Image via Complex Original
It’s already June, and in the first half of 2014 we’ve seen some pretty wild celebrity scandals and stories. From Justin Bieber to James Franco, Hollywood’s biggest stars have provided with plenty of uncomfortable moments. At the rate things are going right now, who knows what the rest of this year will bring. Here are the craziest celebrity stories of the year (so far).
RELATED: The 25 Craziest Things That Have Happened On Live Television
Shia Labeouf's Plagiarism Scandal
Date: December 2013 - February 2014
Where: L.A., Berlin
First, Shia Labeouf was caught plagiarising a Daniel Clowes story, and then when he released an apology, the apology itself had been plagiarized from Yahoo! Answers. Labeouf's plagiarised screenplay and subsequent apologies left everybody scratching their heads, if not feeling trolled, especially those whose work was stolen. After tweeting "I am not famous anymore" 22 times, he appeared on the red carpet for the Nymphomaniac premiere with the phrase written on a paper bag over his head, and nobody understood what was going on, not even his Nymphomaniac co-stars.
Labeouf claimed his antics were "performance art" and got a stamp of approval from fellow actor James Franco, who referred to the performance as "a worthy one" in a New York Times op-ed.
Woody Allen and Dylan Farrow Abuse Allegations
Date: February 1
Where: The New York Times
Dylan Farrow published an open letter in the New York Times, accusing her adoptive father, Woody Allen, of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Allen repeatedly denied the allegations. After Farrow's letter came Allen's op-ed in response, and then Farrow's point-by-point rebuttal to Allen's response.
This tennis match of a scandal caused an uproar in Hollywood and incited many Woody Allen fans to defend him on social media. Other celebrities, such as Lena Dunham and Tavi Gevinson, as well as Dylan's brother Ronan Farrow and mother, Mia Farrow, replied on social media by sharing their support for Dylan.
Alec Baldwin Retires From Public Life
Date: February 24
Where: NYC
Alec Baldwin published a letter in New York Magazine announcing his retirement from public life after receiving a lot of flack for his recent behavior. Baldwin called out and burned bridges between himself and Shia Labeouf, Anderson Cooper, TMZ, MSNBC and New York City in his retirement letter. The letter circulated a fair amount, but a week or two later things blew over and nobody cared. He was then arrested shortly after for riding a bike against traffic in Manhattan. So much for trying to stay out of the public eye.
Justin Bieber's Deposition
Date: March 6
Where: L.A.
TMZ released clips of Justin Bieber's four-and-a-half-hour deposition from a lawsuit where his bodyguard attacked a photographer. His squeaky clean image had already been tarnished repeatedly over the last couple years (remember that bucket-peeing incident?) so this didn't exactly come as a surprise to anyone. If Bieber's name didn't already leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths before, the release of this deposition video definitely lost him a few fans. Still, the video is almost performance art.
Amanda Bynes' Secret Twitter
Date: March 10 (the account resurfaced in June)
Where: L.A.
Amanda Bynes' secret Twitter account is back online. She is calling herself "Ashley," is in contact with Perez Hilton, tweets at Michelle Trachtenberg in a bunch of really weird stuff claiming that she is a boyfriend stealer, and refers to part of herself as "Bad Amanda."
So far, not many people are sure what to make of this. Perez Hilton has confirmed that the account is Amanda, but it could still be an impersonator. None of the other celebrities Amanda has mentioned in her tweets have responded yet.
Lindsay Lohan's Sex List
Date: March 12
Where: L.A.
A list of all of the people Lindsay Lohan has been sexually involved with was leaked in March, and some A-list names were on it: James Franco, Benicio del Toro, Heath Ledger, Colin Farrell and Zac Efron, to name a few.
After her docuseries premiered on OWN, Lohan admitted that creating the list was part of her rehab therapy and that someone close to her had stolen and leaked it. While James Franco publicly disputed her list and Zac Efron appeared completely perplexed when confronted about it, most of the other men remained quiet.
James Franco Caught Sexting
Date: April 3
Where: NYC
After a Broadway performance in Of Mice and Men, James Franco met a 17-year-old fan and proceeded to flirt with her via Instagram, until she reported the incident and turned him down. The response to this fiasco seemed fairly mild, considering 36-year-old James Franco was, in fact, attempting to sext a minor.
He made the daytime talk show rounds to discuss his film, Palo Alto, but made sure to just shrug and tell everyone he was "embarrassed" about the whole Instagram thing. His partially nude selfies that he has continued to post on his Instagram account have almost garnered more attention than the sexting scandal itself.
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott's Fake Cheating Scandal
Date: April 22
Where: L.A.
Rumors that Tori and Dean made up a cheating scandal to get more ratings for their Lifetime reality show True Tori are flying. Tori Spelling took to twitter to deny any rumors that she and Dean McDermott fabricated their marital troubles, as well as Dean's stay at a rehab facility for sex addiction, just for the sake of their show. With McDermott's ex-wife, Mary Jo Eustace, and son Jack McDermott weighing in, it's hard to figure out who is telling the truth.
Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano
Date: April 26
Where: L.A.
TMZ leaked audio of Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, making extremely racist remarks about black people to his girlfriend V. Stiviano (who is of black and Mexican heritage). The more the story unfolded, the more troubling it became. Clippers fans and players were obviously outraged by Sterling's rant, and the team staged a silent protest at a game.
Both Sterling and Stiviano gave outrageous interviews to Anderson Cooper and Barbara Walters, respectively. Shelly Sterling is currently attempting to remove her husband from the trust that owns the Clippers so that she can sell the team, and Stiviano was recently assaulted in an alleged hate crime by a man in New York City, shortly after her Barbara Walters interview.
Stiviano is the real mystery here: She refers to Sterling as "Mr. Sterling" and calls herself his "best friend" and "silly rabbit" while wearing the greatest anti-paparazzi visor anyone has ever seen.
Solange and Jay Z's Elevator Fight
Date: May 5 (night of the incident) and May 12 (video released)
Where: NYC Standard Hotel elevator
None of us have ever witnessed a scandal like this involving Beyoncé, The Most Perfect Celebrity in the world, so the Internet exploded when, a week after the 2014 Met Gala, TMZ released security footage of Solange, Beyoncé's little sister, attacking Jay Z in the elevator of the Standard Hotel. In the footage, Beyoncé stands to the side and does not intervene.
Theories about what really went down between Solange and her brother-in-law circulated rapidly on Twitter while Beyoncé attempted to silently shut down the rumors by posting photos of herself with her sister on Instagram.
There's gossip—and nothing more than gossip—that Jay has been cheating on Beyoncé with designer Rachel Roy, but honestly no one knows what happened here except for the individuals in that elevator.
Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson Caught Smoking Weed
Date: May 27
Where: South America
A video was leaked of One Direction's Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik smoking weed in South America while on tour. Tomlinson can be overheard saying a variation of the N-word in the video. One Direction fans took over Twitter, trending #SkinFor1D worldwide, and bandmember Liam Payne tweeted to his followers, asking them to stop tweeting their nude photos with the hashtag.
Many fans seemed angry that Zayn and Louis had been smoking, but hardly anyone pointed out the fact that Tomlinson used a racial slur. Zayn and Louis haven't said too much about the incident, but they're probably too busy thanking TMZ for releasing the Justin Bieber racist videos less than a week after this one was uncovered.
Justin Bieber's Racist Jokes Caught on Tape
Date: June 1 (first video released) and June 4 (second video released)
Where: L.A.
TMZ released a 2009 video of then-15-year-old Justin Bieber using the N-word and making racist jokes on June 1st, and then three days later another video surfaced with him singing about killing black people and being a part of the KKK to the tune of "One Less Lonely Girl." TMZ had allegedly been blackmailing him with the videos for years.
Bieber's reputation was already on the rocks thanks to the performance of a lifetime during his deposition and his generally insolent recent behavior. Still, people were somehow shocked that he had ever behaved and spoke in such a blatantly racist manner and allowed himself to be filmed while doing so. Usher, 50 Cent, Whoopi Goldberg, and Mike Tyson all insisted that Bieber is not racist. He has since apologized.
Tracy Morgan Severely Injured in Car Crash
Date: June 8
Where: New Jersey Turnpike
Tracy Morgan was severely injured in a six-vehicle accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, which left three other comedians hurt and his mentor James McNair dead.
Comedians such as Louis C.K., Judd Apatow and Aziz Ansari have publicly requested that TMZ remove footage of the accident that put the actor and comedian is critical condition. There has also been an outpouring of support from fans on social media, wishing Morgan a speedy recovery.
James Franco's Bungalow 89
Date: June 10
Where: L.A.
James Franco published a short story on Vice about a character named Lindsay. He claims that it is fictional. Everybody knows that Franco has never been shy about exposing any part of himself or anyone else, so perhaps this is a response to Lindsay Lohan's leaked sex list, in which she named him as one of her conquests. He denies that, of course.