There are pros and cons to everything in life.
But when it comes to fame, one could argue that it’s difficult to see beyond the inevitable riches, the red carpets, the screaming fans and the beautiful, boundless homes of Beverly Hills and beyond.
However, there are definite downsides to a life spent living in the spotlight, and many a celebrity will happily tell you that the red carpet doesn’t roll 24 hours a day, the screaming fans soon grow tiresome, and the camera can be your greatest friend – and worst enemy.
Indeed, even the most famous of celebrities require a bit of downtime, a fleeting moment of respite away from the blinding flash of camera bulbs, the harsh glare of stage lights and the perpetual need to always look one’s best.
So perhaps they could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved when those rare moments of normality are undermined by randomly taken photos – particularly when said photos are unexpected, unflattering and, even worse, uncomfortably accessible on the Internet.
It’s an awkward conundrum, and everyone from Ben Affleck to Beyoncé has risked being turned into an online meme as a result.
But who else has been affected?
KIM KARDASHIAN
Sometimes being rich and famous really is a bum deal – just ask Kim Kardashian, who was left mortified after what she considered to be unflattering photos of her emerged in 2017.
Indeed, a sunshine break on the Mexican coast turned into a holiday from hell for the mother-of-four after she expressed her shock over the images.
Dressed in a black thong bikini, the image-conscious Kardashian, 44 – arguably one of the most photographed women on the planet – was pictured relaxing by the pool.
But the woman who once ‘broke the internet’ was less than impressed with the images that subsequently emerged.
Reacting to the photos on her E! Keeping Up With The Kardashians show, she wailed: ‘Oh my god! I don’t get it. I literally don’t look like this.
‘I need to untag myself in everything. I’m literally going to go inside and just start untagging.’
ARIANA GRANDE
Having already been accused of appropriating black culture with her music and image, Ariana Grande inadvertantly sparked another debate in 2021 after sharing a series of promotional photos across social media.
What’s the problem, you might say? Well, in a perfect world, nothing, but as we all know, the world is far from perfect.
Unimpressed followers were quick to accuse the singer of ‘Asian fishing’ – a term typically used to describe someone of non-Asian descent who attempts to adopt an Asian aesthetic.
It somehow stuck – and Grande’s otherwise innocent photos gained attention for all the wrong reasons after fans noted her unusually straight brows, thin-winged eyeliner, no-eyelid makeup and notably lighter shade of foundation.
Even the demure, virginal pose she adopted for the shoot came under fire, with the American star attacked by social media users for ‘promoting stereotypes’ and ‘festishing’ Asian culture.
Subsequently, the images were swiftly removed from her Instagram platform – but sadly from Grande, the Internet never forgets.
BEN AFFLECK
If ever there was a reluctant celebrity, it would be Ben Affleck.
And who could blame him? The Oscar-winning star has been turned into an online meme more times than he would probably care to remember, and with good reason.
It would be seven years before Affleck was forced to respond to the viral notoriety he earned through a grim-faced appearance at the 2023 Grammy Awards with then-wife Jennifer Lopez.
On that occasion lightning would strike for a second time, but it wasn’t the actor’s first rodeo as an online meme.
In 2016, cameras caught the actor looking rather dejected as he paused for a smoke break while out in Los Angeles with his daughter, Violet.
Dressed in a plain blue sweater and jeans, the beleaguered Affleck stood with one hand buried in a front pocket, his eyes closed in weary contemplation as he made the most of his time alone.
Unfortunately for him, the image – notoriously dubbed ‘sad Ben Affleck’ – became a viral meme before the dust had even settled on those famous images of the grim-faced star at the Grammys, evidently wishing the earth would swallow him whole while sat alongside his enthusiastic wife.
KHLOE KARDASHIAN
We’ve all suffered the occasional bad hair day, but not many of us have had them splashed all over the Internet.
Khloé Kardashian is one of the unfortunate few who has, as a rather unflattering photo from 2011 can attest.
Then married to basketball player Lamar Odom, the TV personality was shopping in Dallas when blustery weather worked against her – much to the benefit of trailing photographers.
Pictures capture the moment an unforgiving gust of wind destroyed her carefully coiffed hair as she made her way back to her car.
KHLOE KARDASHIAN (AGAIN)
It all began in 2021, when a leaked photo of Kardashian began circulating online.
Unfiltered and definitely un-Photoshopped, the image pictured the American TV personality without makeup and modelling a leopard print swimsuit while posing beside an outdoor pool.
All very innocent, one might say, but not quite, when it later transpired that Kardashian and her media-savvy family were desperate to wipe all traces of it from the web, and with good reason.
For many, the candid photo – shared without her consent – was damning evidence that she carefully manipulates her photos before releasing them across social media.
A distraught Kardashian addressed the drama on Instagram days later, as she shared live videos of herself to prove that her body ‘isn’t photoshopped.’
Subsequently she issued a lengthy statement where she spoke about the pressure of being in the spotlight and her body being ‘micro-analyzed’ as a public figure.
The star also revealed that being compared to her siblings, Kim and Kourtney, in addition to ‘constant ridicule and judgement’ had been ‘too much to bear.’
An excerpt from her message read: ‘As someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn’t flattering in bad lighting or doesn’t capture your body the way it is after working so hard…
‘You should have every right to ask for it to not be shared, regardless of who you are.
She continued: ‘My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice.
‘It’s not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore,’ also adding that she likes a good filter, good lighting and an edit here and there.
JENNIFER ANISTON
God only knows what clean-living Ross Chandler would’ve thought if Rachel Green was a smoker.
For most people it’s a deal breaker, and in a world increasingly opposed to lighting up it’s no surprise that Jennifer Aniston chose to keep her off-screen smoking status a closely guarded secret.
But in 2022, the Friends star – better known for her wholesome, health-conscious public image – was filmed having her cigarette lit by former husband Justin Theroux.
Ordinarily not an issue, but Aniston had claimed to have given up the habit after previously confessing to being a ‘chain-smoker’ who tore through a pack a day during the early years of her career.
Fans took the admission literally, with may believing she had stopped smoking in 2007 – three years after filming her final scenes on Friends.
Unfortunately for Aniston, the damning video proved. otherwise, and it was swiftly deleted from Theroux’s Instagram platform.
BEYONCE
It doesn’t get much bigger than the Super Bowl.
Just ask Beyoncé, who performed for thousands of gathered spectators and millions of TV viewers during the sporting spectacle’s 2013 halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
But ‘Queen Bey’ was less than impressed with some of the photos that subsequently emerged following her energetic performance at the 83,000 capacity venue.
Indeed, matted hair, strained sinews and sweaty complexions are never a good look, but it was an unholy trinity she was forced to confront courtesy of online outlet Buzzfeed.
Beyoncé’s dismay led to her publicist emailing the site directly with a request for the offending photos to be taken down
Sadly for the R&B legend and her team, Buzzfeed refused.
Worse, they reacted by writing a follow-up article titled: ‘The ‘Unflattering’ Photos Beyoncé’s Publicist Doesn’t Want You To See.’
Ouch.
LANA DEL REY
‘Hey Lana, get over here and pose for a photo next to this barbed wire fence!’
It probably didn’t play out that way, but Lana Del Rey would be forgiven for regretting her decision to pose for a snap outside Cook County Department of Corrections in 2022.
The singer, whose plaintive songs about love, sex and relationships have made her a global star, was pictured arm-in-arm with musician Jack Donoghue next to a barbed wire fence surrounding the Chicago penitentiary.
Already romantically linked to Donoghue, a founding member of the band Salem, Del Rey appeared to confirm their romance in the shot following its emergence on his Instagram platform, where it was shared alongside the caption: ‘Family visit.’
All well and good, but Donaghue had previously sparked controversy by sharing a photo of himself licking his pet dog’s tongue.
Additionally, the musician was also the subject of photos that appear to capture him passionately kissing his first cousin on the lips.
Del Rey is is now married to Jeremy Dufrene, a swamp tour guide from Louisiana.
