Not unlike previous years, 2009 was filled with celebrity slip ups, publicity stunts and political blunders (however in the Obama era there have been less of these). As we ring in 2010, we take a look at the craziness in 2009 that made us shake our heads and wonder what they were thinking, or even if they were thinking at all.
1.
Octomom
On January 26, Nadya Suleman gave birth to only the second set of octuplets ever born in the United States. This of course caught the media’s eye, but when they found out that she had them through in vitro fertilization, that she had six other children and that she was looking after them with the help of public assistance programs, it turned into a media feeding frenzy. She was dubbed octomom and turned all the media attention she was getting into several television appearances, including Oprah, where both she and her doctor have been heavily scrutinized. With the media attention fleeting she signed on with European production company Eyeworks to film a reality show that will follow the growth of the octuplets and will be aired in England.
2.
Chris Brown and Rhianna
On February 7, the night of the Grammy Awards, Chris Brown hit Rhianna after they had argued over a text he had gotten from another woman. No Matter who you are or what happens, violence is never the answer. When the police arrived, they found her with a split lip, bite marks on her hand and contusions on either side of her forehead. Chris was arrested and charged with felony battery and making criminal threats, however, a plea bargain was reached and he only had to spend 180 days in a labor domestic violence program instead of being sent to jail. What makes it even worse is that Rhianna seems not to care what he did to her and they have been seen together several times since, and she even protested to a strict stay-away order that was part of Chris’ plea bargain.
3.
Joaquin Phoenix’ Letterman Interview
A definite contender for the most bizarre interview ever happened on February 10 when Joaquin Phoenix appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. First of all he came out looking like he had been marooned on a deserted island for the past few years, think Tom Hanks in Castaway. He then proceeded to say no more than one or two sentences to any question Letterman threw at him and seemed like he wasn’t all there. He couldn’t even set up the clip he had brought with him. I was actually watching that night and it was like a train wreck, you know, so bad that you didn’t want to watch but you couldn’t turn away.
4.
Jon and Kate
Ok, first of all why is this one of the biggest stories of the year, everywhere you went this year it was Jon did this and Kate said that, enough already people. In February evidence came out that Jon had been cheating on Kate and the media felt like everybody had to know about it. In the months that followed, the couple and their eight children graced the front page of every tabloid in the country and Kate hit the talk show circuit to sell herself as the wronged wife and let the world know that everything they were doing was for the good of their kids. If that were really true, they wouldn’t have sold the TV rights to their childhood and dragged them through a messy public divorce.
5.
Jamie Foxx vs. Miley Cyrus
At an April 11th taping of his Sirius radio show, The Foxxhole, Jamie Foxx made several inappropriate comments while criticizing Miley about not being able to meet Radiohead at the Grammy Awards. When someone on the show brought up the teen star, he asked “Who is Miley Cyrus? The one with all the gums?” He then told her to “make a sex tape and grow up. Get like Britney Spears and do some heroin. Do like Lindsay Lohan and get some crack in your pipe… Catch chlamydia on a bicycle seat.” And this is from the father of a teenage daughter. Foxx later apologized to her on Leno saying that he is “a comedian and you guys know that whatever I say, I don’t mean any of it. And sometimes, as comedians, as we do, we go a little bit too far.”
6.
Susan Boyle
Also on April 11th in Britain, an unlikely star was born. On an episode of Britain’s Got Talent, Scottish born Susan Boyle blew the audience and judges away with her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. Within days she was a world wide sensation known as much for her frumpy appearance as for her angelic voice. Despite earning the most votes in the semi-finals, she finished in second place to Diversity, a street dance group. After the final she was admitted to The Priory (a psychiatric clinic in London) where she was treated for exhaustion. After the Britain’s Got Talent tour, she began work on her debut album “I Dreamed a Dream” which was released in November.
7.
Obama Kills a Fly
On June 17 during an interview with CNBC President Obama killed a fly that had been buzzing him. He had shooed it away but when it landed on his arm he smacked it, he then said “That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.” PETA fired back calling the incident and “execution” and stating on the group’s blog “In a nutshell our position is this: He isn’t the Buddha, he’s a human being, and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act.” They also sent him a device that traps flies so they can be released outside. I want to know how this qualifies as news? Most people have killed flies in our lifetime, including, I’m assuming other presidents so why does it matter if Obama did it. All I can come up with is that it must have been a slow news day.
8.
Black Eyed Peas vs. Perez Hilton
This is just a bunch of people fighting like they are in kindergarten. At a club in Toronto after the Much Music Video Awards on June 21, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas confronted celeb blogger Perez Hilton about comments he had made about band-mate Fergie, which escalated into an argument where Hilton (who is gay himself) decides to call him a “faggot” of all things. It got really ugly when band manager Polo Molina joined in and threw a few punches at Hilton. But instead of just calling the police like a normal person, Perez begged his fans to call them via Twitter… from his cell phone! The next day will.i.am posted a video telling his side of the story and Hilton couldn’t help but post his own video in retaliation. Molina turned himself in and was arrested for assault, but the charges were eventually dropped.
9.
The Death of a Legend
On June 25, the world lost one of the greatest performers of all time. But what shocked all of us was that we initially had no idea how it could have happened… he was gearing up to go on tour and everything. There were rumors swirling over what really killed the King of Pop until the LA County Coroner made his official statement on August 28, ruling his death a homicide. The autopsy report showed that he was a perfectly healthy 50 year old but that he had been taking several medications including alprazolam, sertraline, omeprazole, hydrocodone, paroxetine, carisprodol and hyrdomorphone, as well as one that really troubled doctors, propofol which is used as an anesthetic for surgery patients. It was most likely the combination of these drugs that killed him. This conclusion has fueled outrage toward the several doctors involved and those in his entourage. Members of the Jackson family, La Toya especially, has been very vocal about charging anyone found at fault for Michael’s death.
