E!'s mistimed Schadenfreude

Oh, how we laughed and laughed when Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro died, right?

Oh, right: We didn’t.

Nonetheless, E!’s trying to wring entertainment from similar suffering by celebrities in a Saturday special, “25 Most Sensational Celebrity Meltdowns.” No doubt the show’s concept was conjured before these most recent buzzkill events, but it was announced after them, which makes E! look really gross and predatory.

Per their press release:

“These days it seems the only story generating more ink than a celebrity's meteoric rise to success is the headline when they inexplicably melt down. Hollywood celebrities can be notorious for their excessive and often scandalous behavior, but when these stars really lose control, their mistakes become headline news around the world.”

So here’s the countdown (no commentary needed, really, except that they clearly didn’t look beyond the past three years and how much fun can this be these days, anyway?):

25. Naomi Campbell
24. Rosie O'Donnell vs. Elisabeth Hasselbeck
23. Winona Ryder
22. John Stamos
21. Russell Crowe
20. Pat O'Brien
19. Director Lee Tamahori
18. Matthew McConaughey
17. Mariah Carey
16. Robert Downey Jr.
15. Mike Tyson
14. Paris Hilton
13. Anne Heche
12. Martin Lawrence
11. Tom Cruise

(Top 10 in random order, (as if there’s any real drama as to who’ll be named No. 1))
David Hasselhoff
Isaiah Washington
Don Imus
Mel Gibson
Britney Spears
Lindsay Lohan
Dave Chappelle
Alec Baldwin
Michael Richards
Kanye West