The Year's Most Infamous Celebrities

Last year, New York Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez was seemingly on top of the world. He'd just signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Bronx Bombers, making him the eighth-highest-earning athlete on Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in the world.

But after admitting to injecting a banned substance when playing for the Texas Rangers, cavorting with Madonna as his six-year marriage was crumbling and doing little to keep the Yankees from missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons, A-Rod finds himself atop a very different kind of ranking: Forbes' Infamy Index.

Our second annual peek at the dark side of fame, the index ranks celebrities based on negative press coverage garnered over the past 12 months. This year's batch of "winners" consists of six men and four women who hail from sports, acting, music and even beauty pageants. Among them: Lindsay Lohan, Plaxico Burress, Christian Bale, Nadya "Octo-mom" Suleman and Jon and Kate Gosselin.

Rodriguez moved up fast after facing allegations in February that he'd tested positive for the steroids Primobolan and testosterone in 2003, and later admitted to having used a banned substance during that time. In April, the unauthorized biography A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez levied further steroid accusations and claims Rodriguez cheated by tipping pitches to opposing players. Former Yankees manager Joe Torre also painted a less-than-flattering portrait of the third-baseman in his book The Yankee Years, referring to Rodriguez as "A-Fraud."


Now back in the Yankees' dugout after missing the first month of the 2009 baseball season with a torn labrum, A-Rod has been hot at the plate and back in the headlines for reportedly squiring actress Kate Hudson around town.