25-05-2025
25 Of The Most Dramatic Falls From Grace In History
Recently, a now-deleted Reddit user posted to the popular Ask Reddit page to ask what I thought was such a fun question: "Who had the most dramatic fall from grace in history?" The answers ranged from recent celeb downfalls to truly momentous historical events, and all were entertaining; so, naturally, I decided to share!
"Pharaoh Akhenaten. Man went from semi-deified ruler to being canceled so hard and thoroughly that it took until the 19th century to be re-discovered that he existed."
"Jim Jones."
"Henry VIII went from Defender of the Faith and a favored royal among the papacy to a dissenter who formed his own church that scraped dry the gold of the Catholic chapels and had several failed marriages ending in executions, divorce or death, along with rumors of madness and STDs..."
"Napoleon. The dude was the emperor of Europe, and exiled for the rest of his life on an island."
"Bill Cosby."
"Benedict Arnold was quite literally an American hero, leading key victories at Saratoga. He was a celebrity amongst the American public. Meanwhile, he secretly negotiated to surrender West Point to the British and now his name is synonymous with 'traitor.'"
"OJ. His trial was a cultural event, and when he died it was such a nonevent that many people don't even know he's dead."
"Kevin Spacey had a fast one."
"Lance Armstrong was quite the disappointment."
"Philippe Pétain. He was the greatest hero of WWI in France; like, you can't imagine how popular he was."
"Elon Musk. People were constantly wanking him off on Reddit a few years back, and look how drastically it has changed."
"Harvey Weinstein. For good reason."
"Was going to say Harvey Weinstein and Bernie Madoff. Both were absolute darlings of the rich, famous, politically well-connected, and then, overnight, neither had a friend in the world."
"When I hear 'in history' I take a longer view, I guess. I mean, Robespierre went from all-powerful to executed in pretty short order."
"I would say that Aung San Suu Kyi had a pretty dramatic fall from grace. She had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, but in the late 2010s she started denying and defending a genocide (although I would argue that this was mostly to placate the military)."
"Oscar Pistorius. One of the first Paralympic athletes to compete at the Olympic games. Highly respected globally."
"Armie Hammer took one hell of a tumble."
"Sejanus is my candidate. The Emperor Tiberius had moved away from Rome and never returned, and Sejanus was his guy in Rome. Sejanus made sure to only feed the emperor information he wanted, including stuff that would eliminate all enemies of Sejanus, and grant Sejanus more and more power, titles, and prestige."
"Charles the Rash, Duke of Burgundy, takes some beating. He was the richest man in Europe. He was powerful. He then proceeded to alienate every state around him and fight three losing battles."
"Honestly, Adolf Hitler. No question. From controlling almost all of Europe to hiding in a bunker, paranoid and defeated, dying in a miserable way."
"Sir Thomas Cromwell. One day you're Henry VIII's right-hand man and fixer, then you arrange ONE marriage to a German princess and you're headless."
"Anne Boleyn."
"This is a post-mortem fall by a few centuries, but Christopher Columbus. As a kid, I was taught that he was the one who discovered America in 1492 and was the first to suggest that the Earth was round. He was one of the lionized historical figures."
"Rudy Giuliani was a hero in New York and nationwide, and now he's disgraced."
And finally: "Jimmy Savile. Guy was a genuine national hero. He was helping kids, and everybody loved him. Then he turned out to be a serial abuser of children. He was also reported to be involved in necrophilia."
"Jimmy Savile was friends with the royals and friends with politicians, including Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister."
Okay, I want to hear all about who you think had the wildest fall! Or, if you can think of other people who had dramatic falls from grace, do tell down in the comments. I love reading this kind of stuff.
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Note: Some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.
