The Year in Entertainment 2016 — Top Ten Celebrity Scandals

ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) — A couple of messy divorces lead our top-ten celebrity scandals of 2016.

Brad Pitt Abuse Allegations
In September, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, and sought physical custody of the couple’s three biological children; Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox, as well as their four adopted kids, Pax, Maddox and Zahara, requesting that Pitt get visitation and joint legal custody, but not joint physical custody.

Things got even messier when TMZ reported a couple of days later that the Los Angeles County Dept. of Children and Family Services and the LAPD were investigating the actor.  The report claimed that Pitt allegedly became both physically and verbally abusive with their children on a private jet a week earlier, which allegedly caused Jolie to file for divorce.

In November, The FBI released a statement announcing, “The FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation,” adding that no charges were filed.

The couple is currently involved in an ugly custody battle. According to documents obtained by ABC News, a temporary order is in place regarding custody of the children, who currently live with their mother. The documents reportedly state that Pitt has weekly meetings with the kids, during which therapists are present. That order’s in place through the end of January.

Amber Heard Accuses Johnny Depp of Domestic Violence
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, who first met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009 and married in February 2015, split in May. Heard filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Later that month, she requested and was granted a restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that Depp physically abused her.

In the weeks that followed, a video leaked of a violent confrontation between Heard and Depp. His camp denied the allegations, and Depp’s former partner Vanessa Paradis and daughter Lily-Rose Depp also came to his defense. So did his friend, comedian Doug Stanhope, who accused Heard of blackmailing Johnny.

The couple reportedly settled their divorce in August.  Heard received $7 million and donated all of it to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Ryan Lochte Lies About Getting Robbed
Things seemed to be going, well, swimmingly for Ryan Lochte as the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil got underway. He picked up his sixth career gold medal in the 200 meter freestyle, and was poised to win even more; then came a bizarre turn of events.

Lochte, 32, claimed he had been robbed at gunpoint at a gas station while out on the town with a few other Olympians. He then recanted the story, after surveillance video released by the Brazilian police showed inconsistencies.

As a result of Lochte’s lie, the swimmer lost his sponsorships, and the Olympic Committee banned him from swimming through June 2017. He also lost $100,000 in bonuses.

Lochte later had a brief stint on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, during which he was heckled, and subsequently popped the question to his girlfriend, Playboy model Kayla Rae Reid.

“Hiddleswift”
Just two weeks after breaking up with her boyfriend, DJ Calvin Harris, in June, Taylor Swift moved on to Thor star Tom Hiddleston.  The two met at the Met Gala in New York City a month earlier, while she and Harris were still dating.

The couple, affectionately dubbed “Hiddleswift” by their fans, took the relationship public when they were photographed cuddling against the rocks on a beach in Rhode Island. They proceeded to jet around the world, with stops in Nashville to meet Taylor’s parents, then to England, where Swift was introduced to Tom’s mother. Next came a PDA-packed trip to Rome and, finally, Australia..

Hiddleston denied the rumors that their relationship was fake, telling The Hollywood Reporter in July, “The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we’re very happy,” adding, That’s the truth. It’s not a publicity stunt.”

By September, however, “Hiddleswift” were through, with the couple calling the split “amicable,” according to People magazine.

Kanye West Accuses Taylor Swift of Lying
Just when we thought Taylor Swift and Kanye West had kissed and made up after that awkward moment when he interrupted her acceptance speech for Female Video at the 2009 VMA Awards, the two went at it again this past year.

Kanye’s song “Famous” grabbed attention for its controversial lyric, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b**** famous.” After receiving flack for the line, Kanye and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, insisted Kanye called Swift to get her to sign off on the line.  Her rep denied this.

“Kanye did not call for approval,” the pop star’s rep reportedly told Entertainment Weekly in February, adding, “[He called] to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric.”

Kim then caught Taylor in a lie by releasing a video on Snapchat of Kanye on the phone with Taylor, talking about the song.  Taylor responded that with a message on Instagram, insisting that she’d never actually heard the offensive lyric, or the entire song.  “Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was goin to call me ‘that b****’ in front of the entire world?” she wrote. In spite of that, many seemed to give this round to Kanye.

Tough Year for Kanye and Kim
2016 was a tumultuous year for both Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian West.

In October, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room; the thieves made off with millions of dollars in jewelry.  Kanye stopped a show early and rushed to be by her side. Kim was reportedly traumatized, withdrew from the public eye and all but vanished from social media.  Many fans were convinced the entire incident was a publicity stunt.

A month later, Kanye’s already-erratic behavior took a turn for the worse when he suffered a breakdown on stage while performing in Sacramento, California on November 19.  He walked offstage, and then abruptly cancelled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour. Two days later, the rapper was hospitalized for “undisclosed reason,” a source told ABC News.

West was released from the hospital a week later, but in early December, People magazine quoted sources as saying his health issues have “caused strain” on his marriage to Kim. However, she has reportedly continued to stick by her husband’s side.

Gigi Hadid Mocks Melania Trump
While co-hosting the American Music Awards in November, model Gigi Hadid faced a backlash on social media after she poked fun at Melania Trump during the opening monologue.

“I love my husband, President Barack Obama and our children Sasha and Malia,” Hadid joked in a fake accent, mocking Melania’s infamous Republican National Convention Speech in which she reportedly lifted material from a previous speech delivered by first lady Michelle Obama.

The 21-year-old then sort of apologized, tweeting in part a couple of days later, “I too have been the center of a nationally televised comedy skit that poked fun at my actions, and was able to find the humor in it.”

“I believe Melania understands show business and the way shows are written and run,” she added. “I apologize to anyone that I offended and have only the best wishes for our country.”

NBC Fires Billy Bush Over Lewd Tape
After being tapped to co-host the third hour of NBC’s Today Show, Billy Bush was promptly fired back in October over a 2005 tape which captured him having a lewd conversation with Donald Trump.

In the recording, Trump, who was then only a billionaire real-estate developer and reality star, and not our president-elect, described his attempts to seduce a married woman — later revealed to be Bush’s former Access Hollywood colleague Nancy O’Dell — and bragged about groping women.

“Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am,” Trump later said. “I said it, I was wrong and I apologize.”  Bush also acknowledged his mistake and issued an apology to Politico, but it didn’t save his job.

“Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago — I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry,” Bush said at the time.

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna’s Stormy Romance
The drama began back in January with a now-deleted Instagram photo showing what appeared to be Rob Kardashian’s arm draped around Blac Chyna.  Chyna previously dated Tyga, the boyfriend of Rob’s half-sister Kylie Jenner, and had a baby with him. The caption read, “The beginning.”

Within months, Rob and Chyna got engaged, and announced they were expecting a baby. They even landed their own reality show, Rob and Chyna.  In September, a source told People magazine that the couple “hasn’t broken up, but they’re “not in a great place.”

Things seemed to calm down in November, when they welcomed their daughter Dream Renee Kardashian into the world, but it wasn’t for long.

In December, Rob and Chyna reportedly engaged in a bizarre feud over social media, according to People, ending with Rob accusing Chyna of taking their daughter and the nursery they built out of their shared home.

Chyna’s Instagram account was reportedly hacked, according to the entertainment magazine, with the anonymous hacker claiming she had left Kardashian. The hacker also threatened to “expose” the reality star and how she was “using” Kardashian while allegedly cheating on him with other men — although the conversations that were posted in the “hack” didn’t show any signs of infidelity on Chyna’s part.

Chyna reportedly confirmed that the private messages and text conversations the hacker leaked were real, and even implied that Kardashian was involved in her “hack.”  The current status of their relationship is unclear.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez Have a War on Instagram
Just when things between exes Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez seemed to be rosy, the drama between the two heated up again after Bieber started globetrotting with Lionel Richie’s daughter, Sophia Richie, and flaunting their relationship on Instagram.

When fans started reacting negatively to posts, Justin threatened to make his Instagram account private if they didn’t knock it off.  Selena then allegedly commented on the post, writing, “If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol – it should be special between you two only. Don’t be mad at your fans. They love you.”

According to People, Justin responded, “It’s funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love.” 

To which Selena allegedly wrote back, “Funny how the ones that cheated multiple times, are pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive, no wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love.”

Bieber answered back with, “I cheated… Oh I forgot about you and Zayn?”

Later, Gomez sort-of apologized when she reportedly wrote on Snapchat, “What I said was selfish and pointless.”

It turns out Gomez may still have feelings for the Biebs, according to an insider, who told the magazine. “He was Selena’s first love, and she hasn’t been able to totally get over him.”  The whole exchange sparked the hashtag, #SelenaEndingJustinParty.

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