Hollywood isn’t all that different from high school; in many ways, the whole entertainment industry is like a giant popularity contest. Yet, despite the incredibly important benefits that come with being liked by powerful people, these X celebrities have managed to build thriving careers despite being disliked by their peers. It only goes to show that the only popularity contest that really matters is the one that tracks box office receipts, record sales, concert revenues and TV ratings.
1. Chris Brown
Chris Brown showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the quickest way to earn the scorn of your peers is to be a girlfriend-beating, abusive egomaniac. Even though Brown and Rihanna managed to patch things up, the inside scoop suggests that many powerful people inside the music industry have cut ties with Brown, which could have major consequences for his already flagging career. Brown’s suggestion that he was actually a victim in the whole Rihanna situation has only made things worse.
2. Shia LeBeouf
Controversial comments are the root of the reason LeBeouf isn’t exactly the most popular actor in Hollywood these days. Harrison Ford used some choice expletives to describe LeBeouf after LeBeouf publicly ripped Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. LeBeouf was also relieved from his duties in a Broadway play after clashing with co-star Alec Baldwin. Even though fans have welcomed LeBeouf’s frank honesty and lone-wolf rejection of the Hollywood popularity game, his attitude has made him a public enemy among insiders.
3. Justin Bieber
The Canadian-born pop superstar wasn’t doing himself any favors with his bratty antics, which included speeding up and down his street in his Lamborghini and egging his neighbor’s house. However, it was a 2014 dust-up in an Ibiza restaurant that really shone a spotlight on how much Bieber’s peers really loathe him. Actor Orlando Bloom was roundly cheered for throwing a punch at Bieber during a confrontation, while Bieber was being shown the door by security.
4. Kim Kardashian
Even among the excesses of Hollywood, you’re going to put people off when you have a $10 million wedding for a marriage that barely lasts two months. The gaffe cost Kardashian millions of fans and cemented her cringe-worthy reputation among her fellow celebrities, all while sending her star plummeting back to Earth. It only goes to show that when you build an entertainment career on being a spoiled, materialistic princess, you’ll have a pretty short shelf life.
5. Gwyneth Paltrow
Paltrow really seemed to rub her peers the wrong way with the release of her pretentious 2013 lifestyle cookbook It’s All Good. The book only fueled a growing perception that Paltrow is a whiny, annoying brat with a penchant for putting her foot in her mouth. Comments like “I’d rather die than let my kid eat Cup-a-Soup” certainly haven’t helped her cause, nor has her proclamations about how she’s treated like an in-the-know local when she visits Paris.
6. Anne Hathaway
The hate-in for Hathaway reached a fever pitch after the talented but maligned actress took home an Academy Award for her work in Les Miserables. The Hollywood grapevine reports that industry insiders were rolling their eyes during Hathaway’s perfectly polished acceptance speech, which dripped with nauseatingly feigned humility. According to one insider, Hathaway makes everything “about her,” and her attempts at modesty only make things worse. At one point, a Google search containing the terms “Anne Hathaway” and “hate” generated over 36 million results.
7. Jay Leno
Word is that the current king of late night television plummeted in the popularity standings after worming his way back onto The Tonight Show at Conan O’Brien’s expense. According to insiders, NBC is quietly urging Leno into retirement, as they plan to replace him with Jimmy Fallon at the first available opportunity. Purveyors of celebrity conspiracies swear that a growing number of A-list stars are intentionally snubbing Leno’s invitations to appear on his show, ostensibly to punish him for his actions.
8. Jennifer Lopez
J-Lo has earned a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with. According to the inside scoop, she won’t sign on to a project unless the producers meet her insane list of diva demands, and is prone to throwing temper tantrums and starting pointless arguments on set. Given that all this bad behavior comes with a widespread belief among her peers that she can’t even act, it’s little wonder she isn’t exactly well-liked in professional circles.