was America’s leading pop singer and teen sensation. But now she is just a crazy lady who is solely responsible for ruining her career. We remember the teenager Britney singing, but we can’t also forget the lady who shaved her own head.

Britney is well aware of the fact that her career is over, but yes she has not given up. She announced her first residency show in Vegas and it is obviously a clear sign that the singer has admitted that her future in the industry is no longer bright. She tries her best to lip-sync and her team members never miss an opportunity to distract the audience, but the charm which she once possessed, that charisma, it’s gone. Sorry Britney, but that’s enough said and it’s over.

6. Judy Garland

Judy Garland did her best for more than forty years, but instead of getting a solid success during her adulthood, the American singer’s life went terribly wrong. In the 1940s her stellar performances turned into temper tantrums, she got fired from shows due to various reasons including no-shows. Drug use, alcoholism and failed marriages led her to the verge of bankruptcy.

Just after her 47th birthday, Judy died from an accidental overdose of prescribed medicines. In an industry where you are bound to have a great capacity to deal with outcomes of success and failures, Judy was the person who was simply focused on her performances. Unable to control her weight gain and pressure from Hollywood executives, Judy succumbed to the pressure and chose the wrong path for herself. And the star who ruled many hearts around the globe died broke with the tag of a drug addict pasted all over her.

5. Aaron Hernandez

From a rising NFL star to a convicted murderer, even his fellow sportsmen don’t have sympathy for Hernandez anymore. The man was blessed with the ability to outperform in sports but he chose the wrong path. He ruined several lives including his victims, their relatives and his own family and finally his own.

Aaron wasted his life. He destroyed everything including what he could have achieved in his professional football career. He was responsible for the death of Odin Lloyd and he was also responsible for several other crimes. Hernandez, who had a decade of greatness ahead of him before 2013, eventually decided to quit the world. On April 19, 2017, he was found hanging with his bed sheet in his cell.

4. Paula Deen

A lawsuit against Paula Deen put her career to an end. The celebrity chef and cooking show host lost several business partnership deals and was also kicked out by the Food Network after she admitted that she had used racial slurs in the past. Deen was accused of sexual and racial discrimination. The Deen family was sued by an employer by the name of Lisa Jackson who told the court that she suffered from racially offensive talks and sexual harassment. According to Lisa, Deen’s behaviour with black workers was horrible. Deen apologized to fans several times and even shot two videos for the same, but it was too late and her public image had been tarnished forever.

3. DMX

DMX is one of the best rappers of all time. He had won several awards, got nominated for the Grammys, bagged many good movies and featured with many big artists. However, just when he was about to reach the peak, the downfall of his career began. Accused of drug abuse, animal cruelty, burglary, weapon possession and driving under the influence drugs and alcohol, he ruined his public image forever.

Once at the JFK international airport, DMX was caught with drugs and weapon. The man tried to fool officers claiming to be an FBI agent and foolishly tried to carjack a vehicle. Several arrests and legal issues have now put DMX in a condition where no apology can remedy the situations.

2. Remy Ma

One early morning this female rapper, who is one of the five female rappers to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 charts, was standing outside the Pizza Bar. Next thing you know she shoots a lady named Barnes-Joseph, whom she thought to have stolen her money. Remy Ma simply refused to accept that she shot the woman, and was charged for witness tampering. Remy Ma became so stone-hearted that she ransacked the lady’s purse before driving away as the woman lay on the ground bleeding. Soon after a month, Remy Ma sent one of her male friends to attack a witness’s boyfriend. Remy Ma served six years in prison and got her career derailed. However, now she is in some sort of feud with Nicki Minaj – maybe that might reinvigorate her career again. 

1. Jared Fogle

This former television spokesperson for Subway got a life changing career opportunity when he lost a lot of weight and became an inspiring figure for obese people all around. His weight loss was attributed to Subway and as a result, his job as the company’s spokesperson got double secured. He became a role model for men who wished to lose weight but couldn’t resist their craving for junk foods. But startling, and in fact, shocking revelations about Jared brought him from the zenith to the nadir in a couple of seconds. Jared Fogle was found to be a pedophile, a person who sexually abuses children. This shocking news destroyed his entire career and reputation. In 2015, Fogle was found guilty for possession of child pornography and he even paid prostitutes to bring him minor girls for having sex. His text messages and secret voice recordings reveal that he had a special “craving” for underage girls and also minor boys. Fogle will remain behind the bars for a minimum of 13 years. Guess you’ll have to find someone else now to inspire you to shed your flabs.