It’s understandable why we admire celebrities. Many use their fame to support important causes, raise awareness, and donate to charity. On the surface, they seem like real-life heroes.
But behind every wholesome image is a team of publicists working hard to keep scandals under wraps and good deeds in the spotlight. So, while some stars appear squeaky clean, the reality is often more complicated.
And strangely enough, nothing seems to clear a celebrity’s reputation quite like their passing. That’s the theme of this viral Reddit thread, where people are naming famous figures whose shady histories were conveniently forgotten once they were no longer around.
Check out the most surprising examples below.
#42
Roald Dahl. Fervent antisemite who thought Hitler was spot on with his final solution.
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53points
#43
Not dead but Mark Wahlberg as a teen beat an Asian man and blinded him while hurling racist epithets.
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51points
#44
Elvis. He literally was having s*x with a minor.
49points
#45
Dr. Seuss had a barely-concealed extramarital affair while he was married to Helen Palmer, who was struggling with a chronic illness that left her disabled. She k****d herself in 1967, and Seuss married his mistress eight months later.
He was also heavily in favor of the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, and drew many political cartoons during the war in which Japanese people were depicted in an incredibly racist, stereotypical manner.
He was also heavily in favor of the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, and drew many political cartoons during the war in which Japanese people were depicted in an incredibly racist, stereotypical manner.
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49points
#46
Steve Jobs
The way he treated his Daughter and her Mother is appalling.
The way he treated his Daughter and her Mother is appalling.
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48points
#47
Kirk Douglas destroyed more than a few Hollywood actresses without punishment.
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46points
#48
Caroline Flack. She domestically abused her boyfriend by hitting him with a lamp while he slept. She couldn't take the heat of, rightfully, being called an a****r and committed s*****e. Her s*****e is promoted as a tragedy, while her abuse is swept under the rug. She even has a memorial bench in her hometown.
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37points
#49
Liam payne. 1d sub bans ppl for even saying he cheated on his gf with s*x workers he refused to pay the night before he died.
32points
#50
I highly suggest looking up "Behind the Bastards" podcast episodes on celebrities. The episode on John Wayne was the first that came to mind.
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31points
#51
Literally, "Saint" Patrick (and his predecessor, Palladius)
Following the Standard Operational Patterns of the era, Cardinal Patrick and his forces committed religious genocide across Ireland at the behest of the then current Pope Celestine I, converting the Island at the point of the sword from paganism to Catholicism (aka "driving out the Snakes"), using converts to his beliefs to force others to either convert or be k****d.
Following the Standard Operational Patterns of the era, Cardinal Patrick and his forces committed religious genocide across Ireland at the behest of the then current Pope Celestine I, converting the Island at the point of the sword from paganism to Catholicism (aka "driving out the Snakes"), using converts to his beliefs to force others to either convert or be k****d.
27points
