In case you haven’t heard, Fat Joe is the latest celebrity to shed extra weight in the pursuit of better health. While we commend him for looking out for his well-being, we can’t help but wonder what kind of effect this weight shift will have on his career?
Over the course of entertainment history, drastic weight shifts haven’t always been the best move for an artist’s output quality. From Dr. Dre to Drew Carey, weight shifts have spelled doom for careers.
Don’t believe us? Here’s a look.
1. Busta Rhymes — He got chiseled, then fat. We miss the “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” days.
2. 50 Cent — The more swoll he gets, the worst his albums were. The anorexic look didn’t seem to help either. Who actually plans on watching this movie he got skinny for, anyway?
3. Dr. Dre — Maybe Dre lost his copy of Detox at Gold’s Gym.
4. LL Cool J — LL’s album quality decreased with every push-up.
5. N.O.R.E. — He could barely “What What” without wheezing. Now, he lost weight and…well, you know.
6. Eminem — Eminem’s addiction made him gain weight…and it also made him make Encore.
7. D’Angelo — It seems like decades ago that women were swooning over naked D in that video, huh?
8. Melle Mel — Melle Mel went from legendary rapper to bizarre wrestler…like John Cena with a perm.
9. Nelly — Supposedly, he spent his money on booze, roids and his lady…no money left for producers and hitmakers, then.
10. Whitney Houston — She took the original path many celebs took to weight loss: drugs. To be fair, Whit Whit’s fall was exacerbated by…
11. Bobby Brown — Bobby’s self-inflated ego popped the greatest Black boy band ever in existence. And his ballooning weight & drug habit eventually shot down his solo career as well. While it’s hard to imagine from the pic above, the guy was once a sex symbol to young Black girls across the U.S.
12. Janet Jackson — She goes from fat to skinny based on when an album comes out…and when she does a Tyler Perry movie. During this time, she was having sex with Jermaine Dupri. Scary.
13. Raven Simone — Fat = biggest child star in the world. Skinny = the chick that used to be the fat child star that ruled the world.
14. Dave Chappelle — Dave’s been gone for a bit and pops up more muscular than before. We still haven’t heard sh*t from him in years, though.
15. Timbaland — Did you hear Shock Value 2? Or any of those dumpster fire beats he made for Jay-Z? The banana-eating fatty from Fade To Black needs to come back.
16. Every Baseball Player In The 90s — Sure they hit tons of homers thanks to their sudden muscle gains and power. But the ‘roids basically wiped their decade out of existence and their balls shrank. Lose/lose.
17. Seth Rogen — Did you see Green Hornet? Fat Seth is too good for that.
18. Star Jones – AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
19. Jessica Simpson — She went from Daisy Dukes to Duke The Dumpster Droese and her career hasn’t looked the same since.
20. Missy Elliott — Plus size Missy’s off-beat videos drew attention her way by downplaying her looks and highlighting the nonsense happening on-screen. Her more slender form coupled with tired attempts at boosting her “sex appeal” just made us change the channel.
21. Al Roker — Along with Al’s loose skin came loose lips and now this creep regularly turns situations awkward with off color jokes and unnecessary sexual undertones that straight weird us out.
22. Drew Carey — He was funny when he had his own show. Then he lost weight and did moonwalks on The Price Is Right’s grave with his lame jokes.
23. Jonah Hill — His weight loss could not have come at a worse time. With a 21 Jump Street remake looming around, will the difference in pounds result in the next Star Trek or the next A-Team?
24. John Popper — Remember Blues Traveler? While you were busy choosing sides in 1996, this NJ band’s harmonica-driven single “Run-Around” turned Jon Popper and his pals into world-renown, Grammy-winning rockers. Thing is, back then Popper was literally twice the size he is now. In the years since, he has both surgically had the weight removed and fallen off the face off the earth.
25. Luther Vandross — Luther Vandross’ weight fluctuated so frequently throughout his illustrious career that his bigger and thinner versions were jokingly regarded as different people altogether. Based purely on anecdotal research, Big Luther seems to have the edge in popularity. The golden-voiced crooner passed away in 2005, but the debate lives on.