Stars Who Became Irrelevant In 2017

They say "fame is fleeting," and these stars certainly found that out the hard way. Once at the top of the proverbial celebrity food chain, their names were always in the press. These celebs couldn't step outside without the paparazzi shoving cameras in their faces, and they were invited to each and every Hollywood event to rub elbows with fellow A-listers. Alas, it seems their time in the spotlight has come to an end–at least temporarily. From musicians to socialites to reality TV celebs, this group of famous faces faded from view in 2017.

Do you remember when Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were on every tabloid cover? Ahhh, it feels like only yesterday this couple was showcasing its love fest all over MTV's reality show The Hills. 

To keep their name in the press, Pratt admitted in an interview with Pop Culture Died (via Cosmopolitan) that he made a deal with a celebrity photo agency called Pacific Coast News to stage photo ops. The snaps of Montag and Pratt were then sold to tabloid magazines and disseminated across the globe. According to Pratt, "We were making over a million dollars selling our paparazzi photos, so you start doing a lot of them and you're like, 'This is the best gig ever!'"

Sadly, "Speidi" didn't think to save all the money it was raking in. In 2016, the couple told People magazine it blew through its fortune on Montag's designer wardrobe, pricey dinners, expensive wine, and the cost to have bodyguards protect them during their nights out on the town. As their reality TV appearances dwindled, and no one was interested in their cheesy paparazzi photos anymore, Pratt and Montag faded into obscurity.

When Montag gave birth to their son, Gunnar, in 2017, the family graced the cover of Us Weekly, but next to no one batted an eye. Their mainstream appeal has headed for the hills.

At one time, Iggy Azalea was so "Fancy." The Aussie rapper didn't have the street cred of most hip-hop artists, but she had no problem climbing to the top of the charts, and at least she looked good on stage, right?

But I-G-G-Y hasn't been able to maintain her success. After a messy breakup with her fiancé, NBA player Nick "Swaggy P" Young, who got his ex-girlfriend pregnant behind Azalea's back (ouch), she was ready to move on and own the charts in 2017. Unfortunately, the music industry had moved on too. 

After getting into Twitter spats with a bunch of different celebs, from Britney Spears to Erykah Badu to Papa John's Pizza, even Azalea's mentor, rapper T.I., tried to distance himself from her.

She released two songs, "Mo Bounce" and "Switch" in 2017, but neither made a ripple on the charts. On top of that, her sophomore album's release date was indefinitely delayed. It may be time for "the realest" to become a realist.

Angela "Blac Chyna" White had a few things she needed to complete on her to-do list to remain relevant: get married to Rob Kardashian, legally change her name to Angela Kardashian, and dethrone the KarJenners from their reality TV empire...in that order. 

Sadly, she failed to accomplish those theoretical goals. Instead, Chyna made headlines in 2017 for a very messy breakup with Kardashian, and their reality show, Rob & Chyna, was nixed from E!'s network schedule. There goes that burgeoning reality TV career. With lawsuits pending, including a case in which Chyna accused Rob, his mom, Kris Jenner, and his big sister, Kim Kardashian, of conspiring to cancel the reality show, Chyna will be hard-pressed to regain her popularity. 

Chyna may be punching above her weight as she struggles to take on one of the most powerful families in the entertainment industry. She was denied entry to a pre-Espy's party following her online feud with Rob, and her attempt to release a very racy and risqué song about her private parts cued a whole lot of eye rolls. We'd prefer to see Chyna refocus her future on raising her adorable daughter, Dream Kardashian.

Some people may say Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's career was over after Jersey Shore came to an end in 2012, but she continued to maintain a relevant reality TV career, appearing on Nicole & Jionni's Shore Flip with her husband, Jionni LaValle, in 2016. Granted, the new show wasn't nearly as entertaining as the original–cameras basically followed the couple around as they flipped houses. (Yawn.)

In 2017, it was announced that Polizzi and her Jersey Shore co-star, Jennifer "JWoww" Farley, would appear in a new reality show with the working title Celebrity Shore, but not many folks cared. Unless Snooki plans to fist-pump and get DTF with randoms in the original shore house alongside Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and the rest of the crew, we've officially labeled 2017 as the year her relevancy finally washed out with the tide.

She was at the top of her game as Rachel Berry on Glee, and actress Lea Michele has desperately tried to hold on to those glory days. As the star of the hit FOX musical comedy, Michele graced the red carpet at numerous events and even racked up a few Teen Choice awards, including the 2013 award that she dedicated to the memory of her late boyfriend, actor Cory Monteith, who died of an overdose that same year.

Michele probably wishes she could go back to the days when she was the captain of the Glee Club because we're fairly certain she's fully aware of her own irrelevancy. In 2017, she seemingly begged for a Glee reboot, even though the series had ended just two years prior. During an interview on Chelsea Lately (via Teen Vogue), Michele said, "I loved playing Rachel Berry, I loved that cast, and it was so special, you know, what we did with bringing music into people's homes and these characters that were so relatable, I loved it. I would do it in a heartbeat." 

Though nostalgia is all the rage in Hollywood these days, we think Michele's career would be better served by a more forward-thinking approach. 

Hollywood was Paris Hilton's playground in the early-2000s, and she singlehandedly shaped a tiny portion of pop culture history thanks in part to her catchy phrase, "That's hot." Her popularity helped her snag a reality TV gig on The Simple Life with her former BFF, Nicole Richie. On the program, the two friends traveled across the United States, wreaking havoc in rural towns. And, yes, it was entertaining AF.

Although she came from an ultra-rich family, the majority of her inheritance from her grandfather, Barron Hilton, was reportedly earmarked for various charities. Thankfully, Hilton didn't need her family's fortune at the time because her career as a professional socialite was taking off. From endorsement deals with fast food chain Carl's Jr. to her $2 billion perfume empire, she was the "it girl."

Fast forward to 2017. It looks as if Hilton has been booted from her old stomping grounds in Hollywood and forced to attempt to gain relevancy in an entirely different country. The former reality TV star began spinning records as a DJ in Ibiza. Sure, it sort of makes sense that a party girl would find a career on the party circuit, and according to an interview with Billboard, Hilton claims to be "one of the top five" highest-paid DJs...in case you cared.

Some may say Rita Ora has never been relevant, but let's not pretend that the British singer hasn't had a few hits...or one, at least. Does "R.I.P." ring a bell? No? Okay, fine. Regardless of what some may think, Ora was a fairly consistent figure in the entertainment industry. She fared well across the pond, securing four UK No. 1 songs, but when it came to landing on the U.S. music charts, she barely made a dent. The exception was her featured spot on Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow," which peaked at No. 3.

With her music career puttering out, Ora tried her hand at becoming a TV personality. In 2015, she became a coach on The Voice UK before quitting to become a judge on The X Factor, but these gigs clearly didn't give her the kind of exposure she needed. In 2017, she auditioned on The Voice Germany as a joke, but the joke was on Ora because none of the judges even recognized her! 

That same year, she showed up at the MTV EMAs looking all sorts of crazy in a bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head and $7.8 million in diamond accessories. It was obvious Ora craved a bit of attention, but her ploy came across a little too try-hard, even to those who knew who she was.

Everyone praised Caitlyn Jenner when she announced she was leaving Bruce behind and living her life as a transgender women. She graced the cover of Vanity Fair magazine looking absolutely dazzling in a gold evening gown, and she later became a strong supporter for LGBTQ+ rights and was even given her own E! reality show called I Am Cait.

However, just as quickly as the world embraced her, the public seemed to grow tired of her publicity. Immediately following U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ban on transgenders in the military, Jenner was photographed riding around town in her 1960 Austin-Healey convertible with a hat emblazoned with Trump's campaign motto: "Make America Great Again." She later backtracked, explaining that she wore the hat by mistake and thought it was "awful" that Trump was advocating against the trans community. To many, her response was too little too late.

Even the Kardashians distanced themselves from Jenner, particularly after she claimed in her memoir that the late Robert Kardashian allegedly knew his good friend, OJ Simpson, was guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. It seems the rest of the world is distancing itself from Jenner too. Her reality show was canceled, and she garnered far less–and far less positive–press throughout 2017.

The child star and musician had a string of hits early on his career, but Aaron Carter made headlines in 2017 for everything but his artistry. 

After Carter was arrested for DUI in July 2017, his behavior became increasingly strange. Was he acting erratically just so he could stay in the limelight, or was he was actually dealing with some real issues that he needed to address? It's hard to say.

After his fans began to make comments about his gaunt appearance, the "I Want Candy" singer revealed that he was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia at the age of 19, and the condition made it difficult for him to eat. Unfortunately, the negative attention about his body took its toll, and he checked into a hospital, blaming a fan for "bullying" him. In an Twitter post (via Us Weekly,) Carter said, "I'm entirely hurt by a so-called fan that I just encountered. She wasn't realizing I was listening, she said I look like I have cancer. This is body shaming."

Carter also revealed he was bisexual in 2017. "This doesn't bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me," he tweeted (via People.) Regardless of his pop star status, here's hoping Carter's overall health and happiness continues to improve in the years to come.

We never thought we'd see the day when Nicki Minaj was rounding out a list of irrelevant stars. She seemed to have it all: an amazing music career, numerous chart-topping singles, a handful of Grammy nominations, and millions of adoring fans across her social media accounts. But Minaj's stardom took a serious hit in 2017. Let's recap:

Minaj's slide began with her very public beef with fellow rapper Remy Ma. These two have been going back and forth since 2007, when Minaj took shots at Remy Ma on the track "Dirty Money," but things really exploded in 2017, when Remy Ma released the diss track "Shether," followed by another one, aptly titled "Another One." On the tracks, Remy Ma brutally insults Minaj–even claiming she uses a ghostwriter to pen her lyrics. Minaj responded, but it didn't matter much because a fresh face had arguably overshadowed both rap divas. 

Newcomer Cardi B swooped down on the scene with her massive hit "Bodak Yellow," which The New York Times called the 2017 song of the summer, describing Cardi B as "her own engine, a forceful personality and a technician." With music fans favoring the rap rookie's track over anything Minaj released in 2017, it's safe to assume the "Super Bass" starlet no longer reigns supreme.