Join Grazia down the 2024 rabbit hole, revisiting some of the biggest pop culture scandals of the year \u2013 from A-list feuds and break ups to criminal charges…<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]
Words by Nikki Peach<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/12\/imago783796599-scaled.jpg” alt=”Jennifer Aniston” title_text=”Lawsuit Alleges Jay-Z And Diddy Raped 13-Year-Old Girl” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] As 2024 nears its end, it\u2019s a time to reflect on some of the celebrity stories that have kept us up at night \u2013 or, rather, kept us scrolling for hours on social media. This year has delivered its fair share of bizarre, disturbing and scandalous moments, most of which we could never have anticipated. From A-list feuds and break ups to viral conspiracy theories and criminal charges, here is a list of the biggest celebrity scandals of 2024, ranked.<\/p>\n Coming in at number eight is an almost inverse celebrity scandal. Fiona Harvey, the woman who has come to be known as \u2018the real Martha\u2019 from the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer<\/em>, was not famous when it came out, but she certainly is now.<\/p>\n The semi-autobiographical story follows failing Scottish comedian Donny, written and played by Richard Gadd, during the three years he was stalked by a woman he served at the pub called Martha. After catching her interest, Martha proceeds to send him thousands of emails and voice messages, calls him \u2018baby reindeer\u2019, harasses him at work, infiltrates his personal life and follows him to his home address.<\/p>\n The show became an overnight success, climbing to the top of Netflix\u2019s rankings in its first week. The problem was that \u2018the real Martha\u2019s\u2019 alleged identity appears to have been thinly veiled, and it did not take long for social media sleuths to target a woman named Fiona Harvey and begin tormenting her online. Harvey has since filed a $170 million lawsuit against Netflix for telling \u2018brutal lies\u2019 about her to more than 50 million viewers around the world. It goes to trial next year.<\/p>\n One thing we never saw coming was reality TV royalty, Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, calling off their engagement. After meeting on Love Island<\/em> in 2019, they quickly became the show\u2019s most prolific couple. In January 2023, they welcomed their daughter Bambi, and that July Tommy proposed on a rose-scattered cliff in Ibiza.<\/p>\n In July 2024, they posted on social media to celebrate their five-year anniversary and Molly-Mae called Tommy ‘the love of my life’. Three weeks later, she announced on her Instagram story that they were breaking up, something she \u2018never expected to happen\u2019, \u2018especially not in this way\u2019.<\/p>\n It was worthy of a Sky News notification and immediately took the internet by storm, with many fans half-jokingly comparing their fallout to that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. All eyes turned to Tommy, who has repeatedly denied all allegations of cheating. As for Molly-Mae, she launched a new clothing line in September, gave a sit-down interview with Vogue<\/em> in November and has her own Amazon Prime show, Molly-Mae: Behind It All<\/em>, launching in January. As for what happened? The truth eludes us all.<\/p>\n The press run for It Ends With Us<\/em>, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover\u2019s best-selling novel, was a hot mess, let\u2019s be honest. Far from encouraging people to go to the cinema, the rumoured on-set feud between lead actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni just kept people on the internet instead.<\/p>\n Several fans felt Lively\u2019s promotion of the film, which deals with themes of domestic violence, was inappropriate in the way she flippantly encouraged fans to \u2018grab your girls, grab your florals\u2019 and head to the cinema. The actress also launched her haircare line, Blake Brown, in tandem with the film and promoted her alcohol brand, Betty Booze, at the premiere.<\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s approach was markedly different, he never shied away from the film\u2019s darker themes and pointed fans towards domestic violence helplines on several occasions during interviews \u2013 interviews he and Lively never did together.\u00a0The whole saga also led to an old interview clip resurfacing from the Caf\u00e9 Society press run in 2016 where Lively appears to mock the journalist Kjersti Flaa for asking her about her \u2018little bump\u2019 while she was pregnant.<\/p>\n However, in December Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni accusing him of sexual harassment and of launching a \u2018multi-tiered\u2019 campaign to \u2018destroy\u2019 her reputation. Baldoni has called the allegations \u2018categorically false\u2019 and said they hired a crisis manager because Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.<\/p>\n When Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got back together in 2021, having first dated between 2002 and 2004, it felt like a Hollywood love story for the ages. There were even new pictures of him grabbing her ass on a yacht \u2013 just like the old days.<\/p>\n The couple got married the following year and celebrated with two lavish ceremonies \u2013 one of which saw Lopez perform her husband, who was sat on a wooden chair in the middle of the dance floor, in front of their loved ones.<\/p>\n Sadly, their perfect reunion soon lost its sheen. In 2023, the couple were often spotted looking glum or \u2018mid-argument\u2019 at red carpet events and Affleck became known for his \u2018resting divorce face\u2019. Speculation reached new heights in May when Lopez co-hosted the Met Gala with no plus one. From that point on, they were constantly scrutinised online and bombarded with questions about their marriage wherever they went. The tabloid media even went through their real estate listings to work out that their house was on the market, while the paparazzi zoomed in on Affleck\u2019s phone to see whether Lopez was his background. It wasn\u2019t until August that Lopez officially filed for divorce\u00a0\u2013 citing 26 April as the date of their official separation.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/12\/imago1042623515-scaled.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] One of the biggest celebrity feuds of the year was between rap megastars, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. To indicate quite how cross-generational the story became, there is even a BBC news article titled \u2018The Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef explained\u2019.<\/p>\n It can be traced back to a single on Drake\u2019s eighth album, For All The Dogs<\/em>, where J Cole suggests he, Drake and Lamar are \u2018the big three\u2019 of the current hip hop era. In March, producer Metro Boomin\u2019 and rapper Future released a collaborative album called We Don\u2019t Trust You<\/em> and it featured a hidden track called \u2018Like That\u2019 with an uncredited verse by Lamar. Lamar says there is no \u2018big three \u2013 it\u2019s just me\u2019 and later goes on to call them a \u2018light pack\u2019. He then promises to put Drake and J Cole\u2019s \u2018dogs\u2019 in the \u2018pet sematary\u2019, a reference to Stephen King\u2019s 1983 horror novel.<\/p>\n J Cole hastily recorded a diss track, before changing his mind, apologising, praising Lamar\u2019s catalogue and calling his clap back \u2018the lamest, goofiest\u2019 thing he\u2019d ever recorded.<\/p>\n It then became a two-man war and after several back-and-forth diss tracks and a lot of chatter online it all seemed to go quiet after Lamar released \u2018Not Like Us\u2019, where he accused Drake of having relationships with underage women. Drake has denied all allegations and claims they were planted deliberately to see if Lamar would rap about them.<\/p>\n Nude duct tape outfits and bare feet aside, the lore surrounding Kanye West and his new wife Bianca Censori\u2019s relationship took a dark turn this year. The rapper faces multiple lawsuits from his former staff members with his ex-personal assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, accusing him of, among other things, sexual harassment and stalking and for using his wife as a \u2018sex party coordinator\u2019.<\/p>\n She alleges that West would use his office as a \u2018sex playground\u2019 and that Censori would willingly participate in his \u2018twisted sexual fantasies\u2019. One of which, Pisciotta alleges, saw West send Censori messages shortly after their wedding saying he wanted to have sex with her mother while she watched. Pisciotta claims to have screenshots of the alleged messages.<\/p>\n Pisciotta also accuses West of \u2018predatory, aggressive, compulsive, vulgar, perverse and frighteningly calculative\u2019 behaviour and says he used his connections at high profile brands to get women into the US on work visas so that he could sleep with them. West has called Pisciotta\u2019s claims \u2018baseless\u2019 and accused her of extortion.<\/p>\n This scandal is ranked so highly based on scale rather than substance. For the first few months of 2024, the Princess of Wales was noticeably absent. As a senior working royal and public figure, it\u2019s unsurprising that this would pique some level of interest.<\/p>\n What is surprising, nay shocking, however, is how astronomical the whole story became. By March, Kate Middleton\u2019s absence had sparked a tirade of conspiracy theories online, ranging from her imminent divorce from Prince William to body doubles being used in staged photographs. It became a global story in countries as far afield as the Dominican Republic and Pakistan, and even Kim Kardashian made a meme about it.<\/p>\n Of course, it later transpired that Kate had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing preventative chemotherapy. The memes swiftly disappeared.<\/p>\n The undisputed celebrity scandal of the year has to be music mogul Sean \u2018Diddy\u2019 Combs being indicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has been denied bail three times and awaits trial in the notoriously dangerous and unhygienic Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York \u2013 a place where violent crime is rife, living standards are poor and there are maggots in the food.<\/p>\n Combs also faces more than 100 allegations of sexual assault and abuse from over a 30-year period, including the rape of minors. He denies all allegations and plans to plead not guilty in court.<\/p>\n With the trial due to start on 5 May next year, not only is it likely to be one of the biggest news stories of 2025, but it has already been dubbed one of the most high-profile sex trafficking trials in recent history.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”] Photo: <\/b>IMAGO<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Join us down the rabbit hole, looking at some of the biggest scandals of the year…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5758"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5893,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758\/revisions\/5893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Baby Reindeer<\/em> makes an alleged stalker into a star<\/h4>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury\u2019s break up<\/h4>\n
6.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Lively vs Baldoni: The It Ends With Us<\/em> press run<\/h4>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The end of J. Lo and Ben 2.0<\/h4>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drake versus Kendrick Lamar<\/h4>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kanye West and Bianca\u2019s \u2018twisted sexual fantasies\u2019<\/h4>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kate Gate<\/h4>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Diddy behind bars<\/h4>\n