Buckle up for a wild ride through the most shocking and controversial moments of 2024! From international scandals to celebrity controversies, we're breaking down the biggest headlines that had everyone talking this year. Get ready for a jaw-dropping journey through the most outrageous events month by month!
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00:00I'm not sure how this furthers his career.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest
00:07and most shocking controversies to happen in each month of 2024.
00:11We'll explore each scandal and see what went down.
00:14How far can this really go? What is really going on in this person's mind?
00:21January, the Hugo Awards censorship.
00:24Themed Meet the Future, the five-day event highlighted the symbiotic relationship
00:29between science fiction and the city.
00:31The Hugo Awards are one of the most prestigious events for science fiction creators.
00:36The 81st World Science Fiction Convention in 2023, which presented the awards,
00:40already received criticism from creators for being held in China due to human rights concerns.
00:45In January 2024, it came to light that those actions caused them to be scrubbed
00:49from the nominations despite some having enough votes to be in categories.
00:53We all had enough votes to be finalists in our respective categories, but for some reason,
00:58we were deemed not eligible and just left out from the list.
01:02Speaking against China or creating work that could be deemed, quote,
01:05sensitive by the country excluded people like R.F. Kuang,
01:08Shiran J. Zhao, and the Sandman TV show.
01:11The choice is yours. Would you take that choice away from others?
01:17The director and chair of the board at Worldcon Intellectual Property,
01:21who have the service trade for the World Science Fiction Society, resigned as a result.
01:28February, the death of Alexei Navalny.
01:37Navalny was arrested several times, including for alleged embezzlement, charges he denied.
01:50For years, Navalny was a thorn in the side of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
01:55As an anti-corruption political leader and opponent of Putin,
01:58he regularly called out the president's regime, even accusing Putin of attempting to assassinate him.
02:03In 2021, Navalny was arrested on multiple charges, including fraud and extremism,
02:09later getting him a sentence of 19 years after several trials.
02:21In 2023, he vanished from jail before turning up in a corrective colony
02:25in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug three weeks later.
02:28In February 2024, Russia announced Navalny had passed away.
02:33Immediately, supporters of Navalny believed something sinister had happened.
02:37The cause of death isn't clear, with some officials pointing at a blood clot or sudden death syndrome.
02:42However, these are disputed.
02:44March, Rolex gate.
03:06In March 2024, Peru's President Dina Boluarte was seen at public events while wearing a Rolex.
03:12Straight away, rumors emerged that she was involved in corruption,
03:16especially when the watches seemed to get more luxurious over time.
03:19Reportedly, one of the timepieces was three times Boluarte's monthly salary.
03:24The president denied the allegations and claimed
03:26she bought an old Rolex after saving money since she was 18.
03:30Boluarte's already weak government may now lose political allies,
03:35but she denies any wrongdoing and says she will not resign.
03:39However, there were also allegations that Boluarte had received
03:43$330,000 from unidentified bank accounts.
03:46This sparked the country's police to raid Boluarte's home
03:49after she didn't answer their request to search her residence.
03:52The cops then went to the government palace to find evidence.
03:55Six government ministers resigned in response to the raids.
04:00April, Quiet on Set.
04:12Since 2018, there have been several allegations about producer Dan Schneider during his time
04:17at Nickelodeon, including abuse, discrimination, and developing a toxic workplace environment.
04:22In March 2024, the docu-series Quiet on Set, The Dark Side of Kids TV was released,
04:28which detailed his tenure and allegations with first-hand accounts from the cast and crew.
04:32In April, after the final episode,
04:34the state of Nickelodeon during Schneider's reign was seen completely.
04:37I definitely, at times, didn't give people the best of me.
04:40I didn't show enough patience.
04:42I could be cocky and definitely overambitious,
04:46and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious, and I am so sorry that I ever was.
04:51Drake Bell stated he was abused by dialect coach Brian Peck,
04:55no relation to Bell's co-star Josh Peck, during Bell's stint on The Amanda Show.
04:59Brian Peck was sentenced to 16 months in 2003.
05:02However, the incident left Bell traumatized,
05:05causing him to go on a path of self-destruction over the years.
05:08I do say the word unspeakable often because I can't tell you what he did to me
05:17and this be aired on national television.
05:22May, Israel and the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
05:26Meanwhile, outside, politically charged scenes in Malmö, Sweden,
05:30as thousands protest the decision to allow Israel to perform while the war in Gaza continues.
05:36After the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023,
05:40there were calls for Israel to be banned from competing in 2024's Eurovision Song Contest.
05:45After all, Russia was excluded in 2022 after invading Ukraine.
05:49However, the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, declined to exclude Israel.
05:54This led to mass protests at Eurovision events and calls to boycott watching the event.
05:59Putting on a show like Eurovision just feels wrong when these things are happening.
06:04Israel drew further criticism by attempting to perform October Rain,
06:08a song based on the October 2023 attack by Hamas, as political gestures are banned.
06:13The song was reworked into Hurricane for singer Eden Golan.
06:17In May 2024, when Eurovision got underway, Golan was heavily booed during rehearsal,
06:22seemingly stemming from accusations Israel had contributed to friction backstage.
06:26The Israeli delegation accused other nations of, quote, hatred.
06:31A Swedish performer was rebuked by the competition for wearing a keffiyeh scarf
06:36around his wrist, and the Irish contestant was told to remove the words
06:40ceasefire and freedom for Palestine from their face makeup.
06:44June, Mrs. Green Apple racist music video.
06:56In June 2024, the Japanese rock band Mrs. Green Apple released the music video Columbus.
07:02Immediately, it drew the ire of all.
07:05The video had the band members dressed as historical figures,
07:07such as Napoleon, Ludwig von Beethoven, and Christopher Columbus.
07:11However, some dancers were dressed in monkey outfits,
07:14and were under the control of the historical figures.
07:17This caused criticism of racism as the primates were believed to be
07:20an allegory of slavery and colonization.
07:26Mrs. Green Apple claimed it was meant to be a house party theme,
07:30but the damage was done.
07:31The video was removed everywhere online, and an apology was issued.
07:35Coca-Cola, who had included the song as part of its music initiative,
07:38suspended all advertising with Columbus.
07:42July, the Summer Olympics.
07:52When the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France kicked off in June 2024,
07:56the event was immediately thrown into scandal over its opening ceremony
08:00featuring a Last Supper parody with drag queens.
08:02The event didn't get any less controversial throughout its time,
08:05as one issue after another took the world by storm.
08:08One involved false accusations that Algerian boxer Iman Khalif
08:12was a trans woman despite being a cis woman.
08:15Many anti-transgender activists and celebrities spoke out against her,
08:19leading to Khalif issuing a lawsuit against them.
08:28Another controversy involved Canada's women's football team
08:30using a drone to surveil opponents.
08:33So who knew, and since when, Canada's women's squad
08:37is competing without their head coach,
08:39with Bev Priestman sent home from the Olympics.
08:42Her future uncertain.
08:44Then the Netherlands allowing volleyball player Steven van der Velde to compete,
08:47who was convicted of assault against a minor,
08:50drew a lot of criticism.
08:51August, Blake Lively and It Ends With Us.
09:03Instead of focusing on the release of It Ends With Us in August 2024,
09:07the world was gripped by multiple scandals involving its star Blake Lively.
09:11Firstly, Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flo re-uploaded an interview
09:14she did with her and Parker Posey from 2016.
09:17After Flo congratulated Lively for her quote,
09:20little bump, alluding to her pregnancy,
09:22the actor sarcastically threw the comment back at her.
09:31The rest of the interview was just as hostile.
09:34Then, news leaked that Lively had reportedly clashed
09:37with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
09:40Lively was accused of having a cut of the film made,
09:43secretly had her husband Ryan Reynolds write a scenes dialogue,
09:46and believed Baldoni had fat shamed her on set.
09:59September, Diddy allegations.
10:01One was brought by his former partner and R&B singer Cassie,
10:05but was later settled for an undisclosed amount.
10:08It triggered others to come forward with accusations.
10:11Sean Diddy Combs seemed like he was set for life
10:13as one of music's biggest producers and performers.
10:16However, in November 2023,
10:18his ex-partner Cassie Ventura issued a lawsuit against him
10:21for the abuse she sustained during their relationship.
10:24This caused a snowball effect as more victims came out
10:27to detail their grim experiences with Combs.
10:29With accusations he had trafficked people and led an abuse ring.
10:42In May 2024, Combs' reputation was left in tatters
10:46when hotel CCTV footage was released
10:48that showed him attacking Ventura in 2016.
10:51With a mountain of evidence,
10:53in September, Combs was arrested for trafficking and racketeering,
10:56which he pleaded not guilty to
10:58and has been denied bail multiple times.
11:00His trial is set to begin in May 2025.
11:09October, The Icon Con.
11:11At one point, The Icon Group was a rapidly rising powerhouse
11:15in Thailand's health and beauty market.
11:17To increase its reputation,
11:18the company employed celebrities and influencers
11:21to endorse its products alongside multi-level marketing.
11:24However, in October 2024,
11:26it was reported Icon had defrauded many investors of their money.
11:30Shortly after, around 2,170 victims came forward
11:34after losing a combined 841 million baht
11:37or around 24.4 million dollars.
11:4018 higher-ups at the company,
11:42including Icon founder Woradpol Woradvorakul
11:45and several celebrities,
11:46were arrested for their involvement as the police seized luxury assets.
11:50In November, Thai politician Samad Yannisaijitawanich
11:54had an arrest warrant issued for allegations
11:56he was money laundering for Icon.
11:58November, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fix accusations.
12:13After a year and a half of build-up,
12:15including a delay in July 2024,
12:17the boxing bout between influencer Paul
12:20and legendary fighter Tyson finally took place in November.
12:29Even running up to the event,
12:30there was controversy over Iron Mike being over double Paul's age.
12:34However, after the fight, there was even more.
12:37On top of the backlash to Netflix's unstable broadcast,
12:40there were even accusations the lackluster bout was fixed.
12:43Tyson seemed a shadow of his former self.
12:45Even brief hints of his velocity vanished soon after.
12:48Some viewers showcased videos of what they believed
12:51to pick the fighters had fixed the bout in Paul's favor.
12:54Even pro boxer Sarah Bailey stated her belief in the theory.
12:57Paul has denied the allegations.
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13:30On December 4th of 2024,
13:33Brian Thompson was gunned down outside of a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.
13:37The assailant was identified as being 26-year-old Luigi Mangione,
13:41who was brought into custody
13:42after being spotted in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
13:45Despite having been charged with a violent crime,
13:47Mangione quickly went viral online.
13:50Police are telling us this looks to be a targeted attack.
13:53It was very specific.
13:55From infatuation about his appearance to commentary
13:58regarding his actions as a bold act of class consciousness,
14:01this assassination clearly had an unexpected mass reaction.
14:04Not only has Mangione developed an online cult following,
14:07his actions have spurred a slew of conspiracy theories
14:10in an attempt to uncover hidden details about the crime.
14:14We hate to break it to the truthers,
14:15but it doesn't seem as if his eyebrows are proving his innocence anytime soon.
14:25What's the biggest scandal in the month you were born?
14:27O.J. Simpson's car chase in June 1994?
14:30Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey's car crash in August 1987?
14:34Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift's VMA win in September 2009 or something else?
14:38Let us know below.
14:40Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
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