Lance Armstrong In Dodgeball & 9 Other Cameos That Aged Poorly

From Bill Murray in Zombieland to Channing Tatum in This is the End to Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe, celebrity cameos are usually a lot of fun. An unadvertised appearance by A-list talent is always a nice surprise and the purpose of the cameo tends to be so the celebrity can make fun of themselves, which can be hilarious if it’s done right.

The only problem with celebrity cameos is that they can easily age poorly. Celebrities who are beloved one day can be despised the next day if incriminating information about their personal life gets out. These revelations can make an otherwise harmless cameo suddenly seem really dark.

10 Lance Armstrong In Dodgeball

In the third act of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Vince Vaughn’s character Peter gets cold feet about the championship and decides to head home. However, in the airport bar, he meets Lance Armstrong, who gives him an inspirational speech about the importance of good sportsmanship.

At the time, this was a fun cameo that set the stage for Peter’s triumphant return to the dodgeball court. In retrospect, of course, it’s awkward watching Armstrong preach about sportsmanship after having all his post-1998 athletic accomplishments stripped away in a doping scandal.

9 Phil Spector In Easy Rider

As the ‘60s came to a close, darker, edgier movies began to take over the American film industry. With big-budget musicals no longer a viable source of income, studios took chances on smaller, grittier movies like Taxi Driver and The Godfather, ushering in the “New Hollywood” movement.

One of the quintessential movies responsible for this movement is Easy Rider, a drug-fueled biker flick starring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. For the most part, the movie holds up, but there’s a cameo appearance by Phil Spector as “Connection” that’s difficult to overlook, because he was found guilty of murdering Lana Clarkson in 2003.

8 Harvey Weinstein In An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn

A satire about Hollywood moviemaking and the tradition of using the pseudonym “Alan Smithee” to disown films, An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn ended up being so terrible that its own director relinquished credit to that pseudonym.

Harvey Weinstein cameoed in the movie as private eye Sam Rizzo long before more than 80 women came forward with allegations of rape, assault, and sexual harassment, finally putting an end to Weinstein’s decades of sexual violence (and rudely awakening an industry that enabled it). He’s currently serving a 23-year sentence in Wende Correctional Facility.

7 Bobby Brown In Ghostbusters II

While it’s nowhere near as great as its predecessor, Ghostbusters II has its moments. For starters, the popularity of the first Ghostbusters allowed for the producers to recruit some pretty big names to cameo in the sequel, from Max von Sydow to Cheech Marin.

One that aged poorly is Bobby Brown, who contributed to the soundtrack and plays a doorman. Brown’s later marriage to Whitney Houston would make them both popular targets for the tabloid press as the relationship was marred by drug use, domestic violence, and infidelity.

6 Kevin Spacey In Austin Powers In Goldmember

The opening scene of the third Austin Powers movie sets the stage for an action set piece in which Austin takes down a helicopter from a moving car, but it’s quickly revealed to be Tom Cruise playing Austin in a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. For the most part, the cast of this film-within-a-film is filled with lovable A-listers, from Danny DeVito as Mini-Me to Gwyneth Paltrow as the love interest.

But one cameo that’s aged terribly is Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil. Spacey fell from grace after Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual misconduct and several other men came forward with similar accusations against the American Beauty star. Now, he keeps to himself and makes bizarre annual Christmas Eve addresses on YouTube.

5 Matt Lauer In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In the pilot episode of Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kimmy and the Reverend’s other hostages are freed from the bunker where they were forced to follow his cult and quickly become minor celebrities as they’re called in for an interview with Matt Lauer on Today.

This was nothing out of the ordinary in 2015, but it’s an uncomfortable watch after the #MeToo movement revealed his history of inappropriate sexual behavior, especially when he says lines like, “I’m always amazed of what women will do because they’re afraid of being rude.”

4 Jared Fogle In Super Size Me

Back when he was only known as the spokesman for Subway, Jared Fogle made an appearance in the McDonald’s-centric documentary Super Size Me. This cameo is difficult to watch now that Fogle has pleaded guilty to child sex tourism and possession of child pornography.

Also, the documentary’s director, producer, writer, and star, Morgan Spurlock, wrote a blog post amid the #MeToo movement in which he confessed to a history of sexual misconduct.

3 O.J. Simpson In Roots

There are a bunch of famous faces in the seminal miniseries Roots, from Ed Asner to Maya Angelou, but one that’s aged pretty badly is O.J. Simpson, playing Kadi Touray, who offers some sage wisdom to Kunta Kinte.

Simpson was acquitted of the charges that he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but was later convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping in 2008.

2 Michael Jackson In Men In Black II

Michael Jackson was reportedly such a huge fan of the Men in Black franchise that he contacted the studio about replacing Will Smith as the star. Instead, the studio gave Jacko a cameo as “Agent M” in Men in Black II.

It’s a good thing they didn’t make Jackson the star of the sequel. After the startling allegations of child sexual abuse in Leaving Neverland, just that cameo appearance is uncomfortable to watch.

1 Donald Trump In Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

Apparently, if film productions ever wanted to shoot on one of Donald Trump’s properties back in the day, he would only allow it if they agreed to put him in the movie. So, the crew would waste a few hours setting up Trump’s cameo, shoot it to indulge him, and then cut it later on.

But one Trump cameo that made the final cut can be found in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, in which he helps Kevin McCallister find the lobby of the Plaza Hotel.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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