There’s nothing quite like the sense of betrayal when you think you know a person but find out – usually in a terrible way – that they’re not at all who you thought.
When you find out that not only are they not so good, but are actually bad, it can feel like a double whammy – which is exactly what these 17 people are sad to have experienced.
17. Still hard to believe.
Bill Cosby.
He was a speaker at a graduation I went to, and talked about personal responsibility and accountability, and how the class’s generation needed to be better in that, rather than seeking immediate gratification and fuck him so hard for lecturing college grads about that while also being a fucking rapist.
Edit: this was a graduation for extended family. Don’t remember the university, I think it was a small to small-medium sized university in the midwest. Probably somewhere around 2002-2007.
16. Things that make you go ew.
Jimmy Savile. If you’re not from the UK Google him.
I grew up watching Jim’ll Fix It! From the mid-70s to turn of the 80s. His outward persona was that of a Saint. Starting as a DJ he spent his entire life running marathons for charities, supporting charities, they estimate he raised 40-50 million British pounds that went direct to charities over his lifetime. He donated time to do Public Safety Announcements, many UK folks on here late 40s onward will remember “Clunk Click Every Trip”. He was knighted by the Queen for his contributions to British society.
Before he died (2011) there had been investigations into sexual misconduct, but nothing really came to light in public. They now believe that he was the most prolific sexual predator that Britain has ever experienced with around 300 potential victims over 60 years, many of them children.
Savile was one of those people who I didn’t grow up following, but for most of my life (I’m 51), when I heard his name mentioned I had the utmost respect for him. I still remember very clearly when all of his atrocities began to be publicly disclosed. I was disgusted by him and profoundly sad, more than I expected, that this person who I had respected had betrayed that respect. His work for society was, at least originally, genuine if not sincere to his death, but at the same time, he was quietly “evil”, despicably preying on vulnerable people and kids.
People have gone back and thoroughly scrutinized his interviews and autobiographies and believe there are several components that could be interpreted as him regretting things he’s done, trying to admit what these were, and veiled calls for help. I have no sympathy for him, but he must have been a tortured individual.
15. Be careful on YouTube, y’all.
That one Youtuber that groomed a minor
Along with the other Youtuber that groomed a minor
and that other one
and that other one
and that other one
and that other one…
14. A bit too close to real life.
Stephen Collins (The pastor/dad from 7th heaven).
13. Role models should be closer to home.
Mason greenwood.
It’s a shame to see a role model for young kids, with so much football potential and do something disgusting like that.
I hope his former girlfriend is safe.
12. We were so wrong.
Josh Duggar.
He put out this squeaky clean image from the first season of 17 Kids and Counting, where he wouldn’t even kiss his fiancée until they were married.
Then years later he’s in the news for molesting his sisters, cheating on his wife using the Ashley Madison website (he was impacted in the leak of user info), assaulting the woman he cheated with, and now he’s in prison for child pornography.
Investigators say the stuff they found on his laptop was some of the worst they’ve ever seen. Guy’s a total piece of s*%t.
11. An unrepentant monster.
Ian Watkins, i loves lostprophets don’t get me wrong but i hate it now, i will never like any music or support any music or anything made by someone like Watkins.
This dude continues to be a monster from inside prison :
” On 9 October 2017, Watkins was accused of grooming a young mother from prison.”
10. Super weird is one word for it.
The Duggar’s in general.
I remember they used to keep updates on a site, don’t know if they do now. One of the Oldest girls mentioned she wanted to be a doctor, but later it seemed she chose to by pass college or something to ‘stay home’.
I don’t entirely think it was all her idea to stay home. Someones got to care for the absolute truckload of children after all.
It is super weird how they insisted, in an earlier season, that if any of their kids of either gender really wanted to go to college and have a career they’d support it, but I see more and more of their kids reach adulthood, and so far the girls just get married, I think one of them worked as a midwife for a little while, but no one’s gotten a college degree, and none of the boys seems to have found steady, gainful employment.
Now, they have 19 kids, I’ve seen parents of much smaller families say they’re not gonna put all their kids through college because they simply can’t afford it, and I think it’s valid to say “if you have a plan and that plan involves college, we’ll talk about it, but there are other legitimate paths to success,” but it also kinda seems like they were all heavily discouraged from pursuing career paths that required a degree.
9. You don’t want to believe it.
i’ved worked with a few humanitarian nonprofits and i dunno why, but i’ve seen a disproportionate amount of shitty people in them.
My first job out of college was for a non-profit that offered preschool and family counseling for low income families. I was so excited to be able to go to work and actually put my skills to, you know, a good cause instead of just generating value for shareholders all day.
Surely, it will also be filled with compassionate, thoughtful people, dedicated to the cause.
Nope. I should have been tipped off when I saw the flashy foreign cars in the parking lot at the office.
Insane egotism. Tons of people were just mean in a way I was unaccustomed to at work. Nobody wanted to help me, I got like zero training. My responsibilities were unclear. People were constantly talking shit about everybody else. Lots of people were really impatient/entitled. Really toxic. Total opposite of what I expected.
I work at a regular make your boss money job now and I’ve got a better work/life balance, make twice as much, and everybody just shows up to do their jobs, is polite, and goes home. People defer to others expertise and, basically just acted like actual adults. Wild.
8. The UK’s version of Mr. Rogers.
Rolf Harris.
Rolf Harris could have laid serious claim to have been the most beloved TV personality in the U.K. at the time. You couldn’t have imagined a kinder, gentler, seemingly compassionate man. Not to mention he was a kids TV hero with Rolf’s Cartoon Club etc. I still have trouble getting my head around it to be honest.
7. Pretty messed up.
Harold Shipman. His patients all absolutely loved him, to the point where they would write him into their wills just before he murdered them.
Even to this day, there’s people who he looked after still say he was the kindest doctor they ever had.
6. Quite the fall from grace.
Jared from Subway.
Went from having a mild cholesterol problem to having a child molesterol problem.
5. And he just kept doubling down.
Oscar Pistorius. He was my hero.
4. All of that time wasted.
Allison Effing Mack.
And to think I spent so much time forgiving her constant plugs for the Yaris on Smallville.
3. Not so funny.
Danny Masterson.
Such a letdown, the Steven Hyde character was fantastic and hilarious.
2. It was a different time.
OJ Simpson.
Fun Fact: he was almost cast as The Terminator but they thought no one would buy it because Simpson was known for being such a good guy.
1. There’s no defending him.
Roman Polanski.
The worst part about him is how people in Hollywood defend what he did because he’s “such a good artist” of a filmmaker.
Yeah, these definitely threw us for a loop for sure.
Has this ever happened to you? Tell us the story in the comments!
