With the terrible coronavirus epidemic, countrywide protests across the United States, and a historic presidential election, the year 2020 was unlike any other.
Celebrities from all over the world reacted to the current events as they occurred.
If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed throughout the years, it’s that celebrities not only reacted to the news, but also contributed to it.
Check out Fox News’ selection of the biggest celebrity scandals of 2020 that have everyone talking, from courtroom drama to behind-the-scenes feuds to prison terms.
The toxic workplace incident involving Ellen DeGeneres and her namesake daytime talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was perhaps the largest entertainment scandal of 2020.
DeGeneres, 62, remained silent earlier this year when former guests and employees spoke out against the host for her alleged frigid demeanour on and off the set.
DeGeneres’ not-so-nice behaviour toward staffers was confirmed by a former bodyguard, Thomas Majercak, who told Fox News that she acted “cold” and “sly” during her hosting gig at the 2014 Oscars.
The bodyguard’s charges, however, were only the tip of the iceberg.
Soon after, Buzzfeed News published a comprehensive exposé in which one current and ten former employees of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” spoke about their experiences, alleging racism, a poisonous workplace climate, and sexual misconduct by the show’s senior producers.
As a result, WarnerMedia, which produces and syndicates the show, launched an internal investigation, and executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, as well as co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, “divorced” from the show in August.
After a rough summer, DeGeneres returned to the spotlight in September for the Season 18 debut of her programme.
ELLEN DEGENERES HAS ‘EXCRUCIATING BACK PAIN’ AFTER CORONAVIRUS DIAGNOSIS, FEELING ‘100%’ OTHERWISE “Being known as the ‘be kind’ lady is a tricky position to be in.
So let me give you some advice out there if anyone’s thinking of changing their title or if anyone’s thinking of changing their title or if anyone’s thinking of changing their title or if
“The truth is, I am that person you see on TV. I am also a lot of other things.
Sometimes I get sad, mad, anxious, frustrated, and impatient. I am working on all of that. I am a work in progress.
I’m especially working on the impatience thing, and it’s not going well because it’s not happening,” she said.
After pleading guilty to charges stemming from $500,000 payments to scam mastermind William “Rick” Singer to get their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, recruited onto the University of Southern California’s crew team, the “Fuller House” alum was sentenced to two months in prison in August. The two had never tried the sport before.
Meanwhile, Giannulli reported to prison in Lompoc, Calif., weeks later, where he was most recently held in protective custody owing to the new coronavirus, according to sources.
Loughlin is set to be released on December 28, while Giannulli is set to return home in April. The prison sentences, however, will not be their final penalty.
Loughlin also agreed to pay a $150,000 fine, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service in addition to serving time.
Meanwhile, Giannulli would serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine, and perform 250 hours of community service in exchange for a $250,000 fine and two years of supervised release.
Loughlin and Giannulli, along with 11 other parents implicated in the scandal, first pleaded not guilty to enhanced bribery allegations presented against them in October.
Many people were surprised when the couple abruptly changed their minds in May and opted to plead guilty, much like Huffman had done in 2019.
LORI LOUGHLIN BEGINS 2-MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR HER PART IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL Olivia Loughlin, Loughlin’s eldest daughter, startled fans earlier this month by giving her first-ever interview regarding the scandal.
Olivia said the scandal left her “embarrassed” and “ashamed,” and that her family had “messed up,” in an interview with Jada Pinkett Smith on the “Red Table Talk” Facebook show.
Olivia has since vowed to learn from her parents’ alleged crimes and chalked it up as a big learning experience in terms of recognising her privilege.
Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle’s big “Megxit” Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle kicked out 2020 with one of the greatest news stories in Hollywood and beyond: their decision to leave the British royal family as senior members.
In early January, the royal couple announced their intention to “pull aside” as senior members of the family and instead work independently, dividing their time between the UK and North America.
PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE STEPPING BACK AS SENIOR MEMBERS OF ROYAL FAMILY
“We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the couple shared on Instagram Wed.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen; it is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.”
“We now intend to split our time between the United Kingdom and North America, honouring our responsibilities to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” they added.
“This geographic balance will allow us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also giving our family the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to Vancouver, Canada, shortly after the announcement, before moving into Tyler Perry’s multimillion-dollar mansion.
After purportedly acquiring a home in Santa Barbara, Calif., they eventually settled down.
Markle QUEEN ELIZABETH VIEWS ‘MEGXIT’ AS ‘DAMAGING TO THE MONARCHY,’ SOURCE SAYS:
‘THIS HAS BEEN RATHER HURTFUL’ This week, Harry and Meghan revealed their 2020 Christmas card, which gave a glimpse into their more casual lifestyle away from Harry’s native England.
Meghan, 39, Harry, 36, their 1-year-old son Archie, and their two dogs are pictured outside in front of a white and blue playhouse.
As we approach 2021, the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread over the world, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
Since the outbreak began in March, celebrities from the worlds of film, television, and music have come forward to say they’ve tested positive for coronavirus and are undergoing self-isolation.
Tom Hanks, 64, one of America’s most famous actors, has disclosed that he and his wife Rita Wilson both tested positive for coronavirus.
The pair contracted the illness while filming an untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann in Australia.
They have provided fans with various updates on their health and rehabilitation since then.
Idris Elba, Daniel Dae Kim, Andy Cohen, Debi Mazar, rapper Scarface, Jim Edmonds, and Meghan King are just a few of the celebrities who have gone out about their diagnoses.
A number of celebrities died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including Broadway performer Nick Cordero, Adam Schlesinger, Alan Merrill, Julie Bennett, and country musician John Prine, among others.
Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle drew a lot of attention this year due to the fact that she has been under it for years.
The “Toxic” singer has been under a conservatorship for almost a decade, which means that her daily life and money are controlled by a guardian, who has been her father Jamie for the majority of the time since the conservatorship was established.
This summer, it was reported that Spears is “adamant” about her father resuming his role as her sole conservator, and that she has asked a trust corporation to take over those responsibilities.
BRITNEY SPEARS SAYS DAD JAMIE KEEPING HER CONSERVATORSHIP CASE ‘HIDDEN AWAY IN THE CLOSET’:
REPORT As the family drama unfolded in court, fans rallied around Spears on the street, bringing the #FreeBritney campaign to a new level.
The movement gained traction online as suspicions circulated that Jamie is not only using the conservatorship to repress his daughter, but that he is also stealing money from Britney Spears’ inheritance.
Spears’ famous father even spoke out against the effort, calling it a “joke.”
Bryan Spears disclosed in July that his sister had wanted out of her conservatorship “for quite some time,” and the conservatorship was extended in August until at least February 2021.
Jodi Montgomery is Spears’ interim conservator.
Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic’s feud in “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness” goes viral If you haven’t heard of Netflix’s
“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” you probably slept through 2020. After its March premiere on the streaming service, the docuseries soon went viral, with fans unable to get enough of the quirky large cat fanatics featured in the series.
Joe Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) and Carole Baskin, two of the series’ most memorable characters, were painted as the most bitter rivals TV viewers have ever seen for their opposing views on the care of “big cats” (the tigers in the series), as well as the horrific claims made by Exotic that Baskin was responsible for her first husband Don Lewis’ death.
After being found guilty of participating in a murder-for-hire plan against Baskin, Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in jail.
Meanwhile, Baskin’s star soared so high after the Netflix show premiered that she returned to television for Season 29 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
While Baskin became a household name thanks to the Netflix series, she recently admitted in an interview on Fox Business’ “Varney & Co.”
That she doesn’t like the way she was portrayed in the series. She even went so far as to say that producers “manufactured” her dispute with Exotic.
“Joe and I had never, in reality, even spoken to each other before to all of this,” Baskin stated, “so the whole idea that was depicted as this enormous animosity between us was just invented for the purpose of this show.”
“I did go after him because he was one of the people who I felt was abusing and exploiting big cats,” she continued.
“I go after all the big guys, and he was just one of the dozen or so that are on the top of my list for places that need to stop abusing animals.”
While Baskin has stated that she has no desire to work with Netflix again, her work with the Big Cat Rescue group in Tampa, Florida continues to create headlines.
The inquiry into Lewis’ strange disappearance and death has also been restarted by state police.