(Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images for Meet the Press)
Embattled news anchor Brian Williams may not be considered embattled for long.
Following the NBC Nightly News personality's six-month suspension for telling inaccurate or embellished stories, which ranged from Iraq war misreports to Hurricane Katrina allegations, Williamsapologized to Matt Lauer Friday on the Today show.
"I'm sorry for what happened. I am different as a result and I expect to be held to a different standard," he somberly conceded. "This was clearly ego driven, a desire to better my role in a story I was already in."
And with that public admission behind him, Williams begins his next chapter in the public — albeit less esteemed — eye, as an anchor on MSNBC.
Williams joins a long list of celebrities who have bounced back after career-threatening mistakes. From legal quandaries to very public meltdowns, take a look at stars who've rejuvenated their careers and stayed off tabloid covers they once dominated:
Martha Stewart
Then: On March 5, 2004, the domestic goddess was convicted of insider trading. She served five months in a federal prison camp then had two years of supervised release. (You may notice a very Martha-esque character on Orange is the New Blackthis season.)
Now: Stewart staged quite the comeback starting in 2005, including a Kmart line, daytime TV show and, of all things, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She was reinstated as chairman of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia , in 2012, acompany that's now close to being sold, according to the Wall Street Journal.
See, she can even joke about jail -- at Justin Bieber 's expense:
Then: Downey spent stints in rehab and jail between 1999 and 2001 for drug-related crimes. Lowlights include prison time for possession of cocaine, heroin and an unloaded handgun while speeding on Sunset Boulevard. Yikes.
Now: Mr. Iron Man came to Oprah with his come-to-Jesus interview in 2004, describing getting clean and sober. Now he's known for starring in high-grossing movies like The Avengers and Iron Man (and wearing sassy sunglasses indoors).
With drugs far in Downey Jr.'s past, this is perfect advice he dished at the MTV Movie Awards in March:
Then: Vick started as quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in 2001 and spent six seasons with the team -- that is, until he was convicted of running an illegal dogfighting ring (of which the details are super gruesome). He served 548 days in jail and was $18 million in debt.
Now: Vick is now a free agent and played with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2009-2013 and the Jets in 2014. Plus, he's nearly paid off his debt by using two-thirds of every dollar he earned to pay it off.
Then: Barrymore was the pinnacle of a troubled child star. (But remember how cute she was in E.T.!?) By her early teens, she'd started doing drugs, and checked into rehab at 14. She kept it wild with a nude Playboy spread in 1995 -- and who could forget her flashing David Letterman ?
Now: She's still in the spotlight -- just a bit more clothed. Barrymore, now 40, has had quite a career (albeit a lot of romantic comedies). She's written two books, has a makeup line, and has won a whole lot of awards.
Then: The Grammy-winning teen pop princess was the pinnacle of success in the late '90s and early '00s. Then came the breakdown. In 2007, Spears shocked the world when she became addicted to drugs, shaved her head, was placed in psychiatric hold twice, lost custody of her two kids and more.
Now: Tabloid fodder seems to have finally simmered down. Spears and Iggy Azalea 's summer song Pretty Girls is still ruling the radio (despite Azalea's own turmoil), and Spears has had a standing show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas for more than a year.
Then: Where in the world was Mark Sanford? In June 2009, the South Carolina Governor completely dropped off the grid, saying he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail . He was really gallivanting in Buenos Aires with journalist Maria Belén Chapur, with whom he had been having an affair. While the process for impeachment began, Sanford was never actually removed from office.
Now: In May 2013, a disgraced Sanford returned to politics. He won the special election to fill Tim Scott 's seat in the House of Representatives for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District after Scott was elected to the Senate, which leaves us with one question, WWFUS? (What would Frank Underwood say?)
Bill Clinton
Then: President Clinton sure knows how to bounce back from a scandal. He dominated the 1998 news because of his affair with 22-year-old Monica Lewinsky -- and the scandal/defense/media storm that came with it. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives (the first president that's happened to since Andrew Jackson ), but was acquitted by the Senate.
Now: Clinton is considered an esteemed member of the political and philanthropic community as a founder of the Clinton Foundation . (And did we mention that he's Mr. Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton's husband?)
Then: Do you know who she is? Witherspoon got into hot water in 2013 after a video surfaced of the "squeaky-clean" movie star berating a police officer after being pulled over on suspicion of DUI in Atlanta. "Do you know my name? You're about to find out who I am," she famously said.
Now: Witherspoon issued an apology, and her acting career moved on. (ThisWashington Post article even argues that the arrest helped land her new jobs.) She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Cheryl Strayed in 2014's biopic, Wild.
Then: Famed sportscaster Albert was charged with forcible sodomy in 1997 (and convicted of misdemeanor assault and battery) after a woman claimed he forced her into sexual acts and bit her in a hotel room. He was sentenced to a 12-month suspended sentence, and longtime employer NBC subsequently fired him.
Now: Two years later, Albert returned to NBC as a sportscaster.
Then: On April 4, 2007, Imus described the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" (among other racially offensive terms) on his radio show Imus in the Morning, causing massive public and media outrage. CBS canceled his show.
Now: Later in 2007, Imus found a new home on the radio with ABC radio and a small rural cable TV channel. But as of last month, he has left the Fox Business Network .
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