AmIAnnoying.com
Encyclopedia
AmIAnnoying.com is a website
that allows users to vote on celebrities based on their annoyance
factors. It has more than 20,000 profiles of public figures and is the largest on-going celebrity polling site on the Internet.
It was launched by New York State natives Bruce Goldman, Marc Cutler, and Keith Furman in December 2000 as AmIAnnoyingorNot.com. It was created as a twist of the "Hot or Not
" craze. Instead of voting for "regular people", visitors have the opportunity to vote for public figures and their irritability. It is also different from "Hot or Not" in that instead of rating the people on a numerical scale, it simply asks whether the celebrity is "annoying" or "not annoying". The user can also vote "don't care" if they are unfamiliar with or have no opinion of the celebrity. For each celebrity, there is a picture along with background information and reasons why this famous person might be annoying or not annoying. These profiles are authored by Team Annoy (the nickname for the three AIA creators) and a devoted following of site users. Some of the things that have been considered annoying are Scientology, breast implants, smoking, tattoos, depression, divorce, and vegetarianism/veganism. Because two of the three founders of the site are left-handed, left-handed celebrities are not considered annoying.
While most of the entries on the site consist of individuals, groups such as bands, sports teams, and television series have their own entries on the site. Even AmIAnnoying.com has its own profile, where in its early years it got mostly annoying votes.
AIA keeps track of the votes cast and produces two on-going lists of the 100 celebrities who have the highest and lowest annoying percentages. Each week, AIA takes the top 25 in both lists and use them to compile the year-end "most annoying of the year" and "least annoying of the year" lists. Though in years past the voting totals were not reset until the end of the year, they started to reset the polls each week in 2006. AIA has been used by several media outlets to measure the public perception of the celebrity in their articles. The poll is not scientific, and there have been instances of ballot stuffing
despite the five-vote-per-visit rule given by AIA.
Lawyers representing the Church of Scientology
threatened legal action for the usage of a picture of its founder L. Ron Hubbard
, forcing AIA to alter the picture. Due to a family request, AIA also removed a profile of Matthew Shepard
, and it no longer accepts profiles of those famous only because they were murdered.
At the end of 2004, the tabloid Star Magazine had an issue devoted to the "Most Annoying People of 2004", with Britney Spears
and Paris Hilton
at the top of the list. It had no affiliation with AmIAnnoying.com, and it is not known if Star lifted that idea from the site or it was merely coincidental. AIA used the slogan "The Original and Interactive Annoying Celebrity Poll" after the Star issue came out.
AmIAnnoying.com was featured in the trailer for the 2007 Jamie Kennedy
documentary, Heckler
.
It was announced on April 24, 2010 that co-founder Bruce Goldman had died earlier that week.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that allows users to vote on celebrities based on their annoyance
Annoyance
Annoyance is an unpleasant mental state that is characterized by such effects as irritation and distraction from one's conscious thinking. It can lead to emotions such as frustration and anger...
factors. It has more than 20,000 profiles of public figures and is the largest on-going celebrity polling site on the Internet.
It was launched by New York State natives Bruce Goldman, Marc Cutler, and Keith Furman in December 2000 as AmIAnnoyingorNot.com. It was created as a twist of the "Hot or Not
Hot or Not
Hot or Not is a rating site that allows users to rate the attractiveness of photos submitted voluntarily by others. The site also offers a match making engine called 'Meet Me' and an extended profile feature called 'HOTLISTS'. It is owned by Avid Life Media....
" craze. Instead of voting for "regular people", visitors have the opportunity to vote for public figures and their irritability. It is also different from "Hot or Not" in that instead of rating the people on a numerical scale, it simply asks whether the celebrity is "annoying" or "not annoying". The user can also vote "don't care" if they are unfamiliar with or have no opinion of the celebrity. For each celebrity, there is a picture along with background information and reasons why this famous person might be annoying or not annoying. These profiles are authored by Team Annoy (the nickname for the three AIA creators) and a devoted following of site users. Some of the things that have been considered annoying are Scientology, breast implants, smoking, tattoos, depression, divorce, and vegetarianism/veganism. Because two of the three founders of the site are left-handed, left-handed celebrities are not considered annoying.
While most of the entries on the site consist of individuals, groups such as bands, sports teams, and television series have their own entries on the site. Even AmIAnnoying.com has its own profile, where in its early years it got mostly annoying votes.
AIA keeps track of the votes cast and produces two on-going lists of the 100 celebrities who have the highest and lowest annoying percentages. Each week, AIA takes the top 25 in both lists and use them to compile the year-end "most annoying of the year" and "least annoying of the year" lists. Though in years past the voting totals were not reset until the end of the year, they started to reset the polls each week in 2006. AIA has been used by several media outlets to measure the public perception of the celebrity in their articles. The poll is not scientific, and there have been instances of ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...
despite the five-vote-per-visit rule given by AIA.
Lawyers representing the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
threatened legal action for the usage of a picture of its founder L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, forcing AIA to alter the picture. Due to a family request, AIA also removed a profile of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
, and it no longer accepts profiles of those famous only because they were murdered.
At the end of 2004, the tabloid Star Magazine had an issue devoted to the "Most Annoying People of 2004", with Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
and Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
at the top of the list. It had no affiliation with AmIAnnoying.com, and it is not known if Star lifted that idea from the site or it was merely coincidental. AIA used the slogan "The Original and Interactive Annoying Celebrity Poll" after the Star issue came out.
AmIAnnoying.com was featured in the trailer for the 2007 Jamie Kennedy
Jamie Kennedy
James Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy is an American comedian, rapper, and actor.-Early life:Kennedy, the youngest of six children, was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family is of Irish descent and he was raised Roman Catholic. He attended and graduated from...
documentary, Heckler
Heckler
A heckler is a person who harass and try to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes.Hecklers are often known to shout disparaging comments at a performance or event, or interrupts set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting, with intent to disturb its performers or...
.
It was announced on April 24, 2010 that co-founder Bruce Goldman had died earlier that week.
Least Annoying of the Year
- 2001 -- LaikaLaikaLaika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit.As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there...
- 2002 -- Mischa BartonMischa BartonMischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..-Early life:...
- 2003 -- Salma HayekSalma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
- 2004 -- Renée ZellwegerRenée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
- 2005 -- Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
- 2006 -- Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
- 2007 -- Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
- 2008 -- Angelina JolieAngelina JolieAngelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
- 2009 -- Alyssa MilanoAlyssa MilanoAlyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of...
- 2010 -- Meryl StreepMeryl StreepMary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
Most Annoying of the Year
- 2001 -- Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- 2002 -- Martha StewartMartha StewartMartha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
- 2003 -- Al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
- 2004 -- Justin TimberlakeJustin TimberlakeJustin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
- 2005 -- Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
- 2006 -- Star JonesStar JonesStar Jones is an American lawyer, journalist, writer, and television personality. She is known for her role as a co-host of the ABC weekday morning talk show The View...
- 2007 -- Lindsay LohanLindsay LohanLindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
- 2008 -- Tila Tequila
- 2009 -- Katie CouricKatie CouricKatherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
- 2010 -- Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...