Success doesn't last forever for everyone.
Some celebrities destroyed their own reputations in a matter of seconds, while others took
a little more time to dismantle their Hollywood heydays.
Comedian Shane Gillis nearly joined Saturday Night Live as a cast member in 2019, but he
was fired before ever appearing in a single sketch.
What happened?
Seth Simons, whose Twitter account describes himself as a "Freelance Newsletter-Based Comedy
Labor Journalist," posted clips of Gillis on Twitter making remarks and jokes that some
interpreted as sexist, homophobic, or racist.
The press circulated the isolated commentary, which included derogatory joke remarks about
Chinatown and its residents, as well as about Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Andrew
Yang.
After days of public outcry, a rep for SNL said in a statement:
"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL.
[...] We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process
was not up to our standard."
Gillis then posted a quasi-apology on Twitter, writing:
"It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are.
I'm a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL.
That can't be taken away.
Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be
too much of a distraction.
I respect the decision they made.
I'm honestly grateful for the opportunity.
I was always a Mad TV guy anyway."
Jenelle Evans was fired from her longtime gig on MTV's Teen Mom franchise, and what's
tragic is that it wasn't even entirely her fault.
In May 2019, Us Weekly reported that MTV cut ties with Evans after her second husband,
David Eason, shot her French bulldog, Nugget, that April.
While it's unclear whether the incident or its aftermath is what made MTV pull the plug,
many advertisers, most notably the pet treat company Greenies, backed out of Teen Mom 2
at the time.
Evans even temporarily lost custody of her children after the horrifying event.
MTV had already severed its relationship with Eason in February 2018 after it was discovered
he posted homophobic comments on social media.
Although the show attempted to film around Eason, this caused Evans to appear less and
less on the series, which likely made it easier for MTV to flatline her reality TV career
entirely.
"That's why I said I need to think about this, because that's a big decision."
Thankfully, Evans is easing her way out of what she alleges was an incredibly abusive
marriage.
She announced in October 2019 that she was divorcing Eason, and E! News reported in November
that Evans obtained a restraining order against him.
Of all things for TMZ cameras not to catch: TMZ Live personality Van Lathan was fired
from the show in October 2019 after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with fellow
TMZ talking head Michael Babcock in the newsroom.
Page Six reported that Lathan and Babcock got into a spat that was edited out of the
show, and that after filming wrapped the same day, Lathan confronted Babcock behind the
scenes, which led to his termination.
Lathan later appeared on Jemele Hill's podcast Jemele Hill Is Unbothered, where he revealed
Babcock was actually his closest friend in the TMZ offices and that he was unhappy that
he was portrayed in the media as, quote, "a dangerous or mean, mad, angry guy."
He also said his colleagues threw him a farewell party when they learned of his firing and
that Babcock attended.
Lathan also told Hill that he'd planned on leaving TMZ eventually, it just happened sooner
than he expected and not on his own terms.
Still, Lathan may not be toast: In November 2019, Lathan, who still hosts his Red Pill
podcast, was added to the lineup of the Central Ave TV show, where he continues to probe the
important issues of our time.
"What makes John Legend sexy to you?"
Former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Diane Neal killed her public image and possibly
her co-star camaraderie after her alleged tirades leaked in a real-life court battle
with her ex, magician JB Benn.
Neal, who lost a campaign for New York's 19th Congressional District in 2018, allegedly
told her then-campaign manager Rachael Himsel that all of her SVU co-stars were, quote,
"awful people," and that she only got along with Ice-T, according to court documents obtained
by Page Six.
It wasn't just her co-star smack talk that made Neal look like a PR disaster.
Audio recordings Benn allegedly made of Neal revealed her verbally abusing him and making
sinister threats.
In one clip, Neal allegedly calls Benn, quote, "a horrible, horrible person."
Himsel reportedly said in court documents that she feared for Neal's mental health,
and that Neal frequently spoke of wanting to axe Benn.
Neal alleged that Benn was abusive on the day one of the audio recordings was made.
She also denied saying the comments about her SVU costars, adding of Mariska Hargitay:
"Mariska and I were not the closest, but that doesn't mean we have any animosity towards
each other, we're still very supportive of each other."
These aren't the only celebs who screwed up in 2019.
Check out our other list of career-ending blunders right here!
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