A lot happened in 2022, especially in the world of showbiz…
From courtroom drama, to the infamous Oscars slap and ‘spit gate’, celebrities kept us thoroughly entertained this year – whether the news was good, bad, or downright ugly.
heck out a list of the biggest stories we covered on the site over the past 12 months:
The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial
A number of major celebrity trials took place in 2022, but the most famous had to be Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s highly-publicised defamation trial.
The 58-year-old actor launched a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife back in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.
Following a six-week trial, which concluded on June 1, and 13 hours of deliberations, the jury sided with Johnny and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages, and a further $5 million in punitive damages.
However, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to $350,000, which is the State of Virginia’s legal limit, resulting in total damages of $10.4 million awarded to Johnny.
While the jury sided with Johnny, Amber was awarded $2 million in damages following her counterclaim which alleged that she had been defamed by one of her ex-husband’s lawyers Adam Waldman.
Amber’s counterclaim stated that Johnny was “vicariously liable” for the comments made by his lawyer to the Daily Mail back in 2020.
Adam had described the actress’ abuse allegations against her ex-husband as a “hoax” to the outlet.
However, Johnny later filed an appeal against Amber’s counterclaim win.
After the trial, Amber also launched multiple requests to appeal her guilty verdict, as she claimed “a number of things were allowed” in court that “should not have been allowed”.
However, the actress has since decided to settle the case with Johnny.
In a statement shared on social media in December, Amber said even if her appeal was successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again.
The 36-year-old explained: “I simply cannot go through that for a third time.”
During the six-week long trial in Virginia, Amber detailed multiple incidents of alleged abuse, and told the court that “violence became normal” towards the end of her relationship with Johnny.
However, Johnny testified that he never hit his ex-wife, and claimed that she was the abuser in their relationship.
In court, the 58-year-old said the allegations that he was a “drunken, cocaine-fuelled menace who beat women” have cost him “everything”.
Johnny and Amber first met in 2009 on the set of the film The Rum Diary and married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalised two years later.
Love Island
As always, Love Island was a huge topic on the site this year.
The series was won by Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti, and the show provided plenty of drama this summer.
From Ekin-Su’s iconic terrace crawl to Jacques O’Neill’s shock exit, Love Island was the gift that kept on giving across eight weeks.
The peak of the series had to be when Adam Collard returned as a surprise bombshell, four years after he first appeared on the show.
It wasn’t long before the personal trainer ruffled some feathers in the villa as he quickly set his sights on Paige Thorne, who was coupled up with Jacques at the time.
In a shocking turn of events, Jacques suddenly decided to quit the show, leaving Adam and Paige to pursue a romance.
The couple ended up making it through to the semi-finals, but their relationship hit the rocks just a few weeks after leaving the villa when a video of Adam cosying up to a mystery blonde in McDonald’s went viral.
While he denied anything happened at the time, Paige claimed she had been sent more videos of Adam with other girls that same night.
The 25-year-old also claimed Adam ghosted her when he jetted to Bali after the incident, and said their relationship ended as a result.
Another couple who have split since leaving the show is Luca Bish and Gemma Owen.
The 19-year-old influencer announced her split from the 23-year-old fishmonger in November, just three months after they left the Love Island villa.
Speaking exclusively to Goss.ie earlier this month, Gemma admitted the break-up “has been challenging”.
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“These last few weeks, as going through any break up, it’s not nice. It’s not a nice time.”
“Having to deal with the press and other people’s opinions, and people thinking that they know what’s going on when they don’t, that’s been challenging. But overall, I’m doing ok. I’m getting through it and keeping busy.”
The only remaining couples from this year’s Love Island are Ekin-Su and Davide, Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page, and Dami Hope and Indiyah Polack.
However, Ekin-Su and Davide have been plagued by speculation they’re “faking” their relationship since leaving the villa.
While they’ve both denied the rumours, some fans are still convinced they’re not really together.
TikTok star and influencer Max Balegde further fuelled the speculation this week on his podcast The Useless Hotline.
During the episode, Max said: “There’s some relationships in the industry that are not real. And I’m talking there’s possibly one relationship specifically that’s very prominent in the UK media right now that I maybe happen to know is definitely not real…”
“Some other people have alluded to this on some other medias. I don’t want to name and shame.”
“I mean I met the person who’s in it and they were quite nice to me, but they definitely said something that would indicate they’re not in a relationship with said person.”
The clip of Max’s comments quickly went viral on social media, as fans immediately assumed he was talking about Ekin-Su and Davide.
One fan commented: “100% Ekinsu and davide.”
Other fans pointed out that Max has met both Ekin-Su and Davide at separate events over the past few months.
The “fake” rumours first started swirling in October, when Paige Thorne claimed one of the remaining Love Island couples had secretly called it quits since leaving the villa.
During her appearance on the Saving Grace podcast, the Welsh paramedic played a game of ‘Say It Or Shot It’, and was asked: “Who is the fakest couple to come out of Love Island this year?”
Paige replied: “All I’m going to say on this is… There are how many couples left, three? Really there’s only two. But that’s a secret I’ll never tell.”
Wagatha Christie trial: Coleen Rooney vs Rebekah Vardy
Another celebrity trial that dominated headlines this year was Coleen Rooney vs Rebekah Vardy, as the pair’s Wagatha Christie case finally unfolded in court.
Rebekah launched a libel lawsuit against Coleen back in 2020, after she publicly accused her of leaking “false stories” about her private life.
In October 2019, the wife of Wayne Rooney claimed she planted false information on her private Instagram page and blocked everyone from her story – except Rebekah’s account.
The mother-of-four said stories about her basement flooding, returning to TV, and gender selection were only viewed by Rebekah’s account – and the false stories all made it into the press.
Coleen believed this was proof that the fellow WAG allegedly sold stories about her private life, but Rebekah vehemently denied her claims.
Their lengthy legal battle concluded with a seven-day trial at London’s High Court in May.
The highly-publicised trial saw both WAGs give evidence in court, as Rebekah tried to prove she wasn’t behind the leaks.
However, Coleen defended her claim in court on the basis her post was “substantially true”.
Mrs Justice Steyn, who oversaw the week-long case in May, delivered her written ruling in July.
In her ruling, the judge agreed with Coleen’s defence, and said it was “likely” that Rebekah’s then-agent, Caroline Watt, “undertook the direct act” of passing information to The Sun newspaper.
Rebekah strongly denied Coleen’s claims in court, but on the final day of the trial, she accepted that her former agent Caroline, who had access to her Instagram account, may have been behind the leaks.
Her judgement read: “Nonetheless, the evidence… clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.”
“In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to the Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true.”
Coleen has since signed a “multi-million pound” deal with Disney+ for the rights to a tell-all documentary about the Wagatha Christie case, meanwhile Rebekah has reportedly signed a deal to take part in a separate tell-all documentary.
A Channel 4 series based on the trial also aired this month, which recreated the real-life drama that happened in the courtroom.
You can read the biggest bombshells from the Wagatha Christie trial here.
The Don’t Worry Darling drama
There was a lot of internet hype surrounding Don’t Worry Darling in 2022, but not because of the project itself, rather the drama that has unfolded between the cast.
Rumours of a rift between the film’s director Olivia Wilde and lead actress Florence Pugh have been circulating since August, when Page Six reported that the pair allegedly fell out over Olivia’s romance with Harry Styles.
Shia LaBeouf further intensified the rumours when he rebutted Olivia’s claims that she “fired” him from his role in Don’t Worry Darling.
The actor was originally cast as Jack Chambers in the film, but was later replaced by Harry.
In an interview with Variety, the director alleged she had “fired” Shia because his “combative energy” was not “conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions”.
Olivia also alleged that she knew she was “going to be asking Florence to be in vulnerable situations” and her “priority was making [Florence] feel safe and making her feel supported”.
Shia then contacted Variety to dispute Olivia’s claims, revealing that he “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time”.
In an email Shia wrote to Olivia following her Variety interview, he said: “Firing me never took place, Olivia. And while I fully understand the attractiveness of pushing that story because of the current social landscape, the social currency that brings. It is not the truth.”
“So I am humbly asking, as a person with an eye toward making things right, that you correct the narrative as best you can. I hope none of this negatively effects [sic] you, and that your film is successful in all the ways you want it to be.”
Olivia reportedly sent a video, which later leaked online, to the actor two days after his alleged quitting, saying: “I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out.”
Seemingly referencing his co-star Florence, she reportedly continued: “You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us.”
“If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace… and I respect your point of view, I respect hers… but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”
here is the video of olivia telling shia she wants to work it out and that if “miss flo” could “commit” more than it could happen.
please ignore that hashtag on the video I didn’t put it there. pic.twitter.com/vAQPBqPRYE
— sophia (@hellopugh) August 26, 2022
At the time, Florence wasn’t promoting Don’t Worry Darling on social media like the rest of her co-stars, causing fans to further speculate that she had fallen out with director Olivia.
Additionally, Showbiz Galore reported that the former One Direction star was paid nearly three times as much as Florence was for the film.
But in an interview with Variety, Olivia shut down rumours of a feud with Florence, and slammed claims Harry was paid more than her.
She told the outlet: “I had been blown the f**k away by [Florence]. I loved the film [Midsommar], but I loved her. I was just like, ‘Well, she’s extraordinary. She’s clearly the most exciting young actress working today.’”
The 38-year-old added: “There has been a lot out there that I largely don’t pay attention to. But the absurdity of invented clickbait and subsequent reaction regarding a nonexistent pay disparity between our lead and supporting actors really upset me.”
“I’m a woman who has been in this business for over 20 years, and it’s something that I have fought for myself and others, especially being a director. There is absolutely no validity to those claims.”
In September, Olivia attended the press conference for the film at the Venice Film Festival alongside co-stars Harry Styles, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine; however, Florence did not appear on the panel.
During the press conference, a reporter asked Olivia: “Can you just clear the air and address whether there has been a falling out there and if so why, because it’s something that people are discussing?”
The 38-year-old responded: “Florence is a force and we are so grateful that she is able to make it tonight despite being in production on Dune. I know as a director how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day so I’m very grateful to her and Denis Villeneuve for helping us – we’re really thrilled we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight.”
“I can’t say enough how honoured I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing in the film and as for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, I mean, the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute, I think it’s sufficiently well nourished.”
Florence later travelled to Venice to attend the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling, and the actress made quite the entrance as she arrived later than the rest of her co-stars.
The 26-year-old was quick to greet Gemma, Chris, Nick Kroll and Sydney Chandler, but seemingly shunned Olivia and Harry.
VENICE FASHION HIGHLIGHTS: Watch as the cast of #DontWorryDarling arrive at the Venice Film Festival premiere, with Florence Pugh in Valentino and Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde in Gucci. pic.twitter.com/KlVOldMblS
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) September 7, 2022
Olivia, Harry and Florence all stayed away from each other on the red carpet and throughout the premiere of the film, using their co-stars as buffers between them.
During the premiere, Chris Pine was hilarious dragged into the drama when a video of Harry seemingly spitting on him went viral on social media.
However, the actor quickly denied Harry spit on him through a statement released by his rep, and the cast later laughed off the ‘spit gate’ speculation.
someone needs to begin a full fledged investigation into what happened on that don’t worry darling set… wdym harry styles spitting on chris pine on NATIONAL TELEVISION? pic.twitter.com/jpow9JT8pk
— ceo of kory (@korysverse) September 6, 2022
Weeks after the Venice Film Festival, Olivia’s former nanny reignited rumours of a feud between the cast when she claimed Harry had a fling with Florence before he started dating Olivia.
The childminder made a number of shocking claims about Olivia and her ex Jason Sudeikis, however the former couple later discredited the nanny’s allegations in a joint statement.
Days after the nanny’s interview hit headlines, The Sun reported that Harry and Florence once “had a bit of a snog” behind the scenes of the film.
A source told the outlet: “Harry and Florence had chemistry from the off, which translated incredibly well on-screen.”
“One night they had a bit of a snog, all very light-hearted and a bit of fun, and that was that.”
“It was being gossiped about by a couple of members of production, otherwise no one would have known,” the insider continued.
“Harry was very much single at the time and Florence had separated from Zach Braff, although she’d kept the split quiet to — ironically — avoid headlines.”
“There was no cheating or misbehaviour from anyone. However, later on, Harry and Olivia started spending more time together — sneaking off for coffees, hanging out in one another’s trailers, and sharing small, routine intimacies.”
“It was clear to all they had a real connection. When they were pictured holding hands for the first time, Florence wasn’t too happy,” the source alleged.
“There was already tension between the two women and this undoubtedly fanned the flames.”
“Although the feud is one of Hollywood’s worst-kept secrets, everyone involved is a professional and things are now cordial,” the insider said.
It appears the drama surrounding their relationship proved too much for the couple, as Harry and Olivia parted ways in November, after two years of dating.
Insiders have since claimed there’s “no bad blood” between them, but Olivia is said to be “disappointed” after their split.
Adding salt to the wound, Harry has since been linked to his ex-girlfriend Kendall Jenner, who split from her boyfriend Devin Booker earlier this year.
The infamous Oscars slap
One of the biggest scandals to rock Hollywood this year (excuse the pun) was the infamous moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The comedian was presenting the award for Best Documentary at the Oscars back in March when he made a joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith – who suffers from alopecia.
Referring to Jada’s buzzcut, Chris said, “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,” prompting the actress to roll her eyes.
After Chris made the joke, Will stormed onto the stage, slapped Chris across the face and warned him: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face at the #Oscars last night after he made a “GI Jane” joke about his wife Jada.
The comedian was referring to the actress’s bald hair, despite Jada previously revealing this was due to alopecia 😬 pic.twitter.com/H6HO1xMNGF
— Goss.ie (@goss_ie) March 28, 2022
The situation caused uproar at the time, and he was subsequently banned from attending the Oscars and all Academy events for 10 years after the incident.
Months after the scandal, Will posted an emotional video on his YouTube channel addressing that now-famous night on March 27, 2022.
In the video, the 53-year-old said: “I reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk but when he is, he will reach out.”
“I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. my behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Will went on to apologise to Chris’ mother and his brother Tony Rock, and said he “wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment.”
The actor also denied his wife Jada told him to “do something” after she rolled her eyes at Chris’ joke.
“Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down, so it hurts psychologically and emotionally to know that I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” he explained.
“The work I’m trying to do is I am deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.”
Will pointed out that he’s a “human” who “made a mistake”, but said he’s trying not think of himself as “a piece of s**t.”
“I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted to putting light and love and joy into the world,” he added.
The drama surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Just months after celebrating 75 historic years on the British throne, Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8 aged 96.
The monarch died at her Scottish estate of Balmoral Castle with her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, by her side.
Her eldest son Charles ascended to the throne following her death, making him King Charles III.
The Queen lay in state for four days at Westminster Hall before her state funeral on Monday, September 19.
According to her official death certificate, the Queen passed away from old age with no other contributing factors.
But according to Gyles Brandreth’s new book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, Her Majesty also had a rare form of bone marrow cancer called myeloma.
The royal writer has said this would explain “her tiredness and weight loss and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so of her life.”
While the Queen’s death invoked a national period of mourning in the UK, it also stirred up plenty of drama within the Royal family – particularly involving Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in the UK for a string of charity events when the Queen suddenly died on September 8.
The couple ended up staying in Harry’s homeland for over two weeks to attend events honouring his late grandmother, including her state funeral and committal service on September 19.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working members of the Royal family in March 2020, and subsequently moved to Montecito, California with their children.
Since then, there has been an evident rift between them and Harry’s family, especially with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Despite this, the couples stepped out in public together for the first time in over two years when they visited Windsor on Saturday, September 10.
It was later reported that William, the new Prince of Wales, “invited” the couple to join him and his wife Kate Middleton to put on a “united front” in wake of the Queen’s death.
But days later, Harry and Meghan were reportedly uninvited from the Queen’s pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace.
According to The Telegraph, the couple had received an invite to the pre-funeral reception, which was hosted by King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla.
However, the pair were later informed that only working members of the Royal Family were welcome to attend the event.
There was also controversy around Harry being “banned” from wearing his military uniform to the Queen’s funeral.
Days before her funeral, Buckingham Palace confirmed only senior working members of the family would be allowed to wear their military uniforms to events honouring Queen Elizabeth II.
The rule meant Prince Harry and Prince Andrew would have to wear morning suits for all events surrounding the Queen’s death, despite the fact that they’re both veterans.
While Harry was completely banned from wearing his uniform, the Palace said Prince Andrew would be allowed wear his uniform at a final vigil for the Queen “as a special mark of respect.”
The decision sparked uproar on social media, as Harry served in the army for 10 years, and completed two tours in Afghanistan.
Days after the “ban” hit headlines, the Palace announced that the Duke of Sussex would be allowed wear his military uniform during a special vigil for his late grandmother after all.
Harry later joined his brother Prince William and six of the Queen’s other grandchildren at Westminster Hall to stand in silence for 15 minutes by her coffin.
According to royal correspondent Omid Scobie, King Charles “requested” both his sons to be in uniform at the vigil.
In another tweet at the time, Scobie claimed the Palace “caved to public sentiment after thousands complained about the decision to ban him and not Prince Andrew.”
While Harry was allowed wear his uniform for the vigil, he was forced to wear a morning suit to her state funeral on September 19.
Alongside the uniform drama, Harry and Meghan were said to be “furious” over the titles their children Archie and Lilibet will receive in wake of the Queen’s death.
Harry’s father King Charles has reportedly agreed to issue a letters patent that will bestow the title of Prince and Princess upon the toddlers; however, they will not be granted His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) status.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have allegedly argued that their children will be left with inadequate security and also reportedly pointed out that Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Andrew’s daughters, possess HRH status although they are not working royals.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Palace updated the line of succession on their website to reflect Prince William and Kate Middleton’s new titles as Prince and Princess of Wales.
However, Harry’s two children are still listed with their original stylings.
Archie’s title remains Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, and Lilibet’s remains Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
After attending the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19, the couple jetted back to the US the following day.
It’s understood the pair were eager to reunite with Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, after spending 17 days away from them.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive docu-series
While many thought Harry and Meghan would delay the release of their Netflix docu-series after the Queen’s death in September – the tell-all series premiered as planned in December.
Volume I of the six-part series joined the streaming giant on December 8, before the final three episodes dropped on December 15.
Simply titled ‘Harry & Meghan’, the series promised to share “the other side” of the couple’s love story and the challenges they faced.
While the episodes delved into the couple’s relationship and featured sweet anecdotes about how they first met (which was actually via Instagram!), it also included some bombshell claims about the Royal family.
The series harshly discussed the state of the British Commonwealth today, and criticised the Royal Family’s relationship with the press.
The first three episodes of the series saw Meghan and Harry discuss their life in the Royal Family and the “media frenzy” surrounding their relationship.
In one episode, Harry speaks of the “wave of abuse and harassment” towards Meghan by the media, and how Buckingham Palace handled it.
The Duke of Sussex says: “The direction from the Palace was don’t say anything. But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well. So it was almost like a rite of passage.”
“Some of the members of the family were like ‘my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’ I said ‘the difference here is the race element’.”
In another part of the docuseries, Harry says: “My job is to keep my family safe. By the nature of being born into this position and with everything else that comes with it and the level of hate that is being stirred up in the last three years especially against my wife, and my son, I’m generally concerned for the safety of my family.”
Appearing emotional, Meghan says: “I just really want to get to the other side of all of this… I don’t know what to say anymore.”
Harry then says: “This is about duty and service and I feel as though being part of this family, it is my duty to uncover this exploitation and bribery that happens within our media.”
Meghan adds: “Unfortunately, in us standing for something, they are destroying us.”
Harry continues: “This isn’t just about our story. This has always been so much bigger than us.”
“No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth. The institution knows the full truth. And the media know the full truth because they’ve been in on it.”
“And I think anybody else in my situation would have done exactly the same thing.”
In episode four, Harry also suggested members of his family resented Meghan’s popularity during the couple’s official tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2018.
The Duke and Duchess embarked on the tour shortly after they announced Meghan was pregnant with their first child.
In the documentary, Harry says: “The issue is when someone who is marrying in, who should be a supporting act, is then stealing the limelight, or doing the job better than the person who was born to do this, that upsets people. It shifts the balance.”
Over a montage featuring Kate Middleton and Harry’s father King Charles, he continues: “You’ve been led to believe that the only way your charities can succeed, and the only way that your reputation can be grown or improved, is if you are on the front pages of those newspapers. But the media are the one to choose who to put on the front page.”
The documentary also features commentary from Meghan’s friend Lucy Fraser, who says their Australia tour was a turning point because they were so popular with the public.
Lucy then claims “the internals at the palace” did not like it.
The episode opened with Meghan recalling the moment her private secretary, who previously worked for the Queen, once compared her to a “foreign organism” entering the Royal family.
Meghan said her secretary told her: “‘It is like a fish that is swimming perfectly. It is powerful, it is on the right current. Then one day this little organism comes in. This foreign organism. And the entire thing goes… What is that? What is it doing here? It doesn’t look like us. It doesn’t move like us. We don’t like it. Get it off of us.’”
“And she just explained that, you know, they’ll soon see, that it’s stronger, faster, even better with this organism as part of it,” Meghan continued.
“‘It will be hard at the beginning for them to adjust to this new thing but then it’ll be amazing.’ And I was really hopeful that that was true.”
The final three episodes of the series take fans behind the scenes of their 2018 wedding, their decision to quit life as senior working royals, and their move to find “freedom” in California.
They also make shocking claims that there is a conspiracy against them between Buckingham Palace and the British press to “scapegoat” them to ensure negative press about other Royals would “go away”.
Meghan’s lawyer Jenny Afia alleges in the series: “There was a real kind of war against Meghan and I’ve certainly seen evidence that there was negative briefing from the Palace against Harry and Meghan to suit other people’s agendas.”
Meghan then says: “You would just see it play out, like a story about someone in the family would pop up for a minute and they’d go ‘We’ve got to make that go away.’”
Her friend Lucy Fraser added: “Meg became this scapegoat for the Palace. And so they would feed stories on her whether they were true or not to avoid other less favourable stories being printed.”
The opening credits of Harry & Meghan, which joined Netflix on December 8, read: “This is a first-hand account of Harry and Meghan’s story, told with never before seen personal archive.”
“All interviews were completed by August 2022. Members of the royal family declined to comment on the content within this series.”
Sky News later reported that no members of the Royal Family or palace households were approached to comment on the series.
However, a Netflix source countered the claim, saying that the communications offices for King Charles and Prince William were contacted in advance and given the right to reply to claims made in the series.
You can read the biggest bombshells from the series here.
The downfall of Kanye West
2022 has been a bad year for those who continue to support Kanye West…
The rapper has had many controversies over the past few years, but it’s safe to say he took things to another level this year.
It all kicked off in February 2021 when Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye, after almost seven years of marriage.
While the pair appeared amicable after their split, their divorce took a nasty turn late last year when Kim started dating SNL comedian Pete Davidson.
After they went public with their romance, Kanye launched a number of scathing social media attacks against Kim and her beau in early 2022.
The rapper’s online behaviour led to him being suspended from Instagram for 24 hours, and he was also banned from performing at this year’s Grammys back in April.
He also released two music videos which depicted him “burying” animated versions of Pete.
The reality star and SNL comedian have since parted ways due to their conflicting schedules.
Kim and Kanye tied-the-knot back in 2014, and share four kids together – North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.
Almost two years after Kim filed, the former couple finally settled their divorce at the end of November – agreeing on joint custody of their four children.
While Kim will still have their kids the majority of the time, Kanye will pay over $200,000 a month in child support, and is also responsible for an equal share of their children’s educational expenses and security expenses.
Their divorce settlement came just weeks after Kanye faced major backlash over an anti-Semitic message he posted on Twitter.
In a since-deleted post, the Yeezy founder wrote that he was “sleepy” but planned “to go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE” when he woke up.
He continued: “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew. Also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
In October, members of the Goyim Defense League, a group that spreads conspiracy theories about Jews, displayed anti-Semitic banners on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
The group appeared to support West, as their banners read: “Honk if you know… Kanye is right about the Jews… GOYIM TV.TV. REV 3:9, John 8:44.”
The anti-Semitic protest sparked outrage on social media, and many celebrities took to social media to share their support for the Jewish community – including Kanye’s ex Kim Kardashian.
In a statement, the 42-year-old wrote on Twitter: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric toward them to come to an immediate end.”
Amid the backlash against Kanye, huge brands like Balenciaga and Adidas have cut ties with the rapper, while stores like Gap, T.J Maxx and Foot Locker have all refused to stock Yeezy merchandise.
Skechers also alleged that Kanye showed up at one of their corporate offices in LA “unannounced and uninvited” and had to be escorted off the property by two executives.
In a statement, the footwear brand wrote: “Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech.”
“The Company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices.”
Alongside the backlash surrounding his anti-Semitic tweet, the rapper was also slammed for taking aim at Vogue contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson on social media in October.
The 45-year-old is also being sued for $250 million by George Floyd’s daughter, for comments he made over the circumstances of his death.
It was previously reported that Kanye had hired Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez and her firm to oversee his business matters.
However, TMZ later reported that Camille informed her firm Brown Rudnick that she would no longer work with Kanye after he doubled down on his anti-Semitic remarks.
During an interview with Piers Morgan on October 19, Kanye said he doesn’t regret his anti-Semitic tweet, but apologised for causing people “hurt”.
“I will say I’m sorry for the people that I hurt with the death con [comments],” he said.
“I feel like I caused hurt and confusion. And I’m sorry for the families of the people that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through, and that I used my platform where you say hurt people hurt people. I was hurt.”
Six weeks after he was banned from Twitter, Kanye’s account was reinstated by the platform’s new owner Elon Musk in November.
But the rapper was suspended from the app just days later, after he violated Twitter’s rules.
After publicly supporting Balenciaga amid major backlash against the brand, Kanye posted a logo that appeared to be a mix of the Star of David and a Swastika.
The tweet was deleted shortly after, and Twitter’s owner Elon Musk later confirmed that Kanye’s account had been suspended.
He tweeted: “He again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”
The suspension took place just hours after Kanye made controversial comments about Adolf Hitler and Nazis in an interview with rightwing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Shielded behind a face mask, the father-of-four appeared alongside the white supremacist Nick Fuentes on InfoWars.
Happening now: Kanye West tells Alex Jones that he “sees good things about Hitler also” pic.twitter.com/sjqF4Fnunb
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 1, 2022
The rapper said: “I see good things about Hitler… Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
After Jones replied, “The Nazis were thugs,” Kanye said, “But they did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.”
The 45-year-old also declared: “I love Jewish people. But I also love Nazis.”
Adding to the controversy surrounding Kanye right now, a group of former high-ranking Yeezy employees made some shocking claims about him in an open letter to Adidas last month.
The letter, which was published by Rolling Stone, urges the executive board members and newly installed CEO of Adidas to address “the toxic and chaotic environment that Kanye West created”.
A spokesperson for Adidas issued a statement to Rolling Stone on the company’s behalf, writing: “Adidas does not tolerate hate speech and offensive behavior and therefore has terminated the adidas Yeezy partnership.”
“We have been and continue to be actively engaged in conversations with our employees about the events that lead [sic] to our decision to end the partnership.”
“They have our full support and as we’re working through the details of the termination, we have been clear that we want to keep our employees’ talent and skills within the organization.”
Kanye started collaborating with Adidas on his Yeezy brand in 2015, but the brand cut ties with him in October over his recent anti-Semitic comments.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s wedding
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One celebrity wedding that dominated headlines for weeks, if not months, was Kourtney Kardashian’s insanely lavish wedding to Travis Barker.
The couple exchanged vows in front of their family and friends on May 22 at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy – after legally marrying at a courthouse in Santa Barbara a week prior.
Kourtney and Travis, and their entire bridal party, wore Dolce & Gabbana for the occasion, who reportedly “sponsored” their Italian nuptials.
The bride wore a custom Alta Moda lace and satin corset mini dress, inspired by archival Italian lingerie, and changed into a black version for their wedding reception.
Kourtney’s momager Kris Jenner walked her down the aisle to a moving rendition of a woman singing Ave Maria.
The couple also hosted their wedding reception at Castello Brown, where they had Andrea Bocelli perform for guests.
You can see all the behind-the-scenes snaps from their wedding reception here.
A host of famous faces attended the ceremony, including Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, and Travis’ Blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus.
Of course, the POOSH founder’s sisters Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall were also in attendance, as well as Kourtney’s three children – Mason, 12, Penelope, 9, and Reign, 7.
Travis’ kids Landon, 18, Alabama, 16, and Atiana, 22, were also there.
Before travelling to Italy, the couple legally wed at a courthouse in Santa Barbara, just one month after their “practice wedding” in Las Vegas.
Kourtney, 42, and Travis, 46, exchanged vows with a small number of people in attendance, including her grandmother MJ and Travis’ father Randy as witnesses.
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The pair started dating at the end of 2020, and got engaged last October on a beach in Santa Barbara.
Kourtney was previously in a longterm relationship with Scott Disick, whom she shares three kids with – Mason, 12, Penelope, 9, and Reign, 7.
Meanwhile, Travis shares two kids with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler – son Landon, 18, and daughter Alabama, 16.
He is also step-father to 22-year-old Atiana.
Khloe Kardashian’s baby blues
We couldn’t write this list without mentioning poor Khloe Kardashian…
The reality star called off her engagement to Tristan Thompson in December last year, after it was revealed that he had fathered a child with another woman.
Just days before the paternity scandal came to light, Khloe and Tristan completed the final step in their vitro fertilization process with an embryo transfer, and their surrogate became pregnant with their second child.
The former couple’s second child, a baby boy, was born at the end of July.
In the season 2 premiere of The Kardashians, the Good American founder got candid about how Tristan Thompson’s paternity scandal put a dampener on their baby news.
In a confessional, the reality star said: “Tristan and I are having another baby. It’s supposed to be a really exciting time, and it’s just a different experience.”
Becoming visibly emotional, Khloe continued: “Obviously, it’s just really private and I just don’t want this to get out right now ‘cause I want to protect my mental well-being as well as the surrogate’s and all of that. It’s just been a lot to go through all at the same time.”
The 38-year-old explained that the embryo transfer occurred days before Thanksgiving (November 25) and she found out about “Tristan’s situation the first week of December.”
She told the cameras: “It’s just so close, I wouldn’t want anyone to think I did this after the fact. Why would I wanna have a baby with someone who’s having a baby with somebody else?”
Khloe explained that she decided to keep the surrogacy news within her family’s inner circle because she feared it would turn into a “media frenzy” if she announced the news publicly.
“I can’t hear about this for months,” she noted. “About what an idiot I am. Like, what a dumb f**k I am.”
The former Revenge Body host admitted to feeling “very angry” and “bamboozled” by the situation.
She said: “All I know is, I was being encouraged to do it by a certain date. In hindsight, he always knew when the other baby was being born, and especially getting the paperwork in that we saw. He found out July 2, so he did know.”
Ahead of her son’s due date, Khloe struggled to decide if she wanted Tristan in the delivery room with her.
However, her sister Kim encouraged Khloe to let Tristan in “for the sake of the baby.”
Khloe admitted: “This is the strangest, most f**ked up situation. But once [my son is] here, he’s gonna be the blessing. He’s gonna be the ray of light. He’s the fun, exciting part. The waiting process? This s**t f**king sucks.”
Viewers then saw footage from the hospital and the first look of Khloe and Tristan’s newborn, which Khloe called “a beautiful gift.”
She said: “Now that my son is here, I get to move on. I get to move on and I get to enjoy. It’s almost like I get to close that chapter and be done with this trauma.”
“This has been a difficult time in my life. But it’s the start of something positive and happy and beautiful.”
The Good American founder started dating Tristan in 2016, but their relationship hit the rocks when the NBA star was accused of cheating – just days before Khloe gave birth to their daughter True in April 2018.
The reality star controversially decided to stand by Tristan, but less than one year later, he was caught kissing family friend Jordyn Woods at a house party in February 2019.
Khloe dumped the basketball player for good, but she decided to give their relationship another chance in 2020 – after they grew close during lockdown.
Months later, the couple split again in June 2021 after Tristan was accused of cheating with Instagram model Sydney Chase, but the pair reconciled towards the end of the year.
Just weeks later, it was revealed that Tristan fathered a child with personal trainer Maralee Nichols, which put an end to his relationship with Khloe once and for all.
Maralee became pregnant with Tristan’s third child last March, and she gave birth to their son on December 1.
It is understood Khloe was still in a relationship with Tristan when he had sex with Maralee, as she threw him a 30th birthday party that same month.
After a paternity test confirmed Tristan is the father of Maralee’s son, he took to his Instagram Story to publicly apologise to Khloe.
He wrote: “I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established I look forward to amicably raising our son. I sincerely apologise to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately.”
Addressing Khloe directly, Tristan wrote: “Khloe, you don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation my actions have caused you.”
“You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry,” he added.
Back in September, it was revealed that Tristan and Khloe were secretly engaged before their split, after he proposed last February.
Adam Levine’s flirtatious DMs
Adam Levine’s “flirtatious” DMs landed him in some hot water earlier this year.
The Maroon 5 singer, who is expecting his third child with his wife Behati Prinsloo, was forced to shut down claims he had a year-long affair with Instagram model Summer Stroh in September.
Although Adam denied having an affair with the 23-year-old, he did admit he “crossed the line” by exchanging “flirtatious” messages with her.
In a statement shared on his Instagram Story, the 43-year-old wrote: “A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner.”
“I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family.”
“My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again.”
“I take full responsibility. We will get through it. And we will get through it together,” he added.
Adam was forced to release a statement after Sumner claimed she had a year-long affair with him in a viral TikTok video.
Sumner did not provide dates as to when the alleged relationship took place, but she shared screenshots of Instagram DMs she claimed were from the musician.
The Instagram model claimed they stopped talking “for months”, but Adam came back into her life in June by allegedly messaging her: “Ok serious question. I’m having another baby and if it’s a boy I really wanna name it Sumner. You ok with that? DEAD serious.”
She also said she had wanted to “handle this privately,” but felt forced to share her story on TikTok after a friend allegedly tried to sell the screenshots to a tabloid.
Adam began dating Behati back in May 2012, shortly after splitting from her fellow Victoria’s Secret Angel Anne Vyalitsyna.
The couple tied the knot on July 18, 2014.
They share two daughters together, Dusty Rose and Gio Grace, and are currently expecting their third child.
Blac Chyna vs The Kardashians
Blac Chyna lost her $100 million defamation case against the Kardashian-Jenner family in May, following a week-long trial.
The 33-year-old, who shares a daughter with Rob Kardashian, sued members of the KarJenner clan on claims of defamation and illegal interference with her contracts and business dealings.
The model had claimed Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner “conspired” to cancel her E! reality show ‘Rob & Chyna’ in 2017 – which they strongly denied.
The lengthy legal battle concluded with a week-long trial in May, in which Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kris took the stand to give evidence in court.
The jury ultimately decided that the Kardashian-Jenners did not have to pay Chyna damages regarding her loss of income and future earnings.
However, the jury did find the family’s actions were not justified with respect to Chyna’s “contractual relationship” with the E! Network.
The 33-year-old later filed a peremptory challenge against Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Alarcon, who oversaw the case.
In the documents, the model accused the judge of exhibiting an “undeniably hostile and extremely biased” attitude towards her and her attorney Ms. Lynne Ciani.
Chyna also said she believes his alleged bias impacted several parts of the case, including “the jury making ‘key liability verdicts in her favor’”.
In response, the Kardashian-Jenner family’s attorney Michael G. Rhode filed a 20-page opposition against Chyna’s challenge.
In the documents, Rhode questioned why Chyna and her attorney didn’t share their apparent issues with the judge sooner.
The papers state: “Plaintiff claims Judge Alarcon exhibited an ‘undeniably hostile and extremely biased’ attitude towards her and Ms Ciani since April 19 and April 20, 2022 – the day both sides presented opening statements to the jury – yet Plaintiff and her counsel nonetheless proceeded without complaint as Judge Alarcon presided over a 10-day trial.”
“Plaintiff’s statement and sworn declaration of disqualification is a baseless effort to save face after losing at trial and is devoid of any legal basis to disqualify Judge Alarcon from presiding over further matters in this action.”
“While Plaintiff and her counsel Lynne Ciani are understandably disappointed about the jury’s defence verdict following an emotionally charged trial, their effort to make a scapegoat of Judge Alarcon is frivolous, dishonest, and deserving of sanctions.”
Finally, the family’s legal team requested Chyna’s “statement of disqualification be stricken, that her request for disqualification be denied, and that Ms. Ciani be sanctioned in an amount to be determined in [the family’s] separately served noticed motion.”
A peremptory challenge to replace a judge can be filed just once by either side during a litigation under California law.
If Chyna’s challenge is successful, the judge will be removed from the case.
Speaking outside court in May, the 33-year-old’s lawyer Lynne Ciani told reporters that she and her client would appeal the verdict of the trial.
Lynne said: “Two things. Number one, the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian. Number two, the jury found that all four defendants intentionally interfered with [Chyna’s] contracts with the E! Network. We will appeal the remainder of the verdict.”
The Kardashian-Jenner’s were not in court for the verdict in May, as they were attending the 2022 Met Gala.
However the family’s attorney, Michael Rhodes, revealed he spoke to the family after the verdict was announced.
He said: “I think the case was very clear cut. The jury got it. I appreciate their service. I think the judge did a wonderful job of making sure it was a fair trial.”
“They [the Kardashian-Jenners] were very pleased, very grateful. They were emphatic in their explicit expression of pleasure. I got to know them quite well over the last few years, and as you know, they’re exuberant.”
Bennifer’s fairytale ending
Another celebrity wedding that dominated headlines this year was Jennifer Lopez’s wedding to Ben Affleck.
The couple, famously dubbed ‘Bennifer’, got back together last May – 17 years after they called off their first engagement.
Almost 20 years later, the a-listers finally got their happy ending when they tied the knot in front of family and friends at Ben’s estate in Georgia on August 20, one month after they exchanged vows at a chapel in Las Vegas.
Lifestyle guru Jay Shetty presided over the star-studded ceremony, which was attended by celebs such as Matt Damon, director Kevin Smith, and actor Jason Mewes.
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J-Lo wore a custom Ralph Lauren wedding dress for the occasion, and all their guests also wore all-white.
Speaking about their wedding day, the singer wrote in her On The JLo newsletter: “We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient.”
Bennifer rekindled their romance in 2021 – 17 years after they called off their original engagement in 2004.
J-Lo has been married three times in the past.
The actress was married to her first husband, actor Ojani Noa, from 1997-1998, before she moved on with choreographer Cris Judd, who she was married to from 2001-2003.
The Bronx native went on to marry singer Marc Anthony in 2004, and the pair welcomed twins Max and Emme – who are now 13-years-old.
Jennifer and Marc divorced in 2014, but are still on good terms.
Prior to rekindling her romance with Ben, J-Lo was engaged to Alex Rodriguez, however the pair split in April 2021 after four years together.
Meanwhile, Ben was previously married to actress Jennifer Garner.
The Hollywood stars tied the knot in 2005, and separated in 2015. The former couple share three kids together – Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9.
Britney Spears’ wedding to Sam Asghari
We couldn’t include celebrity weddings in this list without mentioning Britney Spears’ wedding to Sam Asghari.
The pop singer and her actor beau exchanged vows at her home in Los Angeles on June 9 in front of 60 guests – which included some famous faces.
The couple shared the first photos of their wedding day with Vogue magazine, which were taken by Kevin Ostajewski.
Britney wore a custom-made Versace dress for the occasion, which featured a modest bodice, thigh-high slit and lengthy train.
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The singer paired the dress with a white satin-edged veil, pearl-beaded mesh gloves and 62 carats’ worth of diamonds from Stephanie Gottilieb.
The fashion mogul herself, Donnatella Versace, was amongst those in attendance at the event.
The star-studded guest list also included Drew Barrymore, Maria Menounos, Paris Hilton, Kathy Hilton, Madonna, Zendaya, Selena Gomez, Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow.
However, the singer’s parents Jamie and Lynne, and her sister Jamie Lynn, were not invited.
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Britney’s sons Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden, 15 – who she shares with her ex-husband Kevin Federline – were also absent from the ceremony.
The wedding was subject to plenty of drama, as Britney’s ex-husband Jason Alexander was arrested after he tried to “crash” their nuptials.
Months later, Britney’s son Jayden also admitted he and Preston declined an invite to the wedding.
The 15-year-old made the confession during a candid interview with ITV News, in which he opened up about their decision to cut contact with their mother.
At the time, Britney hit back at her son’s claims online, and slammed her children for “cutting her off”.
Britney, 40, and Sam, 28, got engaged in September 2021, and announced the exciting news on Instagram.
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In April, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together.
However, just one month later, they shared the heartbreaking news that they had lost their “miracle baby”.
The singer and the model have been dating since 2016, after meeting on the set of her Slumber Party music video.
The moment Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber broke the internet
Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber broke the internet in October by posing for a photo together.
The starlets posed for their first photo together at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, quashing longtime rumours of a feud between them.
Selena famously dated Hailey’s husband Justin Bieber on-and-off for eight years, before they officially called it quits in 2018.
Shortly after his split from Selena, the Peaches singer rekindled his romance with Hailey in 2018.
That July, the Canadian singer proposed to the model during a trip to the Bahamas, and they secretly tied-the-knot in September 2018.
One year later, the couple exchanged vows for the second time at a star-studded ceremony in South Carolina.
Selena and Hailey’s photo opp took place shortly after Hailey addressed claims she “stole” Justin from Selena during her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast in September.
Setting the record straight, the model told host Alex Cooper: “When him and I started hooking up, or anything of that sort, he was not in any relationship.”
“It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship, I would just never do that. I was raised better than that…”
“I think there are situations where you can still have back and forth with someone, but even that was not the situation,” Hailey continued.
“I can say period, point blank, that I was never with him when he was in a relationship with anybody. That’s the end of it.”
“I had been involved with [Justin] since I was 18. The timeline that I think is in question of us getting together and getting engaged, and him having been spending time with his ex before that… This is so crazy I’ve literally never talked about this ever.”
“I understand how it looks from the outside, and there’s a lot of perception there, but that was a situation where I know for a fact that it was the right thing for [Justin and Selena] to close that door.”
“They were not in a relationship at that time but of course, there’s a very long history there. It’s not my relationship and it has nothing to do with me so I respect that a lot, but I know that it closed a chapter and I think it was the best thing for him to move on and be engaged and get married and move on with his life in that way.”
The model went on to say: “It’s hard for me to talk about this because I don’t want to talk on either one of their behalf because it was their relationship and I honestly respect that very deeply, but I just know what was going on when we got back together.”
“And I know what had to happen for that to come back together in a healthy way. I think it was the most healthy, mature decision that he could’ve made. As a woman, I never would want to get into a relationship with someone, and be engaged and married to them, and think in the back of my mind, ‘I wonder if that was really closed for you.’”
“I know for a fact that the reason we were able to get back together was because it was very much closed [with Justin and Selena], and that was respectful to me.”
Opening up about the hate she’s received since going public with her relationship with Justin, Hailey said: “A lot of the hate comes from like ‘oh you stole him’, and I guess that comes from the fact that they wished he ended up with someone else. And that’s fine, you can wish that all you want, but that’s just not the case.”
“There’s a certain numbness that you get [from the hate]. It still happens to this day. If I was to go live right now, it would still be happening. You reach a point where you have to ignore it.”
“If we have moved on, why can’t you?” she added. “It’s hurtful and it’s bullying.”
R. Kelly sentenced to prison
In June 2022, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a 2021 trial found him guilty on multiple counts of racketeering, with the charges relating to bribery and forced labour.
The singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to racketeering and eight counts of violating a federal law making it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.
However, he was found guilty on all nine counts following a six-week trial in Brooklyn, New York.
In September, the Grammy winner was also found guilty on multiple charges of child pornography and luring underage girls to have sex with him.
In the Chicago-based trial, the R&B singer was convicted by a jury on six out of 13 counts, prosecutors said.
R. Kelly was found guilty of three child pornography counts and three counts of enticing minors for sex, but was acquitted of seven other charges that included obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to receive child pornography.
Over the course of the five-week trial, a number of women took the stand to accuse R. Kelly of sexually abusing them when they were minors.
The jury also saw a video of the singer assaulting his goddaughter, who testified that the abuse began in the 90s when she was just a teenager.
In the state of Chicago, a conviction of just one count of child pornography carries a mandatory sentence of a minimum of ten years.
However, R. Kelly’s final sentencing is not expected until February 2023.
Kelly also faces various state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
Ferne McCann’s voice note scandal
Ferne McCann faced serious backlash this year when she was accused of sending a string of “vile” voice notes.
In September, the 32-year-old was accused of sending “nasty” voice messages about her longtime friend and former TOWIE co-star Sam Faiers.
An Instagram account with the handle @ladywhistledown195 later released another voice message, claiming it was sent by Ferne.
In the voice message, a women’s voice talks about Ferne’s ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins’ acid attack victim Sophie Hall.
The voice poked fun at Sophie entering a beauty pageant wearing a dress made from recycled headlines about the attack.
The voice says: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The silly b**** has made a dress, a papier-mâché dress out of the newspaper cuttings from the event.”
“She’ll probably win it I’m not gonna lie, only because the event and the awards that she has entered or beauty competition, whatever it is, they’re probably loving all this free press for their event so they’ll probably fix it, she’ll win it,” the voice continues. “She is one ugly f**king c***.”
Ferne shares five-year-old daughter Sunday with her ex-boyfriend Arthur.
In April 2017, he threw acid in a packed nightclub and was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison for the attack, which blinded two people and injured 18 others.
Last month, Ferne was forced to address the voice note scandal as she issued an apology to Arthur’s acid attack victims.
She wrote: “I am aware that people will have a number of questions about the voice messages being put into the public domain and purportedly sent by me.”
“I feel I have no choice but to address these — to the extent that I can as there are restrictions on me.”
“Most importantly I want to apologise to all the victims of Arthur Collins’ abhorrent actions in 2017 that they have to relive that night and the pain that followed because this matter is again in the public domain.”
“Arthur Collins’ crimes created genuine victims, so I am not trying to portray myself as one,” Ferne continued.
“I am unable to say much because there are important and significant legal proceedings that prevent me from setting the record straight at this stage.”
“What I can say is that the voice messages that are being released are manipulated; edited and taken entirely out of context.”
“Even so, I will have said things that are untrue, and I did not believe – but I did so to protect my family and myself from serious harm and in the face of significant threats.”
Prince Andrew reaches settlement
Back in February, Prince Andrew and his accuser Virginia Giuffre settled out of court over her civil sex assault claim filed in the US.
The 38-year-old, who has long claimed she was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring in the early 2000s, had previously accused the Duke of sexually assaulting her in 2001.
In the suit, Virginia alleged she was brought to the UK when she was 17 to “have sex” with the British royal, an allegation he has vehemently denied.
Virginia claimed Prince Andrew engaged in sexual acts without her consent, and “that she was a sex-trafficking victim”.
She filed the lawsuit against Prince Andrew last August, and his legal team tried to have the case thrown out, but a judge dismissed his request.
The settlement amount was not disclosed at the time, and the British royal promised to make a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
After reaching a settlement, the Duke’s legal team said in court documents: “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”
“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”
Ghislaine Maxwell’s sentencing
Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison back in June.
In December last year, the 60-year-old was found guilty of grooming and recruiting four teenagers for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004.
The former socialite was convicted on five of six counts against her, including “conspiracy to entice” underage girls to be abused by Epstein, as well as transporting and sex trafficking the teenagers.
Ghislaine’s lawyers called on judge Alison Nathan to hand down a sentence of less than the US probation office’s recommended 20 years.
However, prosecutors asked that she receive between 30 and 55 years jail time, as they argued she has shown an “utter lace of remorse” for the crimes she committed between 1994 and 2004.
Jeffrey was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The death was ruled a suicide.
Ghislaine’s attorneys pleaded: “Ms Maxwell cannot and should not bear all the punishment for which Epstein should have been held responsible.”
However, the prosecution contended in its own court filing that Ghislaine “was an adult who made her own choices”.
In October, Ghislaine spoke out for the first time since her arrest in July 2020 in a bombshell interview from prison.
Ghislaine admitted that her association with Jeffrey was “the greatest mistake of [her] life”.
The former socialite also said she felt “so bad” for her “dear friend” Prince Andrew.
“I follow what is happening to him,” she revealed. “He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him.”
James Corden’s restaurant ban
James Corden hit headlines for all the wrong reasons in October.
The talk show host was briefly barred from Balthazar in Manhattan after the owner Keith McNally claimed he had been “extremely nasty” to his staff on two separate occasions.
However, the restaurateur later revoked the ban after James allegedly called him and “apologised profusely”.
James later addressed the incident as he returned to host The Late Late Show on CBS.
Opening the show, the 44-year-old said: “Last week, there were stories about me being banned from a restaurant. And at the time I considered, you know, tweeting about it or Instagramming about it.”
James told viewers that he likes to adopt a “British attitude” to things, and to “never complain, never explain.”
But the talk show host changed his tune after his father gave him some sound advice.
“As my dad pointed out to me on Saturday — he said, ‘Son, well, you did complain, so you might need to explain.’ Look, when you make a mistake, you’ve gotta take responsibility. So I thought I would, if it’s okay, share with you what happened,” he continued.
James went on to claim that his wife Julia was given food “she was allergic to” even after they explained her food allergies to the server.
“In the heat of the moment, I made a sarcastic rude comment about cooking it myself,” he confessed. “It is a comment I deeply regret.”
“I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years. I have such respect, and I value anyone that does such a job. And the team at that restaurant are so great. That’s why I love it there.”
James also said he thought the issue was resolved after the staff brought them a bottle of champagne “as an apology”.
“I’ve been walking around thinking that I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? But the truth is, I made a rude comment, and it was wrong,” he admitted.
“It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server.”
In his original post on Instagram, Mr. McNally branded James the most “abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”.
He shared parts of a manager’s report on Instagram, alleging that The Late Late Show host had been “extremely nasty” to his staff on two separate occasions.
View this post on Instagram
During one alleged incident, the manager claimed James started “yelling like crazy” and repeatedly told a server “you can’t do your job”. The report added that the server “was very shaken” but “continued to finish her shift”.
Keith said he banned James from dining at Balthazar as a result of his alleged behaviour, but later lifted the ban after the comedian called him to apologise.
The restaurateur wrote in a second Instagram post: “James Corden just called me and apologized profusely. Having f**ked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances.”
“So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But….anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar.”
“So Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is Forgiven. xx.”
Ryan Giggs vs Kate Greville trial
Ryan Giggs will face a retrial in the assault case brought against him by his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville next year.
The former Manchester United star has been accused of using controlling and coercive behaviour against his ex-girlfriend between August 2017 and November 2020.
Ryan is also charged with assaulting Kate, causing her actual bodily harm, and common assault of her sister Emma at his home in Manchester on November 1, 2020.
Ryan had pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
The former Manchester United footballer was sentenced to face a re-trial on the domestic violence charges against him during a hearing at Manchester Crown Court in September.
The new trial date was set for July 31, 2023.
The original trial, which kicked off on August 8, lasted two weeks – however the jury failed to reach a verdict on any of the three counts against Ryan.
The jury had been out considering their deliberations for 22 hours and 59 minutes before they were brought back into court.
Judge Hilary Manley asked if they had reached a verdict on any counts on which a majority of 10 to one juror had agreed.
The foreman of the jury answered: “No.”
When asked if there was any “realistic prospect” of them reaching a verdict if given more time, the jury also responded: “No.”
The judge thanked the jurors and discharged them, but warned them not to discuss the case as there may be another trial of the case in the future.
Kate accused her ex-boyfriend Ryan of physical assault back in November 2020.
Their relationship began in 2013, when both parties were still married.
Kate made some shocking allegations against Ryan during the trial, and claimed that she became a “slave” to Ryan’s “every need and demand” during their on-off relationship.
Take a listen to our latest episode of The Gosscast, where we chat about the biggest showbiz stories of the year – including the breakups, makeups and the most shocking celebrity moments of 2022.
