Not every celebrity is, well, celebrated.
Some stars drum up more controversies than fans — and still keep going despite the
fact that the public has made it pretty clear they aren't very interested anymore.
Based on backlash, as well as sales, these are the stars people just can't seem to stand.
Katherine Heigl
It's not just audiences who've been backing away from Katherine Heigl.
Studios and casting agents have also shied away from dealing with the notoriously difficult
former A-lister.
One source close to her film One For The Money said it was toxic to even use her in ads,
telling Vulture, "Look at the TV spots: You notice that they're not calling her out?
There's no 'Katie Heigl stars in…'
They're going out of their way to not mention her.
[...] Because when you don't call out a movie star like that?
They know there's an issue.
She did something to turn everyone off."
Heigl admitted as much herself in a December 2011 interview with Elle in which she lamented,
"I've never really been America's sweetheart, but for a minute I think that's what they
wanted me to be.
And I had 'em for a second thinking maybe I was.
And then I opened my mouth and it was clear I wasn't."
Indeed her mouth has gotten her into some major trouble with the wrong people before.
She notoriously bit the hand that fed her by refusing to submit her work on Grey's Anatomy
for an Emmy nomination, saying, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season
to warrant an Emmy nomination."
Creator Shonda Rhimes was not too pleased with that comment and let the actress go off
to step into a minefield of critical and box office bombs.
Robin Thicke
After a lifetime of living in the shadow of his famous father Alan Thicke, singer Robin
Thicke finally became a name all his own once with the hit single "Blurred Lines" in 2013.
Thicke's album sold hundreds of thousands of copies as a result.
Unfortunately, that sudden star status took a toll on his off-stage behaviors, as he was
notoriously caught with his hand on a woman's rear while still married to his wife Paula
Patton.
His racy on-stage performance with Miley Cyrus at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards certainly
didn't help matters, and his marriage very publicly dissolved soon after.
Thanks to disappointing album sales with his next effort, an apology album titled Paula,
and his recurring role in gossip headlines, Thicke's star status has certainly faded these
days.
Chris Brown
Hip hop star Chris Brown has had a lot of hit songs despite his bad reputation, but
there are some things the public seems unwilling to forgive.
After he was notoriously caught abusing former girlfriend Rihanna, Brown tried to revitalize
his career, but former fans weren't buying the new albums he was selling.
In December 2016, he released a surprise single called "Party," then went on a since-deleted
social media rant when it didn't sell well, writing, "Everyone of you who follows me and
has fake pages being fake supporters is a lil bogus.
BUYMYS**T."
So, yeah.
Obviously he still has some rage issues.
Madonna
There's no doubt that Madonna is a music legend who definitely earned her Hall of Fame status.
But over the years, fans have waxed and waned over their continued interest in the legendary
songstress.
While she did enjoy a brief resurgence in the mid-2000s, sales have since dropped for
her records.
2015's Rebel Heart, for example, was a massive flop compared to her former hauls.
The album moved only 238,000 copies, as opposed to 2008's Hard Candy, which sold 758,000 copies.
Tactics like appropriating imagery from the Civil Rights and anti-apartheid movements
to promote her album probably did more harm than good.
Still, her powerful speech at the Women's March in January 2017 proved she's still a
force to be reckoned with, so don't count her out completely — especially if she's
got a sick beat and a good promotional team behind her.
Jenny McCarthy
It seems like Jenny McCarthy can't talk about anything without the discussion coming back
to her controversial opinions on medicine.
The former Playmate doesn't have an M.D., but that didn't stop her from spouting anti-vaccine
rhetoric for years — before somewhat backpedaling.
She also perpetuated damaging falsehoods about HIV and AIDS when she found out Charlie Sheen
was diagnosed with HIV after she guest starred in Two And A Half Men alongside the troubled
actor.
The public refuses to let her forget it, even reminding her of her alleged anti-vaccine
body count when she poses innocuous, unrelated questions online.
Perhaps if McCarthy spent less time talking about science and more time just being funny,
she'd have a bigger fanbase.
Iggy Azalea
Few stars have had rises as meteoric and falls as rapid as Iggy Azalea.
The Aussie-born rapper had one of the biggest songs of 2014 with "Fancy," followed by her
hit "Black Widow" and her verse of Ariana Grande's "Problem."
Unfortunately for Azalea, those single sales didn't translate to ticket sales, and she
had to scrap an entire arena tour in 2015 for lack of interest.
That's not the only letdown she's dealt with over the past few years.
In late 2014, Azalea became a punchline when a video showing her struggling to freestyle
went viral and called to question her true talent as an MC.
"Tire Monks, tire monks.
Finish line with the fire monks."
Her November 2014 album, Reclassified, did nothing to improve her stature as it only
sold an estimated 11,000 copies in its first week, with single "Trouble" peaking at No.
67 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Then in the spring of 2015, a viral petition was launched to rescind her Billboard Music
Award for Best Rap Song for "Fancy."
By January 2016, Azalea complained that her label didn't even want to release a video
for her struggling single "A Zillion."
The clincher came when she went toe-to-toe with the Princess of Pop herself, Britney
Spears, over who was to blame for the lack of success their "Pretty Girls" collaboration.
Considering fans have long familiarized themselves with Spears' work ethic…
"You better work, bitch."
… it wasn't too hard for the public to pick sides in that battle of the blondes.
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