Chris Brown
By 2009, Chris Brown had earned his throne atop the R&B and pop charts and quickly became
a fixture in headlines as his relationship was Rihanna was heating up.
But everything came to a screeching halt on February 8, 2009.
After attending a pre-Grammy party, things between the two turned hellish as they argued
over a sexual text message Chris received from another woman, and the conflict escalated
to violence.
Chris assaulted the pop star, leaving her battered and bruised, and Chris was officially
charged with felony assault and felony criminal threats.
He was later sentenced to five years probation and 1,400 hours of labor service.
And he'll forever be condemned by the court of public opinion as a result of his actions.
R. Kelly
In the '90s, R. Kelly was the king of R&B — until his scandal made headlines.
His sometimes raunchy sex-life, as depicted in his lyrics, came too close to home when
he was accused of a heinous crime in 2002.
Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child --------- and a tape surfaced allegedly showing Kelly
having --- with a minor.
He faced a $100,000 fine and 15 years in prison.
If convicted, he would become a registered sex offender.
In a statement, he said, "Even though I do not believe any of the charges are warranted,
I'm grateful that I will have a chance to establish the truth about me in a court of
law.
I have complete faith in our system of justice, and I am confident that when all the facts
come out people will see that I'm no criminal."
It took the state of Illinois six long years to get Kelly into the courtroom...and a jury
ultimately found R. Kelly not guilty on all charges.
However, since the case made headlines, he's become the butt of many jokes and has a hard
time living down the stain and comedic hot takes of the allegations.
Sinead O'Connor
In 1992, at the top of her music game, Sinead O'Connor sent her career into a tailspin after
a controversial performance on Saturday Night Live.
The singer was performing an a cappella version of Bob Marley's "War" with changed lyrics
to bring attention to the rampant child abuse in the Catholic Church.
At the end of her emotional performance, O'Connor ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II.
"Fight the real enemy."
And it left audiences stunned.
Years later, she admitted that her decision to smear the Pope was inspired by Bob Geldof,
who ripped up a photo of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John on television.
She explained her thought process, saying, "What if someone ripped up a picture of the
Pope?'
Half of me was just like: 'Jesus, I'd love to just see what'd happen.'"
But O'Connor's career is what was ripped into two in the process.
Talk about a holy upset.
Robin Thicke
Alan Thicke's son, Robin Thicke was on top of the world in 2013.
He had a huge hit, "Blurred Lines," and was set to perform it along with Miley Cyrus on
the MTV Video Music Awards.
While everyone was sure the performance would be something to talk about, few knew it would
be so raunchy and sexually suggestive.
When the performance was complete, the pair caught a lot of flack.
Thicke tried to dodge the drama as if he wasn't in on the over-the-top sexiness…
"In rehearsals it seems a little more playful it seems a little bit more Betty Boop a little
cuter, and I wasn't really part of her performance, you know.
She had already set the stage."
...but his stage partner but the kibosh on the innocent act.
Cyrus told The New York Times, "He acted like he didn't know that was going to happen.
You were in rehearsals!
You knew exactly what was going to happen."
To make matters worse, the internet slammed Thicke's next album, Paula, which was created
to help heal his broken marriage to Paula Patton.
But it all turned out to be a terrible publicity tour that left Thicke crying in videos and
performances.
Thicke told The New York Times that people told him he looked like a sucker and added,
"it hit me that I'd lost my perspective…
What I thought was romantic was just embarrassing."
The album, which did not save his marriage, sold a dismal 48,000 copies by the end of
2014.
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige has forged a durable bond with her fans through decades of songs that make
them feel like they know her on a personal level.
But but even that wasn't enough to help them connect with an ad she'd done for Burger King.
In the spring of 2012, a leaked version of Blige's commercial, showing her singing about
a fried chicken wrap, caused a stir.
The star was accused of playing up racial stereotypes.
While the ad was immediately yanked from the air, the flames were still hot under both
BK and Blige.
It was a mistake she'll never forget.
Months later, Blige spoke up about the matter by saying, "I want to apologize to everyone
that was offended or thought that I would do something so disrespectful to our culture.
I would never do anything like that purposefully.
I thought I was doing something right.
So forgive me."
Upon seeing the video for the first time, Blige recalls being horrified, saying, "Oh
my God, my heart dropped down to my stomach.
I got this sweat and I said, real calm, 'This too shall pass.'
But it just kept getting worse and worse and worse."
"But the thing that hurt me is when people were startin' to say vicious negative things
that didn't have nothing to do with that."
Natalie Maines
Politics and country music are a tough mix — a painful lesson Dixie Chicks' lead singer
Natalie Maines learned in 2003.
The singer received a firestorm of backlash after sayings not-so kind remarks about then-President
George Bush.
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
Almost immediately, the radio stations across Texas began trashing the group's records and
boycotting their act.
Stations also hosted informal polls asking fans if their music should be banned from
airwaves.
In response to the drama, Maines released a statement saying, "We are currently in Europe
and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war … . I
love my country.
I am a proud American."
Many didn't find her remarks to be remorseful enough, and the band hemorrhaged fans as a
result of the statement.
Years later, though, it looks like the public may be willing to finally forgive them, as
they regroup for a reunion tour.
But the Dixie Chicks of today are but a shadow of the hit-making squad they once were.
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