Top 10 Falls From Grace
Nowadays we put celebrities and sports stars on a pedestal. Sometimes they fall down though. When they fall we often take an uncomfortable pleasure in their struggles. If you make a mistake then you just move on. When these guys make a mistake it is a headline. When they make a big mistake they tumble to the ground from their pedestal and are headline news around the world for weeks. Let's look at 10 of the most spectacular falls from grace for our modern day celebrities.
1. OJ Simpson
Once an America legend and regarded as one of the greatest players in the NFL, OJ had the nickname of “The Juice” and was held in high esteem by sports fans throughout the US. His clean living image had helped him to build up a multi million dollar fortune through his career and after. It all went to dust though on the night of June 12th 1994. His ex-wife and her friend were found shot dead in front of his house. No-one will forget the images broadcast on TV of OJ Simpson fleeing the police in his car. He became one of the most famous murder suspects in legal history as he placed into a TV trial and media circus. He is now a name synonymous with the phrase 'to get away with murder.'
2. Tiger Woods
Tiger took golf to a whole new level and was widely regarded as the greatest player ever, as well as being a great black role model for millions around the world. However, in 2010, rumours of infidelity began to surface. His carefully manufactured image was cracking. For a while it seemed like every day, there was some new Las Vegas whore, stripper or porn star who added their name onto the long list of women whom Tiger Woods had allegedly worked his way through. While he destroyed fellow golfers on the course, off the course he also managed to destroy his marriage and his reputation at the same time.
3. Ryan Giggs
Giggs was one of the UK's most celebrated footballers with an image built on being a clean living family man. Despite trying to stop his story spreading via the use of court orders, finally the dam burst for Ryan Giggs. First news broke of an alleged affair with an ex-Big Brother house mate, then came the even more devastating news he had also been sleeping with his real big brother's wife, Natasha, for eight years – is that what we call a family man?
4. Britney Spears
Britney was once the squeaky clean American pop princess. Despite all the fame fortune and good looks that she possessed, she was the daughter everyone wanted – in fact she was even still a virgin. A few years later though and she was drunk and getting hitched in Vegas, then getting an annulment before jumping into a 'real marriage' with one of the dancers from her pop videos and pushing out a couple of kids – before finally filing for divorce yet again. That was just the warm up as she continued by losing her mind, getting a new dramatic hair(less) style and ended up being dragged off to the crazy house.
5. Tom Cruise
As Johnny Depp overtook him as being the most desirable man on the planet, Tom Cruise decided that the best way to win back fans and boost his popularity was by becoming decidedly weird. Few people didn't feel the urge to look away as he surfed the couch on Oprah and declared to
the world he was in love. Next up, he got in a fight with Matt Lauer over him not understanding the evils of psychiatry and also became a prophet for the weird world of Scientology. The fall from grace was complete. It is now difficult to see Tom in a film without a hint of a smirk on your face appearing.
6. Tonya Harding
Here we find a special twist in the world of sporting rivalries. She was once skating at the highest level for her country, but by the early 1990s Tonya's career was in decline with even failing to medal at the 1992 Olympics. By 1993 her career was most probably beyond repair – however, nobody saw what was to come next. Her biggest rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was assaulted during practice by a person hired by Harding's ex-husband. The plan backfired as it all came out and she was banned by the US Skating Federation for life. She must count herself lucky not to be an accessory to murder though.
7. Marion Jones
Marion Jones' achievements were applauded and reignited interest in athletics in the US. She was the all American world beater who had won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics – two bronze and three gold (however, you won't find a record of those accomplishments now). Marion has given all her medals back after it was revealed that she had been using performance boosting drugs to gain an edge throughout her career. The female icon of athletics nearly lost it all – they let her keep her NCAA basketball title which she won at North Carolina though.
8. Michael Vick
Michael Vick was an animal on the football field, something people had never seen before. He was the ultimate football player and one of the NFL's hottest properties. The top sports players though also have a certain level of intelligence – Vick failed on this count in both sporting terms and general terms. He showed he was an animal off the field as well when he decided to fund a dogfighting ring – a crime which put him behind bars. Once the pride of the NFL and one of the most spectacular players to have ever played, Vick is now back playing, trying to restore his reputation.
9. George Bush
He was elected president of the United States in 2000 – the man everyone in the modern world looks to for answers. Now his verbal blunders have led to him becoming an international symbol of incompetence. Maybe not scandalous, but surely it is a fall of grace for the US president to know be better known for his 'Bushisms' than his politics and achievements.
10. Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson was once undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He was the boxer that had brought boxing back onto the main stage again. Soft spoken one moment, scarily fierce the next – Mike Tyson had a certain charisma which, combined with his rise from poverty to the top of the mountain, made him a promoter's dream. Then came all the scandal – the rape conviction, the ear biting, and plenty more insanity after he was released from behind bars. The legend was destroyed leaving a very pale replacement.
With a fall from grace comes the chance for redemption as many of these celebrities are finding. I guess seeing them as flawed helps to make them seem a little more human. It takes a while, but sometimes we can forget. Other times you end up on Celebrity Big Brother.
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