It is sad to note that many of the celebs that 90s kids grew up watching and listening to, way before following these stars on social media were a thing, are now being accused of the most heinous crimes, crimes that fans were oblivious to at the time. Which I honestly find unfair, my thoughts.
The cultural obsession with celebrities has been going on for a while now. Growing up many 90s kids saw a lot of the biggest stars and celebrities today get their burgeoning start during that decade as well. It surely was a promising time in the world of music, arts, film, and entertainment in general.
In the world that we live in today, cases of celebrities being embroiled in one scandal or another
On that note here are some of these celebs whose reputations are not what they used to be.
Michael Jackson
Pop singer Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, and died June 25, 2009, at the age of 50. Dubbed the “King of Pop”, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
He was also known for his unorthodox lifestyle, residing in a private amusement park he called Neverland Ranch and often becoming the focus of tabloid scrutiny.
In the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy due to his changing appearance, relationships, and behavior. The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5.
He started his solo career in 1971 and became even popular in the 90s with hits like ‘Beat it’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Thriller’ and ‘We are the one’. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend; the case led to an investigation and was settled out of court for $25 million in 1994.
In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.
In 2019, the infamous documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ detailed renewed allegations of sexual abuse by two men who claimed they were abused by the late singer as kids and led to an international backlash against Jackson while the Jackson family insists that he was innocent.
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. born on July 12, 1937, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry Inn in San Francisco during the 1960s.
He then landed a starring role in the television show ‘I Spy’, followed by his own sitcom ‘The Bill Cosby Show’, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to 1971. Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in the television sitcom ‘The Cosby Show’, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and was rated as the number one show in America for 1985 through 1989.
The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. Cosby produced the spin-off sitcom ‘A Different World’, which aired from 1987 to 1993.
He also starred in The Cosby Mysteries from 1994 to 1995 and in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and hosted ‘Kids Say the Darndest Things’ from 1998 to 2000.
Cosby’s reputation was damaged by numerous sexual assault accusations, the earliest of which date back decades. In the mid-2010s, more than 60 women accused him of either attempted assault, rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct, allegations he denies, for which the statute of limitations had by then expired in nearly all cases.
After a year-long trial, Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to three to ten years in prison in September 2018. He held an active career for over six decades before being convicted.
R.Kelly
Born Robert Sylvester Kelly on the 8th of January 1967 is an American singer and producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play.
Referred to as the king of RnB or the pied piper, Kelly is known for various songs including ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, ‘Bump N’ Grind’, ‘Ignition (Remix)’, ‘The World’s Greatest’, ‘I’m a Flirt (Remix)’, and ‘Trapped in the Closet’.
In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for ‘I Believe I Can Fly’. Since the 1990s, Kelly has been the subject of numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, often with underage girls, all charges he “categorically denies”.
In 2002, he was indicted on 13 counts of child pornography but was acquitted of all charges in 2008. In January 2019 following the release of the damning docu-series Surviving R. Kelly which detailed allegations of sexual abuse by multiple women, allegations Kelly denies the #MuteRKelly became more alive.
Facing pressure from the public using the #MuteRKelly hashtag, RCA Records dropped Kelly. Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
This trend begs the question, will we soon have no 90s celebs to celebrate?