10 Celebs Who Are On The Hollywood Blacklist (And 5 Who Could Be Next)

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Hollywood can be a tough place for even the most seasoned performers to survive, especially for an extended time. Being in the spotlight means that people are judging your every move and all it takes is one poor decision, tweet, or statement to bring the dream crashing down. Just ask these stars – they all found themselves shunned by Hollywood for one reason or another.

The Hollywood blacklist is real, and once stars find themselves on this infamous list, the chances that they will get work or recognition drops well below zero. The blacklist first came to light in the late 1940’s when prominent screenwriters, actors, directors, and musicians ran the risk of landing up on the list if they were accused of having Communist ties or sympathies. These days it’s not political affiliations that land performers on the list, rather it’s their public personas and their relationships with Hollywood shot-callers that determine their career path.

While some of them seem deserving of this type of punishment, there are those who seem to have gotten the short end of the stick, and once they’ve been shunned it’s difficult for them to break back into the industry and most never succeed. Here are 10 stars who’ve been blacklisted by Hollywood and 5 who might find themselves on the list soon…

Katherine Heigl Couldn't Keep Her Mouth Shut

According to Hollywood insiders, Katherine Heigl has been blacklisted by several high powered executives in the industry and if this is true she’s going to have a hard time finding decent roles in the future.

Heigl rose to fame as Izzie on Grey’s Anatomy, a role which earned her an Emmy in 2007, but when she was nominated for a second Emmy for the role in 2008 that’s where things started to go wrong. Instead of just accepting her nomination and enjoying the spotlight, she withdrew her name, stating that she felt the writing for the character had been poor and undeserving of the nomination. The producers of the show were so offended that they soon wrote her out of the show. She was lucky enough to land a role in Knocked Up but after the film’s release, she called it “sexist”, further alienating herself from potential employers.

Few Execs Will Work With Kirk Cameron

Back in the late 1980’s Kirk Cameron was a teen heart-throb, a child actor who the world got to know as Mike Seaver on the show Growing Pains.

But during his teens, Cameron underwent a major change; he went from being an atheist to being a Christian. Now, while actors come from a range of spiritual backgrounds this shouldn’t have been a problem, but Cameron seemed to feel that the world needed to change along with him. He started to insist on wholesome storylines only for Growing Pains and it wasn’t long before the show was canceled.

Since then he’s only worked on Christian projects, some of which have done well such as Fireproof, but the controversy over his extreme religious views (like saying that homosexuality is unnatural and destructive) means that there are few mainstream executives who will consider working with him.

Could Be Next: Jim Carrey's Personal Drama Might Land Him On The Blacklist

Things are not looking good for our favorite 90's comedian, are they? The poor man has really suffered over the past few years with depression and personal problems and it hasn’t helped his career at all.

And when his former girlfriend Cathriona White was found dead of a prescription drug overdose in 2015, Carrey suddenly found himself in the spotlight again – but this time for all the wrong reasons. Now White’s ex-husband and her mother have both filed wrongful death suits against Carrey claiming that he used his wealth and status to illegally obtain the drugs involved in Cathriona’s death.

The case is scheduled for next year and there’s no telling what might happen to Carrey and his career if the outcome is negative. Will he be the next entry on the Hollywood blacklist?

Mel Gibson Was On The Blacklist For A Decade

Mel Gibson was once a highly sought-after actor and while is undoubtedly talented he only has himself to blame for landing on the Hollywood blacklist. And although he’s pleaded more than once to be let back into the fold, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon.

In 2006 Gibson was arrested for driving under the influence (he’s admitted to a serious drinking problem) and as if that wasn’t bad enough for his public image he made matters worse for himself by launching into an anti-Semitic rant in front of the arresting officers.

When TMZ later leaked the story that Hollywood shot callers were not impressed and ended up putting him on the blacklist for almost a decade. Thankfully friends like Robert Downey Jr. have been advocating for forgiveness for Mel, but there’s still a long road ahead.

Could Be Next: Should Hilary Duff Stick To Writing?

Unlike most other young Disney stars Hilary Duff was able to make the transition from child actor to adult star relatively painlessly. Although none of her many films from the early 2000’s were critically acclaimed she was a huge hit with young audience members and it looked as though she was ready to take on more challenging roles. But it never happened. She focused more on her music and even co-wrote a book (which went on to become New York Times bestseller) but her acting career stalled. Perhaps the problem was that she played almost the same character in every film and without an opportunity to see her range, producers just weren’t interested in hiring her. Maybe she should stick to the writing while she’s on the outs with Hollywood?

Thora Birch Upset One Too Many Folks In Hollywood

Thora Birch has not followed the career trajectory we all expected from her following her breakout role in American Beauty and it might have something to do with the projects that she's chosen to do.

In the early 2000’s with both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA nomination under her belt, she looked set to become Hollywood’s next sweetheart but instead, she’s slowly faded –almost into obscurity. While she’s still working her projects are low-key and as such don’t get that much attention. So what happened? Was Thora blacklisted? And if so, why?

According to Thora, she feels Hollywood kicked her out because of her difficult behavior. “I pissed a lot of people off over a long period of time and they found a way to upset me, hoping that upset would bring a change in my behavior. Like a distancing…But I’m done, I’m done. People wanted me to be not fine. A lot of it was bulls***,” she said.

Could Be Next: Is Jennifer Lopez Already On The List?

What happened to Jennifer Lopez’s film career? In the early 2000’s she was landing prominent roles in films like The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, and Monster-In-Law but it’s been a while since we’ve seen her in a movie.

She’s still working in film and television, but her roles are smaller and she’s taken quite a few voice parts to fill out her filmography.

But why? Did she just not have the talent to make it any further or was it her diva-like behavior on set that gave her a bad reputation? According to insiders, she is notoriously difficult to work with and has a long list of demands she needs to be met to appear in a film. This and the tantrums she throws when things don’t go her way might explain her notable absence.

Isaiah Washington's Slurs Put An End To His Career

Things started out so well for former Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington but it only took a few words to bring it all crashing down around him.

Allegations that he insulted co-star T.R. Knight with a homophobic slur got him some unwanted attention and he later made matters worse by using the same term again at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards during a red carpet interview. Shortly after the incident, he was written out of the show and found himself on the outs with Hollywood.

He’s managed to stay in the industry by doing independent and Hallmark films and he’s enjoyed some moderate success; he was nominated for two independent film awards for his performance in Blue Caprice in 2013, but his road to the A-list seems well and truly blocked off forever.

Jessica Biel Can’t Draw A Crowd

There are plenty of awards that actors aspire to win in Hollywood, but a Raspberry is not one of them. Also known as ‘Razzies', these awards are typically doled out for the worst performances in film and Jessica Biel has been nominated for the Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress not once, but twice.

At one time it looked like Jessica was set to have a promising career, but a string of flops and bad role choices has seriously damaged her chances to ever be a leading lady. Hollywood wants actresses who can fill a movie theatre and sadly Jessica just doesn’t seem to have what it takes.

But according to her, the lack of leading roles has nothing to do with her acting, she feels that her good looks have hampered her career.

Could Be Next: Megan Fox Might Be Headed For Disaster

Megan Fox’s career seems to have backslid over the past few years, and we think it might have something to do with a fall-out she had with powerful filmmakers Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.

Megan was fired from Transformers 2 when she compared Michael Bay to Hitler during an interview with Wonderland magazine, trying to make light of the fact that he was difficult to work with. Steven Spielberg was so enraged that he called for her to be fired on the spot. Then it looked like the pair had made amends and Bay hired her again for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, but since then she’s not getting much work. Could that have to do with that off-handed remark? Has it maybe landed her on the “Don’t Hire” list?

Jim Caviezel’s Offers Dried Up After The Passion Of The Christ

Before Jim Caviezel took on the role of Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ he was a rising star, winning over the critics with calculated performances in movies like The Thin Red Line and The Count of Monte Cristo. And even though The Passion of the Christ was largely successful, it was controversial and he feels that this role caused him to be shunned by Hollywood. He says that Mel Gibson even warned him that it might happen. “The next day, he said, ‘I want you to be aware of what you are going to go through. You may never work again.’ Caviezel then responded to Gibson saying, ‘Mel, this is what I believe. We all have a cross to carry. I have to carry my own cross. If we don’t carry our crosses, we are going to be crushed under the weight of it. So let’s go and do it.'"

Winning An Oscar Didn’t Do Mo’nique Any Favors

Mo’nique claims that she was “blackballed” from Hollywood because they felt that her demands while filming Precious were out of line. The actress, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the flick, said that she received a phone call from Academy Award-winning director Lee Daniels not long after the film’s release. “I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago. And he said to me, ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.’ And I said, ‘I’ve been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed?’ And he said, “Because you didn’t play the game.’ And I said, ‘Well, what game is that?’ And he gave me no response,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. As a result, she’s only managed to pick up three movies over the last eight years.

Could Be Next: Taylor Lautner Needs To Deflate His Ego – And Quick!

Having one hit movie does not turn you into an acting god right? Well, someone needs to tell Taylor Lautner that and quick, because he’s quickly heading for a place on the Hollywood blacklist.

According to insiders the success of Twilight overinflated his ego to an almost insufferable degree and he’s been demanding some pretty outrageous sums for movie roles – hence why we haven’t seen him much lately.

He apparently demanded around $7 million to star in Stretch Armstrong and a jaw-dropping $10 million to star in David and Goliath. For an actor without that much on his resume, these requests are laughable and the studios thought so too – hence why he lost out on both roles. If he’s serious about an acting career Taylor will need to tone down that ego and soon.

Did Jennifer Grey’s New Nose Ruin Her Career?

Okay, this one might seem a little ridiculous, but bear with us for a moment. Jennifer Grey was a very popular actress in the 80’s and you’ll probably remember her from iconic movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing. But sadly this was the highest point of her career – it’s all been downhill since then. According to Grey, she feels that it was the nose job she had done in the 90’s that got her shunned from Hollywood and derailed her career.

The problem was that after the plastic surgery she looked so different that even her fans didn’t recognize her – and that’s a big problem when you’re an actor. “I went into the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous,” she said. “It was the nose job from hell. I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes because of a nose job.” Ouch.

Hollywood Can’t Forgive CeeLo Green For His Offensive Tweets

Cee Lo Green gained worldwide attention for his song “Crazy” in 2006 and over the next few years his career flourished – he even started to pick up voice acting roles and appeared on his very own show; Cee Lo Green's The Good Life.

But it was the sexual assault charges and drugging charges levied against him in 2012 that basically destroyed his public image and this performer has been very quiet since then. It wasn’t just the charges themselves that caused problems for him, it was more the way that he responded to them that made people angry.

With tweets like "People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" and "If someone is passed out they're not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent", it’s no surprise that CBS canceled his show and that no-one wants to work with him now.