Canned. Let go. Downsized. Dismissed. Terminated. No matter how you put it, it all means the same thing: You've been fired.
So what? So has everyone. In fact, the average employee has a one-in-three chance of getting fired, according to BusinessWeek.
In our current economy, getting the boot is more common than ever before. Just look at our financial industry: Thanks to bad loans, risky investments and dwindling stocks, the heads of five major banks including Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and American International Group were all recently relieved of their duties.
But getting fired isn't all bad (depending on who you ask). Many say it builds character, inspires you to do better and, if nothing else, makes a good story to tell your friends.
In fact, getting fired and talking about it seems to be the new trend. Workers are no longer getting the boot and feeling bad about it. Now, they are sharing their stories with anyone who will listen. Annabelle Gurwitch, actress and author of "Fired! Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized and Dismissed," discovered this fact when she was fired by her idol, Woody Allen.
"As it turned out, nothing bored my five-year-old son more than an account of being fired by a cultural icon; however, the response from others was quite different," Gurwitch says in her book. "Friends in the industry assured me that they too had been fired and proceeded to relate their stories. Their humor and insight and generosity consoled me. So I began collecting these tales of jobs gone bad."
Think your termination tale was awful? Read the following famous (and not-so-famous) firings from workers, job seekers and celebrity icons around the world. Some will make you laugh; others will inspire and motivate you to do better. After all, Gurwitch says, "It's not the bounce that counts, it's the bounce back."
Famous firee: Britney Spears
Fired from: The Firm, her former management company
Gist: After a tumultuous year, Spears hired The Firm, a talent management company, to help promote her new album. In September 2007 (one month later and during an intense custody battle with her ex-husband), the company suspended its services. In a statement to the media, the company said: "We have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. We believe she is enormously talented, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job."
Famous firee: Isaiah Washington
Fired from: Television show "Grey's Anatomy"
Gist: In 2006, Washington was accused of using an anti-gay slur to describe fellow actor T.R. Knight during an argument on the set of the show. He repeated the slur at the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards while denying the allegations during a backstage press conference. ABC Studios didn't invite Washington back to the show because of the bad press generated for the show after the incident, as well as his behavior on and off the set.
Famous firee: Chef Robert Irvine
Fired from: The Food Network
Gist: Irvine, a celebrity chef, prepared difficult dishes on TV for four seasons on his series, "Dinner: Impossible." His contract with the Food Network was terminated earlier this year after the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times revealed that Irvine had embellished and fabricated the more impressive parts of his résumé, including claiming to have cooked for the British royal family; catering to four U.S. presidents; and helping to make Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake.
Famous firee: Marty Schottenheimer, San Diego Chargers ex-head coach
Fired from: San Diego Chargers
Gist: Schottenheimer was fired in 2007 by the team president, who cited a "dysfunctional situation" between the coach and general manager. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that although Schottenheimer was coming off a winning season, he was fired after he tried to interview his brother for a vacant defensive coordinator position. The president said disagreements over future staffing played a role but it was "more the actual working relationship" that was an issue.
Famous firee: Janet Cooke, former journalist
Fired from: The Washington Post
Gist: Cooke became famous for a Pulitzer Prize-winning profile in 1980 about an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy." Upon publication, the government demanded to know Jimmy's whereabouts so it could help him. Cooke claimed she couldn't reveal her sources for fear that drug dealers would endanger her life. Several people noticed numerous discrepancies in her story; further investigation revealed Cooke's false credentials. Two days after the prize had been awarded it was revealed that the story was fraudulent. Cooke was forced to resign and return the prize.
Famous firees: Four women in Hooksett, N.H.
Fired from: The Town Council of Hooksett
Gist: Four women were fired in May 2007 for gossiping and discussing rumors about an illicit relationship between the town administrator and another employee. After the administrator complained, the council fired the women, saying, "Gossip, whispering and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business."
Famous firee: Don Imus, radio announcer
Fired from: CBS Radio
Gist: During a discussion on his show, "Imus in the Morning," about the 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, Imus used a slur to refer to the Rutgers University women's basketball team and called them "rough girls." Imus accepted his fate when his show was canceled in April 2007 and apologized for his actions. His show resumed eight months later, on ABC Radio.
Famous firees: Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane, former TV newscasters
Fired from: KYW-TV, a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia
Gist: Lane was fired in January from the station first after becoming the subject of several embarrassing news stories, including allegedly striking a police officer and sending bikini pictures of herself to a well-known sports anchor. In June, Mendte was fired after admitting that he illegally hacked into Lane's e-mail accounts and read hundreds of personal e-mails during the same time period when information about Lane's personal life was leaked to the media.
Oriya Actress Leslie Tripathy met with some sad fate when organisations like World Vision,Nandan Kanan chose to not go ahead with a professional relationaship with her,after her personal life came under media scrutiny post herobsessive-fan- stalker ended up up harassing her,she had to face some brunt and was stripped from being their Celebrity Ambassador.
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