The Hollywood blacklist may be a myth, but for some reason, even the smallest issue can lead to an actor or actress getting shafted by directors and producers, virtually destroying their career. Some celebs give up and pivot, and others keep smashing their head against the wall until they make a breakthrough.
Let’s follow up on some of the most controversial cases, including Gina Carano, Roseanne Barr, and other celebrities, to see how life has been treating them after they got canceled.
Megan Fox
Although the actress starred in many big-budget Hollywood films, her harsh remarks about directors, other actors, and the media led to her being blacklisted. Before filming the third Transformers, Megan Fox compared director Michael Bay to Hitler. Whether this was the reason for her not appearing in the movie is still unknown, but it’s safe to say he did not like that. Thanks to the development of the #metoo movement, Fox crawled out of the blacklist den, but she did not receive any more noteworthy roles since then.
Gina Carano
Gina is probably best known for her roles in the Mandalorian and Deadpool, but it’s the infamy that we’re here to look at. To cut the story short, Carano voiced some very polarizing and outright stupid opinions on Twitter, and you already know how those people love to cancel stuff. While her tweets were far from okay, did they really warrant such a wild reaction? Lucasfilm clearly didn’t want to take a chance and swiftly fired the actress from the future seasons of the Mandalorian. After getting shafted, she tried to recover with a series called White Knuckle, but COVID came rolling in, and the project was canned.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson was once the epitome of an action hero, having starred in films such as Mad Max, Braveheart, and Lethal Weapon. His directing work was equally as impressive, if not more outstanding. But despite his talent, Hollywood turned its back on Mel Gibson in 2006 after the actor got pulled over for DUI and began spewing anti-Semitic, homophobic, and racist insults. Almost ten years later, people started forgetting and forgiving. In 2016 the actor/director received universal acclaim for Hacksaw Ridge and has been climbing the Hollywood ladder ever since.
Robert Downey Jr.
Popularity can really hurt you when you don’t take care of yourself. Robert Downey Jr. learned that life lesson the hard way. After the success of 1993’s Chaplin, the actor developed a drug and alcohol addiction which resulted in several arrests. Suddenly, his career went up in flames as he was written off from the Ally McBeal show. The future Marvel star spent many years working on those issues, and he clearly did well, as seen from his post-rehab projects. Not only did he land a Sherlock role, but he also became the most iconic character in the MCU – Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne has always been open about her political stance. Her views on society may annoy many people, but she has never shied away from sparking controversy. Barr was one of the ’90s celebrities who lost everything because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. When you call a survivor of a school shooting a Nazi, people will come after you. The network canceled the Roseanne series reboot 24 hours later. The reaction is so strong that the woman has been hiding ever since.
Brendan Fraser
Until recently, Fraser was one of the most sought-after actors. He played leading roles in high-grossing hits like George from the Jungle, Blast from the Past, and the Mummy trilogy. Then he suddenly disappears from Hollywood. There were various rumors about what happened to Fraser, from alcohol addiction to getting lazy and complacent, but Brendan claims that the true reason is quite different. In 2003, the actor had dinner with Philip Burke, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, when suddenly, Burke reached under the table and started touching Fraser in all the wrong places. Brendan quickly left the restaurant without even making a fuss since his career was on the line. And despite sending a letter to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, he was completely cut off by Hollywood, which resulted in severe depression. Thankfully, Fraser made a comeback in 2019 with the amazing series Doom Patrol before he was welcomed with standing applause for the 2022’s drama, The Whale.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen was once one of the top TV actors in Hollywood, but he’s been on a long hiatus since starring in the 2014’s sitcom Anger Management. He once announced that he was blacklisted in Hollywood after filing for alimony reduction for his ex-wives, Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller. Sheen claimed in court documents that he could not find steady work and was blacklisted from many aspects of the entertainment industry. Although he didn’t go into detail about it, it could be related to the erratic behavior he displayed in 2011 when he was fired from Two and a Half Men.
Kevin Spacey
In 2017, Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual harassment by actor Anthony Rapp, who said that in 1986 Kevin tried to persuade him to have sex. In response to this, Spacey came out as a homosexual and asked Anthony for forgiveness, although he noted that he did not remember this. At the same time, 15 more people, from men to women, who had worked with Kevin Spacey, came forward with similar accusations. Because of the scandal, Netflix announced that the actor would no longer star in the hit series House of Cards, and his other projects were swiftly canceled. Since then, Spacey appeared in several small projects, including The Man Who Drew God, Let Me Be Frank, and the upcoming movie Peter Five Eight.
