VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton WRITTEN BY: Don Ekama
#20: Tessica Brown [aka the Gorilla Glue Girl]
In January 2021, Tessica Brown ran out of her favorite hair spray and decided to use Gorilla Glue as a substitute. Little did she know that decision would change her life. The extra strong adhesive caused her hair to become stuck in place, sparking a month-long struggle to undo the damage. Brown’s TikTok video recounting her predicament went viral almost instantly, amassing millions of views in a short period. Fortunately, Brown was able to get the Gorilla Glue out of her hair with the help of a Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon. Subsequently, she leveraged her newfound internet fame to launch her own line of haircare products and even dropped a rap single titled “Ma Hair.”
#19: Cara Cunningham
One of YouTube’s first viral sensations, this clip is a passionate defense of Britney Spears against the media scrutiny she faced during her public breakdown. Uploaded in September of 2007, the video racked up over 2 million views in just one day and generated hundreds of thousands of comments. And just like that, Cara Cunningham went from being an average 19-year-old living with their grandparents to an instantly recognizable face with a catchphrase. Soon, Cunningham was making the rounds on TV and radio shows, and became the focus of the 2012 documentary “Me at the Zoo.” Despite deactivating her YouTube account, Cunningham remains active as a performance and recording artist. In 2021, she came out as transgender, and used some of the money she earned by selling an NFT of her famous video to fund her transition.
#18: LaVar Ball
Despite playing basketball and football in college, LaVar Ball never made it to a professional regular season due to injury. So, like many other parents, he decided to live out his dreams through his kids. But Ball wasn’t just satisfied with his three children, Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo, becoming professional basketball players. No, he craved the spotlight for himself. In 2017, he stirred controversy after claiming he could have bested Michael Jordan in his heyday, and comparing his son Lonzo to NBA champion Stephen Curry. He gained further notoriety for his online feud with former president Donald Trump, sparked by LiAngelo’s arrest in China for shoplifting. Capitalizing on this exposure, Ball launched a sports apparel company and created his own basketball tournament.
#17: Amber Rose
She wouldn’t be the first person to become famous for no particular reason, yet Amber Rose has managed to remain in the spotlight for years. Rose first caught the attention of Kanye West after appearing in the music video for Young Jeezy’s “Put On.” This led to modeling opportunities and a subsequent romantic involvement with West. It was this relationship that catapulted Rose to the public eye. Following their break-up, Rose remained in the spotlight due to her involvement with Wiz Khalifa. Since then, she’s launched her clothing line, appeared in multiple reality series and hosted her own talk show, none of which ever really took off. Even though we’re not so sure why she’s still popular, the reality remains– she is still popular.
#16: Katie Price
Today, she’s a media personality, model and bestselling author, but Katie Price’s first foray into the limelight came as a result of a series of risqué photographs. Back in 1996, Price appeared as a topless model on Page 3 of the British tabloid The Sun, under the pseudonym Jordan. These provocative images brought her a significant level of fame, which she leveraged to transition into various ventures. She unsuccessfully ran for Parliament in 2001, and later competed on “I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!” With multiple reality TV shows, bestselling books, and her own podcast, Price remains a prominent figure in the public eye, with no plans of ever fading away.
#15: Lil Tay
In 2018, a mysterious young girl caught attention on social media for her controversial behavior. Known as Lil Tay, she gained fame by flaunting supposed wealth and luxury, and posting rap videos with explicit language. She began referring to herself as “the youngest flexer of the century,” and relocated from Vancouver, Canada to Los Angeles to capitalize on her newfound fame. However, an investigative report later revealed that much of her apparent luxury was falsely curated by her brother and mother, who worked in real estate. Shortly after, Tay’s Instagram account was shut down, only to resurface in 2023 with a fake death announcement. This hoax was followed by the release of “Sucker 4 Green,” the lead single from her debut studio album.
#14: Lil Pump
The SoundCloud rap scene gave us several controversial figures, including Lil Pump. Hailing from Miami, Florida, Lil Pump gained initial fame with the release of his hit song “Gucci Gang,” which featured the titular phrase repeated over a minimalist beat. His flamboyant persona and outlandish behavior further propelled his rise to stardom, though public opinions about him were sharply divided. While some dismissed him as a product of the internet age and criticized his glorification of drug use, others seemed to embrace him for his unapologetically brash style. Despite facing constant criticism, Lil Pump has amassed millions of followers on social media, and collaborated with big names like Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Diplo.
#13: Patricia Krentcil [aka Tan Mom]
Prior to May 2012, Patricia Krentcil was a regular suburban mom in Nutley, New Jersey, raising her five children. However, her life was turned upside down when she was accused of exposing her young daughter to a tanning booth. This led to Krentcil being arrested and charged with child endangerment. She claimed that this was all a misunderstanding, attributing the burns on her daughter’s body to excessive time spent in the sun. However, that didn’t stop the media from obsessing over Krentcil’s heavily bronzed skin and subjecting her to constant ridicule. After the charges against her were dismissed, Krentcil embraced her notoriety, becoming a regular on “The Howard Stern Show,” and even trying her hand at pop music.
#12: Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson
Child beauty pageants have long sparked controversy due to concerns about sexualization and commodification of contestants. Hence, when the TLC reality show “Toddlers & Tiaras” premiered in 2009, it had its fair share of detractors. One standout figure from the show was Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, whose over-the-top antics and catchphrases eventually led to her own spin-off series. Set in her hometown in rural Georgia, the show was heavily criticized for promoting stereotypes and exploiting Thompson and her family for entertainment. Despite the vitriol she received, Thompson’s antics still captivated audiences and propelled her into a pop culture phenomenon. She has since appeared on shows like “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors” and “The Masked Singer.”
#11: Rebecca Black
In 2011, Rebecca Black became a household name due to a song that, let’s just say, wasn’t exactly a masterpiece. “Friday,” released when Black was a teenager, became a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons. Critics mocked its cheesy lyrics and auto-tuned vocals, deeming it one of the worst songs ever made. Yet, despite “Friday’s” questionable quality, or perhaps because of it, Black found herself in the spotlight. She was no longer just a girl with a song, but a symbol of the unpredictable, often bizarre nature of internet stardom. Luckily, she seems to have turned things around musically. In 2023, Black dropped her debut album “Let Her Burn,” which received significantly more positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
#10: Snooki
Snooki’s main claim to fame was “Jersey Shore,” the MTV reality show about housemates partying in a vacation home. Snooki initially had big dreams, and studied to become a vet technician in community college. However, she was cast in “Jersey Shore” after a casting director took notice of her, and her life was never the same. And while she quickly became a breakout star, her popularity dramatically increased once she was punched in the face by Brad Ferro. After this occurrence, Snooki’s appearance fees rose from $2,000 to $10,000 per event. You could say that Snooki became famous simply by being punched in the face…
#9: Bristol Palin
You know what they say – it’s not about what you know, but who you know. This is certainly the case with Bristol Palin. Palin is known primarily for two things – being the child of Alaska governor Sarah Palin and being a teenage mother. Palin became the subject of national attention when her pregnancy was announced while her mother was running for Vice President. She then became “prevention ambassador” for the Candie’s Foundation, a campaign meant to prevent teen pregnancy. Palin used this fame to her advantage, appearing on various reality TV shows and releasing a memoir at age 20.
#8: Paris Hilton
Being a socialite is nothing new. Paris Hilton is simply a modern-day socialite who has turned her power into a career. Hilton was born into money, as she is the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels’ founder Conrad Hilton. Her teenage lifestyle made her a dominant subject in the tabloids, and she became a national sensation when her sex tape, released as “1 Night in Paris,” was leaked to the public in 2003. This in turn caused the popularity of her reality show “The Simple Life” to skyrocket, and Hilton has been riding that wave ever since.
#7: Kevin Federline
Federline is another in a long line of “celebs” famous by association. K-Fed became a subject of national ridicule when he started a relationship with Britney Spears. Federline and Spears began dating while Federline’s ex-girlfriend was still pregnant with their child, and Kevin was soon labeled an immoral gold digger by the media. The couple separated after two years of marriage, and the intense custody battle for their children, complete with Spears’ infamous meltdown, made them both national subjects of attention. Spears has since gone on to revitalize her career while Federline has done… basically nothing.
#6: Natalie Suleman [aka Octomom]
Giving birth to octuplets is – medically speaking – pretty rad. After all, Suleman’s children are only the second set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States. However, the intense media storm surrounding Suleman’s pregnancy caused her to become a national villain. Suleman's motherhood began with in vitro fertilization when she was 21 and resulted in six children over the course of 5 pregnancies. When news of the octuplets got out, many people criticized the unemployed mother of now 14 kids for taking advantage of public assistance. In 2014, she was found guilty of misdemeanor welfare fraud for failing to disclose some $30,000 of income while receiving $26,000 in welfare.
#5: Farrah Abraham
Like Bristol Palin, Farrah Abraham is best known for being a teenage mother – albeit, one without a famous mom. Initially appearing on the TV reality series “16 & Pregnant”, Abraham was later cast in the spin-off titled “Teen Mom,” which aired for four seasons between 2009 and 2012. Since that time, she has released music, a memoir, and multiple sex tapes. She then reappeared on “Teen Mom’s” revival season, titled “Teen Mom OG,” but she was let go from the show after starting an adult webcam series.
#4: Courtney Stodden
Once an aspiring pop singer, and beauty pageant contestant, Courtney Stodden became famous after signing up for an acting class taught by the then 50-year-old Doug Hutchison. However, it wasn't her newly honed acting skills that caught people’s attention – it was her age: 16. The pair soon married, kickstarting an intense media firestorm, resulting in Hutchison's family disowning him and many deeming him a pedophile. What makes the marriage even more controversial is that Stodden’s father is four years younger than his son-in-law. The two rode their infamy further into the spotlight, appearing in the second season of “Couples Therapy” at the faintest edge of the limelight.
#3: Logan Paul
Logan Paul, along with his brother Jake, are two of the most notorious YouTubers. Logan began his career on Vine before transitioning to YouTube, where he has primarily fed off controversy. In November 2017, he released a “single” titled “No Handlebars,” which was declared sexist and offensive. However, he became villain #1 on December 31, 2017 when he uploaded a video showing the body of a deceased person in Japan’s infamous Aokigahara forest. Soon after, various petitions were created calling for Paul’s removal from YouTube. Since then, he has uploaded a video of him poking a fish out of water and tasering dead rats.
#2: Danielle Bregoli
Sometimes all it takes is a meme to become famous. Danielle Bregoli became a viral sensation after appearing on “Dr. Phil” for her troublesome behavior. After the audience laughed at her, Danielle famously uttered, “Cash me ousside, howbow dah?,” making her an instant internet star. She rode this fame into a music career and has since released numerous singles under the stage name Bhad Bhabie, three of which have broken the Top 100 on the Billboard chart. “Hi Bich” and “Gucci Flip Flops,” two of the aforementioned charting singles, even went Platinum in the United States. It’s amazing what one sentence can do for a person.
#1: Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is now known primarily for her show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and her influential presence on social media, but her rise to fame is somewhat questionable and undeserving. Kardashian first surfaced when her father was defending O.J. Simpson in his infamous murder trial. Later a close friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, Kim found infamy in 2007 when a sex tape of her and rapper Ray J was leaked to the public. This sex tape made Kardashian a star and generated intense interest for her upcoming reality show. The show was a huge hit, and Kardashian hasn’t left the spotlight since.
Which of these famous figures do you think is most undeserving of their fame? Let us know in the comments below.
