5 Women Who Became Famous For Controversial Reasons

Fame is a fickle friend that can make or break you, especially in the cut-throat world of entertainment. Women, in particular, have experienced fame in ways that perhaps even they didn’t see coming. And for them, the struggle is twice as hard purely because they are considered the ‘weaker sex’. Recently, judging women in the media has become as frequent and normal as breathing, for most of us.

Some women, however, didn’t attain fame the conventional way – by climbing the ladder of success. It was their words and actions that brought controversies with them, ripe for the taking, and the media couldn’t handle the shocking revelations that unfurled in front of them. Here are some of the women who made headlines and created Twitter storms with their decisions.

1. Dhinchak Pooja

Fame comes in all kinds of forms, methods, shapes, sizes, and thanks to Dhinchak Pooja – even mind-numbing lyrics and vocal chords. The sheer volume of views that the ridiculous “debut” video of hers, ‘Selfie Maine Le li Aaj’, attracted is unbelievable.

What started off as a joke with her ‘Swag Wali Topi’ soon snowballed into several more annoying songs that went viral overnight, with people making her songs into memes and fan pages being dedicated to her from around the country. Thanks for all the nails-on-a-chalkboard worthy entertainment that you gave us, Pooja Jain. Our bleeding ears are eternally in your debt.

2. Kim Kardashian West

One of THE most influential women in Hollywood today, the reason for Kim Kardashian’s rise to fame, though many, was primarily thanks to her sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J that was leaked online in 2007. Soon after, one of America’s renowned television reality shows Keeping Up With The Kardashians was created, and Kim hasn’t looked back since.

However, if the rumours are to be believed, the tape wasn’t actually leaked, but was an orchestrated act of publicity by either Kim herself or her mother Kris Jenner, making her the iconic people figure she is today. Fact or fiction, the tape did the job alright!

3. Poonam Pandey

The actress and model had become synonymous with controversy even before she had a chance to attain fame elsewhere! The incident that catapulted her name to the spotlight, however, was when she promised to strip naked for the Indian cricket team if they were to win the Cricket World Cup in 2011. Of course, India did win the Cup, but due to a huge backlash from the general public, Poonam didn’t fulfill her promise, although she stated that it was because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) didn’t grant her permission to do so.

Fast forward to 2012, Poonam did pose naked when Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League 5, and has constantly been under the media glare for posting explicit pictures of herself on her Twitter account.

4. Sofia Hayat

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to get you fame in the media, is to stir up controversies by making bold statements and promptly refusing to follow through! Former Bigg Boss contestant Sofia Hayat made headlines by renouncing all worldly pleasures and telling her followers on social media that she has chosen to become a nun, henceforth, where her life will now be devoted to god and devoid of earthly pleasures like sex.

But that sure as heck didn’t last long, since she tied the knot with her Romanian boyfriend Vlad Stanescu, and posted racy pictures of her husband and herself at their honeymoon. 

5. Sunny Leone

It’s hard enough being in the media spotlight for the women in the country, with judgement flowing freely in all directions regarding their bodies, and rampant sexist behaviour from people in the industry. And when you’re a woman who has worked as a porn star and want to make a splash in Bollywood, it only gets vicious and downright nasty.

Sunny Leone is one such woman who fought off all the misogynistic and sexist comments that were thrown at her by men and women alike and made her mark in Bollywood. She was unapologetic about her past work in pornography and really didn’t give a shit about who judged her for it. Her shocking entry into Bollywood may have sparked controversy, but trust Sunny to hold her head up high and fight them all with absolute grace!