Then there’s Kevin Spacey. The House of Cards actor was at the peak of his career when, in 2017, he faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Though he was later acquitted, his career never recovered, and he remains largely absent from Hollywood.

Bradley Cooper, despite receiving 10 Oscar nominations since the selfie, has yet to take home a golden statuette—an ongoing disappointment in an otherwise successful career.

But it’s not just professional downfalls that have tainted the photo—several high-profile relationships have crumbled as well.

Two years after the selfie was taken, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ended their marriage, leading to a lengthy and bitter legal battle over their shared winery.

In 2023, it was revealed that Meryl Streep and her husband of 45 years, Don Gummer, had quietly separated—six years prior.

And while his former wife Jenna Dewan wasn’t in the photo, Channing Tatum’s marriage also unraveled just four years later, marking another split connected to the picture.

With so many careers and relationships taking a turn for the worse after the selfie, it’s no wonder people have come to see it as an eerie symbol of Hollywood misfortune.