When it comes to stars, the brighter they burn, the faster they fade away.
Fame may not happen overnight, but it sure can disappear that quickly.
In the case of these celebs, one wrong decision cost them their staying power in the spotlight
-- and sometimes even more than that.
​Troy Duffy
The Boondocks Saints director Troy Duffy was something of an instant legend thanks to the
unusual way that his cult classic film came about.
So the story goes, he wrote the screenplay on his breaks from tending bar, and sold it
to Harvey Weinstein, who also offered to buy the bar where Duffy worked and sign it over
to him as part of the deal.
That's a sweet arrangement by any measure, but Duffy blew it by getting into an argument
with Ewan McGregor, whom Weinstein wanted for the pic.
"Harvey was sorta set on names, you know, so I shot a screen test with my guys to try
and convince him, and he was just kinda stuck on the movie star thing."
After Weinstein dropped the film, Duffy accepted a lesser deal that left him with no distribution
rights, so when the film finally earned its hype upon its DVD release, Duffy got nothing.
Though the film's underground success eventually led to a sequel 10 years later, The Boondock
Saints II barely made its money back at the box office and was also viciously panned by
critics.
Perhaps the third installment of the film series will mark a turnaround for the writer-director
at long last.
Sinead O'Connor
Pop singer Sinead O'Connor found out the hard way that going on the offensive against a
religious figure is a good way to end a career.
The singer appeared on Saturday Night Live and tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II
during her a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's "War."
But the sacrilegious act did more than just get the bald-headed songstress booted from
late night TV.
O'Connor was also instantly reviled.
At one demonstration, people threw their records, tapes and CDs of O'Connor's music into a pile
and had them crushed by a steamroller.
Her career never quite recovered, but she has no regrets about her decision.
"If it never did anything before or since I…
I would be happy.
If that was all I ever did on Planet Earth that's what I would be."
Nowadays, O'Connor's name only makes headlines for salacious reasons, like when she engaged
in a Twitter feud with Miley Cyrus.
​Oscar Pistorius
This double-amputee Olympic sprinter was a fan favorite.
Known as "Blade Runner," he became an international sensation after his performance in the 2012
Summer Olympics in London.
Though he failed to medal, his participation in the games was not only historic, but the
result of a five-year battle which overturned a court ruling stating that his prosthetic
legs gave him an unfair advantage.
But everything changed within six months when Pistorius was charged with the murder of his
model/actress girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
She was shot and killed by Pistorius on Valentine's Day in 2013 while she was locked in the bathroom
of his home.
Pistorius claimed he thought she was an intruder, but a jury didn't buy his self-defense plea.
He was convicted of manslaughter, and within a year, a higher court reversed that to murder,
which earned him a six year prison sentence and an untimely end to a once-promising athletic
career.
Ray Rice
NFL star Ray Rice ended his career in 2014 when he decided to physically assault his
then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in an elevator incident that was ultimately captured on video
and distributed by TMZ.
Rice and Palmer might have stayed together after the incident, and even married shortly
thereafter.
But his team, the Baltimore Ravens, dropped him from their roster immediately.
The NFL also suspended him indefinitely, although he successfully sued them and won a monetary
settlement for wrongful termination and was reinstated as a free agent.
However, Rice remained unsigned after years of begging any team to bring him on, even
pledging to donate his salary to domestic violence prevention organizations.
"I'm not going to give up.
I'm not going to give up on something I know I'm really good at."
Elizabeth Berkley
Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven did not mince words when he took the blame for his
movie ruining Elizabeth Berkley's career.
He told the New York Daily News,
"Showgirls certainly ruined the career of Elizabeth Berkley in a major way.
It made my life more difficult, but not to the degree it did Elizabeth's.
Hollywood turned their backs on her."
Verhoeven even attributed the "abruptness" of Berkley's performance to his direction.
Berkley has also publicly acknowledged the post-Showgirls destruction.
"At the time it wasn't really met with a lot of support There was a lot of criticism and
it was humiliating at the time and it…
It hurt."
She's since gone on to enjoy a stint on Dancing with the Stars and a few small screen cameos,
but her career has never been the same since.
Maybe she should've taken notes from her Saved by the Bell counterpart Jessie Spano, who
would've never, ever signed on to a poorly written stripper movie.
"Five bucks."
"(Shreek!)"
Mo'Nique
Winning an Academy Award is usually a golden ticket to A-list stardom, and with comedian
Mo'Nique's win for her powerful dramatic turn in 2009's Precious, it seemed like she was
destined for that track.
But the second she walked off that stage with her trophy in hand, everything went sideways.
She wouldn't get another role for five years until 2014's Blackbird.
Mo'Nique claimed she was told by director Lee Daniels that she had been blackballed
as a result of her husband's aggressive salary negotiation tactics.
Incredulous, Mo'Nique went on to blast Daniels, claiming she believed he was behind her career
downfall, because she didn't thank him in her Oscar acceptance speech.
"So no I was not blackballed, I was white balled.
By some black d**** who had no balls."
This did nothing to get Mo'Nique back into the good graces of the Hollywood elite, nor
did her later doubling down on both Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, who she accused of
conspiring against her.
Mo'Nique's career may have been unfairly pushed into an early grave, but she's been doing
nothing but shoveling dirt onto it ever since.
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