Norbit

"The worst thing in the world is that people paid money to see Norbit" - Mark Kermode, BBC Radio 5live

Norbit was a 2007 "comedy" staring Eddie Murphy. The film Feed – a horror about a serial killer who feeds his victims to death – was funnier.

Al Gore will tell you that the greatest problem we all face is that the world is heating up and we're all going to die. Economists will tell you that the greatest problem is that the economy is about to collapse. Political parties will tell you that the greatest threat is the other party. None of these things are true in a world where people hand over money to watch Norbit.

One listener review pithily put it: "Saw it. Hated it. Ashamed."

Dr K suggested Eddie Murphy be punished with a three-month probationary sentence. With some flogging.

Matthew Bannister was put off seeing it by the trailer. Simon went one better and said he was put off seeing the trailer by the poster. Mark meanwhile suggested that if you had paid to see it, you were karmically unbalanced and had to give an equivalent amount of money to a good cause.

Eddie Murphy was in the running for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his acting in the critically acclaimed Dreamgirls, after already winning at the Golden Globes and SAG awards. Norbit was then released and its sheer awfulness was said to have ruined his chances of getting the Academy Award.

Appearing in a film so bad that it could ruin your chance of receiving awards for a much superior performance is now know as Norbitting or the Norbit Effect. There were fears of a twin Norbitting in 2015 - Julianne Moore for Still Alice by appearing in Seventh Son; and Eddie Redmayne for The Theory Of Everything for his ludicrous turn in Jupiter Ascending. Fortunately for both said actors, they survived with golden statues intact.