Top Ten Celebrity Scandals

Like 'em or not, celebrities are our favorite topics to gossip about, especially when there is a scandal. Celebrity scandals fill the airwaves, but what are the best/worst of them all? Here are my top 10 scandals of all time, as well as a few who were runners up. (In no particular order)

1. Brangelina: So popular in the tabloids, they are the couple that everyone loves to hate. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made their relationship officially public in 2005, shortly after Pitt announced his separation from Jennifer Aniston after 4 ½ years of marriage in January of 2005. Rumors abound with whether or not the two were seeing each other during the filming of Mr. and Mrs. Smith the year before. Both claim that accusation is false. But it seems a little circumstantial to the general population. Brangelina are constantly seen with their multitude of adopted children and the children they have had together even though they have yet to tie the knot. They profess that they will not marry till everyone in the world can marry freely. www.moono.com/news/news00555.html

2. Carrie Prejean: I hope she's never in a room with Brad and Angelina because there is sure to be a feud. Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean has been criticized repeatedly for her opposition of same sex marriage. First, she was interviewed by Perez Hilton, the openly homosexual gossip-monger on her stance and Hilton berated her openly on his website. She then went to Washington to participate in a rally on traditional marriage views. When asked to participate in California "diversity" PSA, she declined and again was criticized for upholding her Christian values. Prejean was already under scrutiny by the Pageant Committee for taking topless lingerie shots when she was modeling at the age of 17. www.fownews.com/story/0,2933,519468,00.html

3. Monica Lewinsky: I bet Clinton never thought that 'devil in a blue dress' would ever turn on him. In the midst of the Paula Jones lawsuit in 1997, Monica Lewinsky started making headlines. In order to save herself from a perjury charge in the lawsuit, Lewinsky's "friend", Linda Tripp, whom she had confided in about her affair with Clinton, convinced Lewinsky to come clean. Clinton first denied the claims and then 7 months later, admitted to inappropriate intimate contact with Lewinsky. Of course, Clinton hadn't counted on the DNA "fingerprint" that Lewinsky had saved as a souvenir. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/players/lewinsky.htm

4. Princess Diana: Princess Diana made every female believe in fairytales. Married to Prince Charles in 1981, but soon after, the fairytale began to crumble. They divorced in 1995 amid the admitted affairs of Charles. Two short years later, Diana's shocking death was announced. August 31, 1997, Princess Diana, along with Dodi Fayed, her companion, and Henri Paul, the driver, were killed in an accident as they were running to avoid the paparazzi. The only survivor was Fayed's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones. Speculation abounded as to whether or not the Royal family was involved. In 2008, the Coroner's Inquest finally declared that Diana was unlawfully killed as a result of the paparazzi. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/death_of_diana_princess_of_wales

5. Michael Jackson: Noted by Guinness World Record as the most successful entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson is under constant scrutiny and scandal. At age 11, Jackson began his career with the Jackson 5 and then later moved on to pursue a solo career. He had 13 Number One hits in the Billboard and won 8 Grammy's in one night. In the 1970's he was a dominant part of pop culture. In 1993, Jordan chandler brought molestation charges against Jackson, but the charges were later dropped. In 2003, he was again accused, this time by Gavin Arizo. He faced 7 counts of molestation and 2 counts of administering an intoxicating substance. Jackson was acquitted of all charges. The most recent charges were brought by Joseph Thomas Bartucci who claims that Jackson molested him repeatedly in 1984, when Bartucci was 18. Jackson now has to sell his possessions and the Government has seized his ranch, Never land, because of unpaid employee taxes. 30 of Jackson's employees have filed suit against him.
www.contactmusic.com/new/artist.nsf/artistnames/michael%20jackson

6. Mel Gibson: Speaking of charges, who can forget Mel Gibson's drunk driving and subsequent arrest shortly after the much celebrated and much berated Passion of the Christ in 2004. Gibson was accused of being an anti-Semitic by the Jewish community after the film's release which he firmly denied. When Gibson was arrested for drunk driving and thrown into the holding cell, first he tried to urinate on the floor. Then after requesting a phone and not getting a dial tone, he threw the phone. Then he really got mad and starting hurling insults and racial remarks. To top the night off, Gibson insulted a female sergeant by calling her sweet t***. Gibson did make a public apology and then a separate apology to the Jewish community and promptly checked himself into rehab. www.in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/01mel.htm

7. Pee Wee Herman (aka Paul Reubens): Pee Wee was arrested in July of 1991 for creating his own "playhouse" in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. Mother's across the nation were outrages at the comedian who made Pee Wee Herman a household name in Pee Wee's Big Adventure in 1985. The movie was so popular, Ruebens created Pee Wee's Playhouse that ran successfully from 1986-1991. Reubens has been talking around Tinsel Town about making another Pee Wee movie that he wrote before his incident. www.en.wikipedia.org/pee_wee_herman

8. OJ Simpson: American football star and actor, OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman in 1994 and was acquitted in 1995. The trial is noted as the most publicized criminal trial in history. His lawyers, Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey made a mockery of the LAPD and the prosecution. Simpson did not learn his lesson, though. In September of 2007, Simpson was arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping in a failed attempt to recover sports memorabilia from 2 collector dealers. He was sentenced in 2008 to up to 33 years in prison.

9. Britney Spears: Poor Britney is a scandal waiting to happen. The eighth best selling female recording artist, who started with the Mickey Mouse Club in 1993, released her debut album in 1999 with "Baby One More Time". From her 55 hour marriage in Vegas to childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander in 2004 to her marriage in 2005 to Kevin Federline, it has been said that anything she does is news. In 2006, Spears was criticized for having her son unrestrained in the car, posed nude for Harper's Bazaar, and filed for divorce. Early 2007 had her checking into rehab for less than 24 hours and the next day locked herself in a salon and shaved her head when the stylist refused to so it for her. A few days later, Spears checked herself in another rehab. In 2008, she attacked the paparazzi with an umbrella, lost custody of her kids, was involved in an alleged hit and run, and refused to give the kids over to Federline's representatives after 4 days with no sleep. She was checked into the hospital under mandatory psychiatric evaluation for two days. Her visitation was suspended indefinitely and she was again held for an involuntary psych evaluation where she was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. She did regain visitation rights with the kids. All in 6 months. www.en.wikipedia.org/britney_spears

10. Dixie Chicks: Lead singer, Natalie Maines, known for her big voice, also has a very big mouth. In 2004, Maines publically announced on the eve of the war in Iraq that she was embarrassed to share a home state with President George Bush. Outraged fans from Texas blacklisted the Dixie Chicks as a result. Though they have made a comeback, the majority of their tour dates revolve around Canadian cities, not the US.

Runners Up

• Don Imus for his publicly racist comments on his radio show

• Michael Richards for his racist stand up routine

• Woody Allen for marrying his stepdaughter

• Hugh Grant getting caught with his pants down with Ms. Divine

• Chris Brown for beating on Rhiana

• Roseanne Barr for her un-American version of the National Anthem