History DarthWiki / FallenCreator

* Being still independent more than 20 years after its foundation is no small feat but Creator/{{Team 17}}, one of the top UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} developers in the 1990s, capable of trying with several genres, has since the early 2000s churned out just ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' games and a few ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'' ports. Finally, in 2009, they released something different... unfortunately, it was the ''very'' aptly-titled ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry: Box Office Bust''. Later the same year, they released the revival of their own ''VideoGame/AlienBreed'' but, while overall decent, it turned out pretty bland. ''VideoGame/WormsReloaded'', released in Summer 2010, fared much better. Then they decided to leave the retail market and concentrate on smaller productions for digital distribution. During 2011, they have released two more episodes of ''VideoGame/AlienBreed'' in the space of two months, two more ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' ports, several expansions packs for ''VideoGame/WormsReloaded'', an UpdatedRerelease of the 3D episodes of ''Worms'', and even a ''[[VideoGame/WormsCrazyGolf Worms Golf Game]]''. Oh, and they are working on ''Worms Social" for Facebook. Unfortunately, they seem capable of just rehashing their old successes by now.

* During UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Dimps's games were further praised for making quality Sonic games when the main console games [[AudienceAlienatingEra were declining in quality]]. Then came ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4: Episode I''. Suddenly, they took all of the blame for the game not truly being in the spirit of the original Genesis games, saying that Sonic Team alone should have made the game (cheerfully ignoring that it was the current leader of Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka, that said he wanted it to be different from the original Genesis games). Afterwards, they somehow went from producing completely original Sonic games to [[ReformulatedGame Reformulated]] versions of the Sonic Team's games, and now Dimps gets a lot of flack for producing some of the worst games in the entire franchise (most notoriously ''[[VideoGame/SonicGenerations Generations]]'' 3DS and ''[[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld Lost World]]'' 3DS), and even their earlier Sonic games like ''Sonic Advance'' and ''Sonic Rush'' now receive bile for being subpar.

* Bruce Kalish went through this so fast among ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' fans it borders on MoodWhiplash. The first season he produced was ''[[Series/PowerRangersSPD SPD]]'', which was received well by fans (though it had quite a few holes that didn't escape notice, while not ruining the show for most). The next that he did was ''[[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Mystic Force]]'' which... wasn't. After that, he produced ''[[Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive Operation Overdrive]]'', which is one of the three considered the worst of the show's entire run, alongside [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo ''Turbo'']] and [[Series/PowerRangersWildForce ''Wild Force'']]. ''[[Series/PowerRangersJungleFury Jungle Fury]]'' was a little better, but now most fans consider his entire four-year run of the show a DorkAge for the series, and blame him for its near-cancellation (though ScrewedByTheNetwork actually carries equal responsibility).

* During UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Dimps was praised by Sonic fans for keeping 2D Sonic alive at a time when Sonic leaped to 3D. When Sonic's DorkAge started setting in, Dimps's games were further praised for making quality Sonic games when the main console games were declining in quality. Then came ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4: Episode I''. Suddenly, they took all of the blame for the game not truly being in the spirit of the original Genesis games, saying that Sonic Team alone should have made the game (cheerfully ignoring that it was the current leader of Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka, that said he wanted it to be different from the original Genesis games). Afterwards, they somehow went from producing completely original Sonic games to [[ReformulatedGame Reformulated]] versions of the Sonic Team's games, and now Dimps gets a lot of flack for producing some of the worst games in the entire franchise (most notoriously ''[[VideoGame/SonicGenerations Generations]]'' 3DS and ''[[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld Lost World]]'' 3DS), and even their earlier Sonic games like ''Sonic Advance'' and ''Sonic Rush'' now receive bile for being subpar.

* Many years ago, Creator/JohnLasseter was seen as one of the unsung heroes of animation, for helping start up the acclaimed animation studio {{Creator/Pixar}}, directing the critically-praised and influential ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', and introducing the west to the works of Creator/StudioGhibli. It got even better when he was promoted to chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006, helping push the studio out of its DorkAge, as well as ending the much-maligned DirectToVideo Disney [[{{Sequelitis}} sequels]] that had plagued the market for the past decade. Then in late 2017, he had to take a leave of absence after it was revealed he had been sexually harassing the female staff members at Disney and Pixar, giving them inappropriate hugs, kisses, and gropes against their wishes. Many went from praising Lasseter to boycotting him and demanding Disney get rid of him. In 2018, this wish was granted, and he was finally released from the company in December of that year. However, a month later, it was announced that he was now heading Paramount's Skydance Animation, which drew much ire from the animation community, to the point where Creator/EmmaThompson ended up dropping from one of their projects. It's safe to say that Lasseter will never be able to live down any of this, and will never have the positive reputation he had long ago.

* Creator/RobertZemeckis fell victim to this in early 2011 with the spectacular failure of ''WesternAnimation/MarsNeedsMoms''. It's too early to tell if it may grind the performance capture movies Zemeckis was a champion of to [[GenreKiller a temporary halt]] (October's ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin'' was a big success critically and commercially), but in the meantime, it has led to [[CreatorKiller the closure of his studio]]. At least, this may prompt him to return to "traditional" movies...

* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse authors Karen Traviss and Troy Denning have been hit by this.

** Traviss' works started out with the hit ''Hard Contact'', which is considered one of the best Clone Wars novels written, and then delivered the well received ''Triple Zero''. But following these books, her bias towards Mandalorians and her demonizing of the Jedi left EU readers [[BrokenBase divided]]. Things only got worse with her contributions to ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'', where she managed to kill off two beloved fan favorites in disappointing fashion, and delegating the main plot to the sideline to make way for the [[SpotlightStealingSquad Mandalorians]]. Her abrasive attitude towards people who disagreed with her on ''Franchise/StarWars'' message boards gained her a sizable Hatedom. She has since left writing in the EU due to contractual reasons, but mentioning her is surefire Flamebait for some. Since then, she has moved on to the ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' universes. Her first book for the latter, ''Literature/HaloGlasslands'' was poorly received by the fandom for its {{demonization}} of Dr. Catherine Halsey. Traviss removed many of Halsey's positive traits, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone such as her guilt over the SPARTAN Program]], and had most of her companions now hate her and constantly talk about how evil she is. In addition, ''Glassland''[='=]s "[[DesignatedHero good]]" characters were actually just as amoral as Halsey, causing severe MoralDissonance as they lectured her and heaped humiliating punishments. Thus the sequel book, ''Literature/HaloTheThursdayWar'', attempted several {{Authors Saving Throw}}s to try to rectify the hypocrisy, and [[WriterRevolt 343 Industries itself]] turned ''Glassland'''s protagonist into a villain.

** Creator/FrancisFordCoppola. He brought the world ''Film/TheGodfather'' saga and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' in the 1970s. Then the disaster ''One from the Heart'' came along, and since then his filmography has largely been a big string of commercial and/or critical disappointments (one of the few bright spots is ''Film/BramStokersDracula''). He has admitted that he did ''Jack'' and several other of his later films simply to avoid bankruptcy. His daughter Creator/{{Sofia|Coppola}} has taken a cue from him however and become a director, making films such as ''Literature/TheVirginSuicides'', ''Film/LostInTranslation'' and ''Film/MarieAntoinette''.

** During Blizzcon 2018, completely ignoring that their player base are mostly Westerners with little interest in mobile, they decided to use that grand event to announce a mobile game based on ''Diablo'': ''Diablo Immortal'', teaming up with Creator/TencentGames, while responding to player concerns with mockery such as "Do you not have phones?" This event was so negatively received that fans started fearing that Blizzard has been pandering so much to China (at that point under the rule of UsefulNotes/XiJinping and the CCP) instead of their loyal fans in the West.

* Ken Penders was once (for what it's worth) considered one of the best writers on ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' series. In particular, his ''Knuckles the Echidna'' series is still regarded as potentially better than the Sonic comics produced during that time. When you mention him now, though, thoughts will inevitably drift to the... less than stellar works from the end of his time on the comic, especially the infamous "Titan Tails" fiasco. Even after he left the comic and Archie, he managed to make things worse by trying to sue for the rights to his original characters from the Knuckles series, even though everyone in the comic is owned by Sega. Praising any of his works, even his good ones, tends not to go well on many Sonic forums.

* Former Creator/{{Disney}} [=CEO=] Michael Eisner is often remembered now as a talentless, soul-sucking hack that "destroyed" the company built by Walt and Roy O. Disney. [[{{Misblamed}} Few remember]] that the company had nearly been destroyed by Ron Miller's inept leadership in the early '80s, and that Eisner was brought in by Roy E. Disney after the first "Save Disney" campaign in 1984. Eisner took Disney to the major market force that exists today -- returning it to higher-budget films, creating the Touchstone division for adult-oriented material, and pushing for the much-lauded Disney Renaissance that revived animated films after the false start of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''. He believed in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' and brought new interest to the golden age of animation, while getting Disney into television animation (resulting in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'', ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', etc.). But when Disney's president Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash just before the release of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' in 1994, long-time studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg expected to be promoted to fill Wells's position. When Eisner refused and forced Katzenberg to resign, he left the studio to found Creator/{{Dreamworks}}, whose [[Creator/DreamworksAnimation animation arm]] became a major competitor to Disney's. The promotion of Eisner's friend Michael Ovitz to the position was a disaster that upset most of the shareholders. Disney's new films, shows, and theme parks began to tank one after another in the late '90s and early 2000s -- accused of becoming formulaic, obsessed with TheMerch, and in the case of the parks outright lazy and cheap, while the ''old'' animated films were hit hard by DirectToVideo {{Sequelitis}}. Eisner burned enough bridges that even ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'' was ready to end their long partnership. In the wake of this, Roy E. Disney resigned from the board of directors and started a second "Save Disney" campaign to get rid of Eisner, who resigned under extreme pressure in 2005. It wasn't all doom and gloom for ''both'' Disney and Eisner though -- Disney, under Bob Iger, rebuilt the bridges with Pixar, among other things, and while his reign as CEO did face several criticisms (most notably the start of Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes), the company as a whole became more financially successful than they had ever been, while Eisner's guest-hosting stint on ''Series/TheCharlieRoseShow'' not long after his ouster led to him getting a regular talk-show on CNBC; he continues to expand into Internet production and he bought the Topps baseball company. Eisner was also famous for being a control freak. Creator/JerryBruckheimer initially brought the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' franchise to Creator/{{ABC}}[=/=]Disney and Eisner rejected him. Eisner also reportedly hated ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and wanted it canceled despite its success. Reports from the inside even say that Eisner was hard set against both ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and ''Series/DesperateHousewives'', which were ''immense'' hits for Creator/{{ABC}} in 2004... while pushing his own project, which was basically "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne as a sitcom.

* Creator/KevinSmith is almost permanently in danger of heading this way since the mid-2000s in spite of his rather rabid fanbase. After a mostly succesful ten-year career making indie comedies, his attempts to make movies outside of Franchise/TheViewAskewniverse have usually been met with mixed-to-negative reactions. ''Film/JerseyGirl'' was loathed even by his die-hard fans (his statements that the film [[NotScreenedForCritics wasn't for critics]] didn't help either). Then ''Film/ClerksII'', another View Askew work, made the fans happy again for a while. And despite the again-lackluster box office returns, ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' was critically well-received. However, ''Film/CopOut'', the first film which he directed but did not write, was critically panned and is only remembered for the documented HostilityOnTheSet with Creator/BruceWillis. ''Film/RedState'', a religious horror film outside of Smith's usual forte, was once again well-received, especially because of Michael Parks' performance as [[SinisterMinister Pastor Abin Cooper]]. His subsequent films, ''Film/{{Tusk}}'' and ''Film/YogaHosers'' have again been met with either disinterest or derision. He's also attracted some negative attention due to his poor handling of an incident with Southwest Airlines and a bizarre self-adulating stunt over the distribution rights to ''Red State''. His occasional comic book writing for both DC and Marvel has also generated criticism for his controversial handling of several different characters ([[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]] editors have since admitted that they didn't rein in Smith like they would've for other writers) and ScheduleSlip.

* Creator/JulieTaymor became famous for her innovative work on ''Theatre/TheLionKing'' musical, winning two Tonys for her stage direction and costume design. From there, she started off what seemed like a strong film career with the critically acclaimed ''Film/{{Titus}}'' and ''Film/{{Frida}}'' (the latter earning six Oscar nods and winning two of them) while maintaining a strong presence in the theatre world with her 2006 production of the opera ''Theatre/{{Grendel}}''. Then ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse'' came out, to mixed reviews and weak box office, followed by her critically trashed ''Film/TheTempest2010''. Her theatre career likewise crashed and burned with ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark'', whose TroubledProduction status became {{memetic|Mutation}}.

* Creator/FrankMiller was an icon of comics in the 1980s with his work on Daredevil and Batman, with ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' and ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' redefining the character in the eyes of the mass media. But during the '90s, Miller's creative owned work ''ComicBook/SinCity'' led to a massive change in his art style and his tone (already heavily inspired by FilmNoir) became overt with an added heaping dose of misogyny with the vast number of high profile ''Sin City'' stories that involved hookers or strippers. His later Batman work (''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' and ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'') were widely decried for bad writing, as Miller quickly tried to pass off his bad writing by [[ParodyRetcon claiming to be parodying]] his own earlier [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]]-inspiring Batman work.
** Even if one had never known that ''ComicBook/HolyTerror'' began as a Batman story, it's obvious Miller [[SerialNumbersFiledOff barely did anything to change the fact that the Fixer is Batman, the Cat-Burgler is Catwoman, and the policeman is Commissioner Gordon]]. ''Holy Terror'' can be described as a vehement anti-Muslim AuthorTract-filled political cartoon, similar to the others which were created in the first frantic year after 9/11. Any doubts about his writing style (as of ASBAR) being self parody are dispelled as Miller's "patriotism" and xenophobia are presented completely seriously. The whole book is a message that Muslims need to be stopped as they could become terrorists at any point. Just when you thought Frank Miller couldn't sink any lower...
** His reputation was hurt even more by his vitriolic attack on the Occupy Wall Street movement whom he referred to as "Thieves, rapists and pond scum" and managed to fit even more attacks on Islam. It's as if Frankie boy has been reading comments about him online and thinking "How can I make myself even worse than They think I am?".

* Creator/NicolasRoeg, director and cinematographer, was the guiding force behind sci-fi landmark ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'', ''Walkabout'' (on the RogerEbertGreatMoviesList), and ''Don't Look Now'' (also on the list and voted the eighteenth best film ever made by ''The Times''). Yes indeed, TheSeventies were an amazing time for him. His films in the eighties were largely overlooked, and in TheNineties he was making movies like the straight-to-cable, soft-core erotic film ''Full Body Massage'' with Creator/MimiRogers and Bryan Brown.

'''Note:''' ''Please, only give examples where it's clear that public opinion has turned against these people and they're not thought of as highly as before. This is not meant as a TakeThat against creators you don't like. If you yourself think a creator has declined, but the general public still thinks highly of him/her, then don't add them as an example.''

* Ethan Van Sciver. Beforehand, he was one of DC's premiere artists, pretty much the defacto artist for ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' since co-creating ''ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth'', leading to the franchise's massive revival in the 2000s, as well as similarly influential work in ''Franchise/TheFlash''. But in the late 2010s, he became more known for his off-the-page work in supporting alt-right groups, courting controversy, and most prominently being the leading figure in the "Comics-Gate" movement. His descent into alt-right politics, his support (and encouragement) towards people who have harassed and abused his colleagues in the industry, and his own attacks against other creators and former colleagues, have pretty much left his reputation in tatters. DC let his exclusive contract expire without renewal and have not offered him any work since, so while he's not getting work from either of the Big Two, he's pretty much relegated to crowdfunded indie projects where his only audience is the members of his alt-right group. It's safe to say he will ''never'' get the esteem he once had within the industry at large.

* Creator/GuyRitchie's first film ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' was an indie success and critical darling for its fresh, vibrant style. He followed up with ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', which was an even bigger success, but some critics complained that he was rehashing his previous film too much. In response, he remade ''Film/SweptAway'', and everyone hated it. When he returned to familiar territory with the crime caper ''Film/{{Revolver2005}}'', he tried to mix things up with a XanatosGambit and an {{Anvilicious}} {{Aesop}}. The film was so poorly received that it didn't even see wide release in America. Ritchie then made ''Film/RockNRolla'' in an obvious attempt to recapture the violent and irreverent underworld hijinks of his first two films. By this point, people seemed to have lost interest in his original style and the film tanked. His adaptation of ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' appears to have revived his fortunes, at least for now; it received mostly positive reviews, and was successful at the box office, grossing more than all of his previous films combined.

* Creator/ToshikiInoue was a great writer for various {{tokusatsu}} shows like ''Changerion'', ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' and ''Series/KamenRiderAgito''. While ''Series/KamenRiderFaiz'' was not bad, his part in the insane ExecutiveMeddling that befell ''Series/KamenRiderHibiki'' proved to be quite a blow, though really, he was MisBlamed - if he hadn't done as he was told, he'd have been replaced just like his predecessors were (see Creator/JMichaelStraczynski before ComicBook/OneMoreDay was known to be Creator/JoeQuesada's doing). He was never really as successful in writing something as his early day works, as seen with ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'', the lowest rated and least commercially successful Rider series to date. Inoue showed a return to form in writing the Jetman episode of ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', which was well-received with fans and gave the show a slight ratings bump.

* While we're on the subject of video game publishers, we have [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] which publishes noteworthy titles such as [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] Sports, ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'', ''VideoGame/TheSims'', ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'', ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'', ''Franchise/DeadSpace'', ''Franchise/MassEffect'', and ''Franchise/DragonAge''. However, they later came under fire from several sources after buying Creator/{{Bioware}} and releasing ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', which many hated for its linearity (everything you do makes things worse) and divergence from the gameplay structure of the first game. [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]]'s guilt in this? Certain implications that they rushed the game while it was on early beta. This was made worse with draconian DRM, including the [[UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution Origin]] service, which lacks the features available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, runs poorly, and ''periodically scans the user's hard drive'' as well as removing all future [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] games from it, forcing you to use the service. The capper was ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''[='=]s GainaxEnding. Ever since people started reaching the end, accusations have been flying about [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] rushing Creator/{{Bioware}}, leading to an incomprehensible, plothole-ridden, and just ''depressing'' ending. This has cause stock prices for [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] to drop and the company to receive the "2012 Worst Company in America Golden Poo Award". And that was after they were previously known for killing off Pandemic, Bullfrog, Westwood and Maxis completely.

* Markus "Notch" Persson was the original creator of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and founder of Creator/{{Mojang}}, and was lauded with praise for his creativity and engagement with said game's fanbase. However, as Minecraft became more and more mainstream, he found himself unable to handle the newfound fame, culminating in the controversial move to sell Mojang, and by extension Minecraft, to Creator/{{Microsoft}}. Following the sale of the company he founded, he became better known for his racist, homophobic and transphobic statements he made on his Website/{{Twitter}} account, as well as his support for alt-right conspiracy theories. In light of these statements, Microsoft has removed all mentions of Persson from Minecraft (sans the credits, where he is credited as the original creator) and excluded him from the game's tenth year anniversary celebration.

* Creator/GuyRitchie's first film ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' was an indie success and critical darling for its fresh, vibrant style. He followed up with ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', which was an even bigger success, but some critics complained that he was rehashing his previous film too much. In response, he remade ''Film/SweptAway'', and everyone hated it. When he returned to familiar territory with the crime caper ''Film/{{Revolver}}'', he tried to mix things up with a XanatosGambit and an {{Anvilicious}} {{Aesop}}. The film was so poorly received that it didn't even see wide release in America. Ritchie then made ''Film/RockNRolla'' in an obvious attempt to recapture the violent and irreverent underworld hijinks of his first two films. By this point, people seemed to have lost interest in his original style and the film tanked. His adaptation of ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' appears to have revived his fortunes, at least for now; it received mostly positive reviews, and was successful at the box office, grossing more than all of his previous films combined.

* Many years ago, [[Creator/PixarRegulars John Lasseter]] was seen as one of the unsung heroes of animation, for helping start up the acclaimed animation studio {{Creator/Pixar}}, directing the critically-praised and influential ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', and introducing the west to the works of Creator/StudioGhibli. It got even better when he was promoted to chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006, helping push the studio out of its DorkAge, as well as ending the much-maligned DirectToVideo Disney [[{{Sequelitis}} sequels]] that had plagued the market for the past decade. Then in late 2017, he had to take a leave of absence after it was revealed he had been sexually harassing the female staff members at Disney and Pixar, giving them inappropriate hugs, kisses, and gropes against their wishes. Many went from praising Lasseter to boycotting him and demanding Disney get rid of him. In 2018, this wish was granted, and he was finally released from the company in December of that year. However, a month later, it was announced that he was now heading Paramount's Skydance Animation, which drew much ire from the animation community, to the point where Creator/EmmaThompson ended up dropping from one of their projects. It's safe to say that Lasseter will never be able to live down any of this, and will never have the positive reputation he had long ago.

Contrast AuteurLicense, PrimaDonnaDirector, ScapegoatCreator. See also CareerResurrection for when the disgraced manage to get acclaimed again.

* Bryan Elsley, the creator of ''Series/{{Skins}}'', was once the favored writer among the ''Series/{{Skins}}'' fandom. Lately, though, he has seen his star fall as a result of the utter failure of the American adaptation of ''Skins'', which he helmed. (In addition to losing most of its advertisers thanks to MoralGuardians, the show had low ratings and was slammed by critics.) He particularly upset LGBT viewers, a group he had won over in large numbers with his treatment of the Naomi/Emily pairing in the British version, by playing the BaitAndSwitchLesbians game with Tea in the US version. By contrast, Jamie Brittain, who used to be disliked due to his love of {{Shocking Swerve}}s, has done a fairly good job with the new generation on the British show and has seen his popularity increase as a result. With Brittain's departure from the British version and Elsley's return to it with the US remake's cancellation, this has only increased as the sixth UK series has JumpedTheShark in the eyes of most fans, largely due to Brittain's and Elsley's competing visions for the Generation 3 characters.

* Music/{{AFI}} started out as nothing remarkable - an ultra-fast hardcore punk revivalist band with a funny sounding singer and a weird sense of humour. Over time, they incorporated more horror punk style with a big Gothic lyrical streak, but still playing fast and loud. This is commonly considered to be when they became something great and original. They then released "Sing the Sorrow", which was actually well-received by fans, but was also slower and more pop-oriented. It was also [[ItsPopularNowItSucks a commercial hit]]. After that, "Decemberunderground" was more new wave, with the exception of several songs that demonstrated that AFI was now incapable of writing a good loud fast song. Then they followed that up with a terminally boring "Crash Love".

* A literal example: Matthew Good. After breaking out on Underdogs, his band (the Matthew Good Band) was selling out shows across Canada. Their website was one of the pioneers in bands interacting with fans directly, as well as marking Good as a [[BunnyEarsLawyer wacky-as-fuck singer]] with his "manifestos." Their third album, ''Beautiful Midnight'', raised them to superstar status in 1999. Then, things began to fall apart rapidly, at first with Beautiful Midnight's heavily-delayed release in the States (partly due to [[ExecutiveMeddling actual label demands]], mostly due to Good's {{Jerkass}} antics) to 2001. Then came ''The Audio of Being'', released the same year which broke apart the band (disbanding shortly after release). Good recovered slightly, getting married the following year. However, his first solo effort, ''Avalanche'', released just before the Iraq War was to begin, was too political for its own good (though sounded incredibly great). He became more politically agitated online as well, losing fans due to his [[{{Anvilicious}} preaching against the American military-industrial complex.]] The follow-up album, ''White Light Rock and Roll Review'' in 2004, was a mediocre album at best, an inconsistent blather with odd dabblings of country at worst. Then, after a greatest-hits release in 2005, several things happened to him, [[TraumaCongaLine all almost at once]]: his wife divorced him (after cheating on him), he developed an addiction to painkillers, and he got diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He still managed to write an album while in the psych ward, at his absolute lowest. The result, ''Hospital Music'', seemed like something only a [[TheWoobie woobie]] could write and record. He has recovered since though, in part due to the album's success and an unlikely successful American tour. This recovery was cemented with ''Vancouver'' (the album, not the city) in 2009 which, despite being angrier, was more interested in social justice than American politics, and sounded much more consistent, and a return to form from the MGB days.
* It's hard to believe now, but when The Knack debuted with ''Get The Knack'' in 1979, some people seriously called them "The New Beatles," partially because Capitol Records encouraged this idea with its ''Meet The Beatles''-like packaging of the group. The hype was somewhat justified, as the album was pretty good power-pop. But they followed ''Get The Knack'' up with ''...But The Little Girls Understand'', perhaps the worst second album in rock history. After one more flop album, the band broke up and is now known to most people only as [[OneHitWonder the band that did "My Sharona."]]

* One of the more tragic examples -- Creator/GunpeiYokoi was a creative genius at Creator/{{Nintendo}} that was making successes even before Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto became the public face of the company. On top of being the inventor of the D-pad that all gaming controllers use to this day, he created the ''UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch'' series that broke Nintendo into home video games, and later replicated this with the UsefulNotes/GameBoy. Serving as a producer, he also oversaw the creation of ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'', ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', ''VideoGame/DrMario'', and ''VideoGame/PanelDePon''. Then he made the Virtual Boy. The high-profile disaster of a system was discontinued within a year, by which time he had become ''persona non grata'' at Nintendo. Creator/{{Nintendo}} was notoriously cruel to the poor guy, too. After the Virtual Boy debacle, they made him man the booth at a trade show, which in Japanese corporate culture is considered entry-level work, and thus a severe insult to someone of Yokoi's stature. He eventually resigned and began development on the Japan-only handheld system, the [=WonderSwan=], which did go on to be a reasonable challenger to the Game Boy's domination in Japan. But sadly he didn't live to see it as he died suddenly in a traffic accident in 1997. After his death, Nintendo paid tribute to him and still recognize him to this day as an important figure in the company's history... and are kind enough to his departed soul to just forget the Virtual Boy ever happened.

* ''[[Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Channel Awesome/That Guy With The Glasses]]'' and to an extent, [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic Doug Walker/Nostalgia Critic]]. During its debut and early years, they took the internet by storm, becoming universally beloved icons and pioneering internet review/criticism, with the Nostalgia Critic himself being the only figure that could match WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd in 'reviewing bad media'. In 2018, however, several disgruntled old associates revealed a lot of mismanagement by Channel Awesome CEO Mike Michaud (one of them proved to be extremely severe as it turned out that the channel is protecting a sexual predator) and [[AccompliceByInaction Doug not raising enough objections against it]] while getting preferential treatment over other contributors. This caught on the internet and it erupted into a wildfire, with hashtags like [=#ChangeTheChannel=] trending, condemning them and they transformed from major idols into major {{Broken Pedestal}}s, and a majority of old contributors leaving the channel to go their own separate paths (only a few like [[WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob Brad Jones]] stayed out of his loyalty as a personal friend with Doug). These days, surprisingly, Channel Awesome manage to still stand and gather many subscribers, but these mostly consist of newer fans; older fans and former associates rejected them, and they're no longer the internet personality juggernaut they used to be.

* Former Creator/{{Disney}} [=CEO=] Michael Eisner is often remembered now as a talentless, soul-sucking hack that "destroyed" the company built by Walt and Roy O. Disney. [[{{Misblamed}} Few remember]] that the company had nearly been destroyed by Ron Miller's inept leadership in the early '80s, and that Eisner was brought in by Roy E. Disney after the first "Save Disney" campaign in 1984. Eisner took Disney to the major market force that exists today -- returning it to higher-budget films, creating the Touchstone division for adult-oriented material, and pushing for the much-lauded Disney Renaissance that revived animated films after the false start of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''. He believed in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' and brought new interest to the golden age of animation, while getting Disney into television animation (resulting in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'', ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', etc.). But when Disney's president Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash just before the release of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' in 1994, long-time studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg expected to be promoted to fill Wells's position. When Eisner refused and forced Katzenberg to resign, he left the studio to found Creator/{{Dreamworks}}, whose [[Creator/DreamworksAnimation animation arm]] became a major competitor to Disney's. The promotion of Eisner's friend Michael Ovitz to the position was a disaster that upset most of the shareholders. Disney's new films, shows, and theme parks began to tank one after another in the late '90s and early 2000s -- accused of becoming formulaic, obsessed with TheMerch, and in the case of the parks outright lazy and cheap, while the ''old'' animated films were hit hard by DirectToVideo {{Sequelitis}}. Eisner burned enough bridges that even ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'' was ready to end their long partnership. In the wake of this, Roy E. Disney resigned from the board of directors and started a second "Save Disney" campaign to get rid of Eisner, who resigned under extreme pressure in 2005. It wasn't all doom and gloom for ''both'' Disney and Eisner though -- Disney under Bob Iger is slowly recovering, having rebuilt the bridges with Pixar and drawing positive attention from the public with [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog three]] [[Film/TronLegacy particular]] [[VideoGame/EpicMickey projects]], while Eisner's guest-hosting stint on ''Series/TheCharlieRoseShow'' not long after his ouster led to him getting a regular talk-show on CNBC; he continues to expand into Internet production and he bought the Topps baseball company. Eisner was also famous for being a control freak. Creator/JerryBruckheimer initially brought the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' franchise to Creator/{{ABC}}[=/=]Disney and Eisner rejected him. Eisner also reportedly hated ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and wanted it canceled despite its success. Reports from the inside even say that Eisner was hard set against both ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and ''Series/DesperateHousewives'', which were ''immense'' hits for Creator/{{ABC}} in 2004... while pushing his own project, which was basically "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne as a sitcom.

* Markus "Notch" Persson, the original creator of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and founder of Creator/{{Mojang}}, has become better known for his racist, homophobic and transphobic statements on Website/{{Twitter}}, as well as his support for alt-right conspiracy theories. As such, Microsoft has removed all mentions of him from Minecraft since then and excluded him from the game's tenth year anniversary.

* Creator/{{Atari}} was the top video game manufacturer in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames, with the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} cranking out hits of arcade ports and original games. Then came the disastrous [[VideoGame/ETTheExtraterrestrial E.T. video game]] and the [[PortingDisaster horrid port]] of ''VideoGame/PacMan'', leading up to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. Atari was never able to recover fully after that--not with the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 5200}}'s wonky controller, the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 7800}} being drowned out by the NES, and the UsefulNotes/{AtariLynx falling behind the Game Boy. It was finally the overhyped "64-bit" UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar and its even worse add-on, the Jaguar CD, that sent Atari to bankruptcy. A few years later, the Atari brand was bought by toy giant Hasbro, and currently the name is used by numerous companies and only for marketing: most notably, the current Atari in videogaming is in fact French company Infogrames.

Compare NeverLiveItDown, in which a creator is ''only'' identified with the worst thing they ever did; they may have done successful work before and since, but they never had the prestige and adoration that makes a Fallen Creator. Can also overlap with DeaderThanDisco. Sort of the opposite of SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct, when someone despised proves they can do well.

* Creator/PeterSellers himself was this for a time. In 1964, he was an acclaimed actor with the success of ''Literature/TheMouseThatRoared'', ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' and ''Film/DrStrangelove''. But then he suffered a series of heart attacks. While his first post-attack film, ''Film/WhatsNewPussycat'', was a hit, ''After the Fox'' was a disappointment, and his behavior on the set of ''Film/CasinoRoyale1967'' was so infamous that the producer and Columbia Pictures blamed him for many, if not most, of its problems. His difficult nature and disappointing films made him almost DeaderThanDisco (particularly with American studios) until the Pink Panther revival and ''Film/BeingThere'' turned things around, an example of how the fallen can be redeemed. He looked to be on the verge of throwing it all away again with 1980's disastrous ''Film/TheFiendishPlotOfDrFuManchu'', but in a piece of incredibly good timing, he died a month before it was released.