There are many people I’ve read about whose talent and genius I revere but who just strike me as absolute pigs as individuals that I would not trust with my wallet or alone in my house. I hate to say it, but the recently demised Hunter S. Thompson would be one (whether he loved to shock or it was just his natural personality, he had a talent for scaring and embarassing friends)- I respect his talent but wouldn’t want him as a houseguest.
Another would be John Belushi: in the LIVE FROM NEW YORK book it seems everybody had a story about him setting fire to their apartment from leaving a lit cigarette or joint burning while passed out, besides which he seems to have just been a miserable and thoroughly misogynistic person (he tried to have the women writers and performers fired because “women aren’t funny”). Again: would pay money to see his work but would change the locks if he had a key to my apartment.
Who are some other celebrities who seem to have generally been “mad, bad and dangerous to know” in spite of their genius?