The Most Notable Career Crashes Of 2025 |
For over a decade, Forbes has been chronicling the year’s most notable career crashes, highlighting the entrepreneurs, CEOs, politicians and celebrities whose professional descents shed light on the consequential and buzzy issues of our time.
Some, like Sean P. Diddy Combs, continued their fall from last year. The rapper and music mogul was sentenced this year to four years in federal prison on two prostitution charges. Education startup founder Charlie Javice, who made our 2023 list of Most Notable Career Crashes, was sentenced to 85 months in prison over her scheme to defraud J.P. Morgan of $175 million.
The following ten professionals had the most rude awakenings, with an honorary mention to America’s most infamous kiss cam couple. Even as CEO turnover is rising overall, we found that bankruptcies, declining financial performance and poor judgment with employees forced multiple high-flying executives out of their jobs. Federal investigations into gambling rings and cozy correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein punished others. And there’s the Hollywood names that couldn’t convert press into business.
Below, our list of the most notable career crashes of 2025.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively
Despite the movie’s box office success, the “It Ends With Us” stars have been embroiled in a messy web of lawsuits since 2024, when the movie adaptation of the best-selling book premiered. Lively accused Baldoni of “retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety” in a December 2024 suit, which he then countersued in a $400 million defamation suit. A judge dismissed Baldoni’s case in July 2025, although discovery is still underway in Lively’s original suit. Still, "Baldonigate" has impacted their careers on and off the screen. Baldoni was immediately dropped by his talent agency, and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, has not announced any new productions since a September release. Lively’s canned drinks company, Betty Booze, and new haircare line, Blake Brown, have dipped in sales. Puck reported Blake Brown is poised to make less than $15 million in total sales this year, down from the initially projected $100 million.
Chauncey Billups, former NBA head coach
It’s not often you hear of the Mafia these days, but a joint federal investigation into an alleged insider sports betting conspiracy across 11 states saw the head coach of Portland’s NBA team, the Trail Blazers,