Outrageous celebrity moments of 2018
There’s no shortage of whacky star moments to choose from as 2018 draws to a close
It’s the year 2018: Former Disney stars are getting engaged and married left and right, tweets are getting people into serious trouble and drama, fights and inflammatory comments are the norm in a news cycle that never seems to slow down.
If you haven’t been able to keep up with some of these outrageous celebrity moments, it’s understandable, considering that some of the major occurrences of the year happened in the same week.
So what even happened this year? In a year filled with more shocking moments and scandals than we can count, these celebrity incidents stand out in 2018. Kevin Hart stepping down as Oscars host over homophobic tweets
Hart stepped down as Oscars host after his initial refusal to apologize for his previous homophobic comments and tweets. Shortly after it was announced that Hart would host, Twitter users resurfaced his past tweets using words such as “homo” and “gay,” as well as a Rolling Stone interview where he said: “I’m not homophobic … But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.”
He said he was told by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to apologize or have his hosting duties revoked. On Dec. 5, Hart stepped down from the awards-show hosting job just two days after the announcement.
“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s. This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” Hart wrote on Twitter. “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”
Comedians including Nick Cannon, Kevin Kline and Michael Blackson have come to Hart’s defence since the scandal. At the time of publication, the academy has not yet named a replacement for Hart as host. Roseanne cancelled after Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet
Barr also made a bad decision on social media in May that resulted in ABC cancelling the Roseanne reboot. Barr’s troubles began with a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a babyvj,” Barr wrote, using Jarrett’s initials. Jarrett, 61, is African American and worked for Obama from 2009 to 2017.
Although she deleted the tweet, issued an apology and tweeted that the comment was made under the influence of Ambien, the network cancelled Barr’s eponymous show, calling Barr’s statement “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” Heather Locklear’s arrests Locklear was arrested not once but twice in 2018. The Melrose Place star was arrested in February on suspicion of felony domestic violence, when officers arrived in response to a report of a disturbance between Locklear and her boyfriend. Locklear allegedly grew combative with lawenforcement officers during the arrest. In April, Locklear pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanour counts of battery on a peace officer and one count of resisting arrest.
Just a few months later, Locklear was charged with two misdemeanour counts of battery against police and emergency personnel in June, a week after being hospitalized after a 911 call dispatched emergency personnel to her home for a medical emergency.
Kylie Jenner’s hidden pregnancy
The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan managed to keep her entire pregnancy with baby Stormi mostly a secret from the media, only officially confirming it in the days after the birth of the baby, whom Jenner shares with rapper Travis Scott.
Jenner posted a video on YouTube in February chronicling her journey through pregnancy, explaining that she wanted to keep the details to herself in order to “prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress-free, and healthy way I knew how.”
Justin Bieber gets married in secret
Jenner wasn’t the only young celebrity to make major news in 2018. Bieber and Hailey Baldwin surprised fans when — after years of on-again-off-again dating rumours — they were spotted together in New York in June, shocking even more people when Bieber confirmed their engagement in July and Baldwin rocked a massive ring.
Although the two dodged reports that they had secretly wed at a courthouse in September, Baldwin, 22, changed her Instagram name to “@haileybieber.” Bieber, 24, posted on Instagram over U.S. Thanksgiving weekend that he spent his first holiday as a “married man.” He also referred to her as “my wife” in another Instagram post earlier in November, confirming their union.
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson get engaged, break up
Yet another young whirlwind romance sparked headlines galore when Grande and Davidson began dating just weeks after the singer ended her two-year relationship with rapper Mac Miller.
The No Tears Left to Cry singer and the Saturday Night Live comedian became engaged in June. Grande even included her fiancé on her 2018 album, Sweetener, with a song named after him.
However, Grande was struck with heartbreak less than three months after their engagement when ex Miller died of a drug overdose at age 26 in September. Grande and Davidson ended their relationship almost as quickly as it began, calling it quits in October.
Demi Lovato survives overdose
Lovato is months into her recovery after being hospitalized for a reported drug overdose in July. She reportedly checked into rehab after her hospitalization, posting a message about addiction on Instagram in the weeks after the overdose. “Your positive thoughts and prayers have helped me navigate through this difficult time,” she said in the statement, thanking her fans for their support.
Just a month before the 911 call that led to her stay in hospital, the singer released Sober, in which she apologized to her family and fans.
Lovato started December with a Grammy nomination for her song with Christina Aguilera, Fall In Line.
Kanye West visits the White House
West has become one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s biggest celebrity supporters since the 2016 election, and he made his stance known during his visit to the White House in October. West’s planned lunch meeting with the president, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Kid Rock gave way to a 10-minute monologue.
As he’s been known to do lately, West sported a “Make America Great Again” hat during the meeting, hugging the president and dropping a few bombs (including an F-bomb) during his meeting with Trump. In his soliloquy, West talked about everything from ending the gun violence in his hometown of Chicago to saying he was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was merely sleep deprived. “Trump is on his hero’s journey right now,” West said.
Megyn Kelly cancelled for blackface comments
Although Kelly’s ultimate fate has yet to be decided by the network, NBC cancelled Kelly’s hour of the Today show following uproar after she seemingly defended “blackface” and “white face” for Halloween during a roundtable discussion on her show.
She said that blackface was “OK when I was a kid as long as you were dressing like a character.” She made a tearful on-air apology the next day.