6 Infamous Celebrity Meltdowns

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Celebrities may be only human—but their meltdowns tend to be as big as their bank accounts.

The pressures of fame are immense. At first, the relationship between a celebrity and his or her fans is like a honeymoon—everything is great. The attention and adoration are wonderful. The recognition is bolstering.

But that doesn’t last long with most celebrities. Soon enough, the onslaught of camera flashes, desperate fans, and a lack of privacy begin to wear anyone down. Coupled with what is often a lifestyle of instant gratification, this creates the perfect environment for a very imperfect moment. And, unfortunately, when meltdowns happen, the cameras are almost always rolling.

Some celebrities explode with the regularity of a geyser, somehow managing to shrug off the negative press with ease, while others have lost all celebrity credibility in one volcanic instant, but all are fascinating in the same way that a long-abandoned building is—there is a kind of morbid fascination in ruin that we just can’t look away from.

Let’s indulge that fascination and take a look at 6 of the most infamous celebrity meltdowns in recent history.

Justin Bieber

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As one of the most polarizing figures currently working in the music industry, Justin Bieber is a celebrity who is simultaneously idolized and vehemently hated.

There are good reasons for both. A talented performer, Bieber entered the record books as the youngest male artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is adored by millions of fans, also known as “Beliebers”.

But Bieber, like many child stars, is not without his problems.

Whether it’s urinating in some poor janitor’s mop bucket, speeding, egging his neighbor’s home, or defacing a hotel with graffiti, Justin Bieber is no stranger to bad behavior.

He was at his worst and, arguably, his most dangerous, when he lashed out at a photographer outside a London hotel. Here’s how it went down.

Bieber, clad in red sweatshirt and cap and protected by bodyguards, is rushed through a group of paparazzi and bundled into a black SUV. Along the way, it appears that one of the bodyguards pushes aside a photographer, who protests loudly, explicitly telling the group to “Go back to America”.

A few seconds later, Bieber rushed from the vehicle, struggling to get at the photographer, fighting against his bodyguards as they hold him back, threatening the photographer with a beating before being shoved back into the SUV by his own entourage.

Not his best moment.

Britney Spears

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It’s no secret that Britney Spears when through a period of decidedly strange behavior marked by new tattoos, bizarre claims, and a shaved head.

But this behavior reached beyond strange and delved into dangerous when the singer released her anger at photographers by channeling it through an umbrella.

After stopping off at a gas station, photographers in hot pursuit, Spears emerged from her car brandishing a green, metal-tipped umbrella.

Things got heated when Spears, on foot, pursued photographers to their car and there, in the dark, the dark night lit up by lightning-like camera flashes which made the entire scene seem something from a horror movie, Spears gave at least one reporter a whack, and damaged a car, as well, her umbrella flashing about like a mace.

Thankfully, Britney has since made a recovery, both personally and career-wise. But it’s doubtful she’ll ever fully leave behind the iconic image of that umbrella.

Chris Brown

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Far from being entertaining, R&B star Chris Brown’s outbursts are of a more malevolent sort.

Brown has been accused of numerous altercations which have ended in violence against women, including a gun-related threat.

His most famous incident, though, involved his then-girlfriend, Rihanna.

During an argument concerning Brown receiving texts from another woman, Brown became violent, punching Rihanna repeatedly, choking her, and threatening to kill her.

Desperate to stop the pummeling, she fended Brown off with kicks, her screams prompting someone nearby to call the police. The photos of Rihanna’s battered face were more than enough evidence for a charge of felony assault.

Despite this, Brown’s career has continued to soar on without a hitch, the incident seemingly forgotten by the singer’s fans. Out of all the celebrity meltdowns on this list, however, this may be the one to remember the most as it resulted in real harm, both emotionally and physically.

Charlie Sheen

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Oh, Charlie Sheen. How strange you became.

Not satisfied with one particular incident, Charlie Sheen’s public meltdown lasted for two straight weeks, resulting in some of the weirdest comments we’ve ever heard spoken by a celebrity with a straight face.

Of his dismissal from the set of “Two and a Half Men,” Sheen said, in a statement to TMZ, that “This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales.”

This was only the beginning. He went on, in the next few days, to threaten to sue CBS for canceling the show, and demanded a raise from $2 million per episode to $3 million.

Videos began to surface of Sheen speaking incoherently, rambling on about disappearing gold, tiger’s blood, magicians’ rabbits, and how telephones are built by trolls. He repeatedly claimed to be “winning,” in what became the buzzword of his downfall.

As was suspected, much of this was drug-induced, and Sheen has since spent time in rehab, slowly coming back down to earth.

Fortunately, though, he left us with some wonderful videos! Winning!

Alec Baldwin

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Alec Baldwin has never been particularly friendly with photographers, and for good reason. But the celebrity crossed the line from privacy enthusiast to meltdown territory in one particular incident.

Baldwin was approached by a Daily News photographer after leaving the Marriage Bureau in 2012, and immediately went into “raging bull” mode upon being photographed.

“He comes after me, starts shoving and punching me,” the photographer is quoted as saying in the New York Daily News. “And then he started shoving me, and pushing me. He lunged at me like a raging bull.”

Pictures back up these claims, showing the much-larger Baldwin grabbing the photographer, whose face is a study in panic.

This counted as Baldwin’s third violent encounter with a photographer, the actor having one attack in California in 1995, and one in New York in 2010.

You’d think that someone who has been in the spotlight as long as Baldwin has would have found better ways to evade the cameras than his fists!

Kanye West

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It’s tough to pick just one incident with the infamous Kanye West, but the performer’s Saturday Night Live rant is, quite possibly, his crowning achievement in infamy, even beating out his interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

The amazement factor here isn’t in the anger—we’ve heard angrier from, say, Alec Baldwin. It wasn’t crazy or drug fueled.

It was pure, unadulterated ego.

Just before performing live on SNL, West’s set was changed by the show’s crew.

Big mistake.

West, to put it bluntly, flipped his proverbial wig, comparing himself to Stanley Kubrick, Picasso, Pablo Escobar, and Paul the Apostle, verbally adding himself to the pantheon of greats which will continue to shine in the ranks of human song for the next thousand years.

Or something like that.

That’s just what recorded. Reportedly, Kanye also threw a handful of racial slurs at the rest of the cast and crew. A representative of West explained the incident, saying that “Right before he was about to go on live television, they took his stage apart. Like any artist, he’s a perfectionist, and wanted his performance to be right. Of course he was upset.”

Racial slurs and comparisons to Paul the Apostle, all in one speech? Don’t call that upset. Call it a meltdown.