2013: Music’s biggest scandals
They kept us entertained on world stages and glued to our TV screens, but in 2013, the wild and crazy antics of music celebrities went an extra mile to shock the masses. Whether it was controversial performances at awards shows, fiery run-ins with the law, or old-fashioned sex scandals, we take a look at some of the most shocking celebrity moments in 2013.
Kanye West
Ever since his Taylor Swift outburst at the MTV Awards in 2009, self-proclaimed god Kanye West has transformed himself into quite the spokesperson for inflated celebrity egos. In 2013, Yeezy had an opinion on everything from racism to fashion, he had altercations with two paps and a twar (Twitter war) against Jimmy Kimmel. In February, he stirred up controversy when he dissed Jay Z and Justin Timberlake’s Suit and Tie. Yeezy revealed that he’s got "love for Hov but I ain’t f*****g with that Suit & Tie." Other interview gems included declarations that "Kim Kardashian is the most beautiful woman of all time.", "I’m 10 years ahead of you mentally.", "The biggest corporation in the world doesn’t have the amount of relevancy as me and Kim.", "I am Warhol! I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation." How could the world not be shocked and captivated by Yeezy’s crazy rants?
Miley Cyrus
In 2013, former Disney princess Hanna Montana made her full transformation from teen idol to rebellious pop star with an urban edge. And most transformed Disney stars need a new home and platform to showcase their new personas, so luckily for Miley Cyrus, the 2013 MTV VMAs offered itself as a great opportunity for her to try out some of her newfound ideas. These ideas included twerking against Robin Thicke in a nude-coloured leotard on stage with giant teddy bears and a foam hand. She performed her hit song, We Can’t Stop and the performance itself overshadowed the whole ceremony, making the likes of Lady Gaga look like old Broadway actors. Needless to say it went viral, spiralled some great debate about cultural appropriation and catapulted Cyrus’ fame into the overdrive. She has since had Twitter spats with Sinead O’ Connor, danced with a dance troupe of "little people" and even twerked on Santa Clause, something tells me Cyrus still not finished with her pop world domination. All these antics seems to have paid off, as she was recently voted as MTV’s Artist of the Year.
Justin Bieber
Pop superstar Justin Bieber has asserted that he’s no longer the cute little YouTube sensation, and on his quest to shed his squeaky clean image, he’s given media and fans, some eye popping moments throughout the year. In between the countless run-ins with paparazzi, Bieber has managed to remain a tabloid magnet. There was the incident at the Anne Frank House where Bieber said he hopes Holocast victim Anne Frank would’ve been a Bieleber. But that was nothing compared to peeing in a mop bucket, getting a lap dance at a strip club in Houston, spray painting on the walls of high-end hotels, calling a fan a "beached whale", and of course the big cherry on top, going to a brothel in Brazil on 1 November 2013, where he and his crew reportedly dropped $1 200 (R12 000) for two of the brothel’s girls to come back to their hotel with them. Bieber’s exploits were soon well documented when one of the girls spoke out about her night with Justin Bieber. She took a picture of Bieber sleeping and consequently maximised on her two minutes of fame. Something tells me this won’t be the first time we hear of Bieber’s sexploits.
Amanda Bynes
An unlikely addition to the list of controversial muso’s is former actress Amanda Bynes, who has announced that she will be pursuing a rap career. She might’ve finally received help thanks to a family intervention, but former the former child star remains one of the most shocking celebrities of 2013, famous for the Twitter wars she raged against the likes of Drake and Rihanna. It all started in 2010 when Bynes shocked the world and announced Twitter that she’s retiring from acting. In 2012 Bynes was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) after sideswiping a cop car in West Hollywood, and it soon spiralled into a destructive path for Bynes. She began with little incidences like shaving her hair, piercing her face, then more car accidents, hit and runs, she allegedly threw a bong out of her window when police called on her apartment, had more court dates and more Twitter rants including the now infamous tweet: "I want Drake to murder my vagina". There were many other meltdowns, but none more spectacular than when she allegedly lit a fire in a stranger’s driveway in Thousand Oaks, California. It led to her being detained by police and placed under a 5150 hold – a forced 72-hour hospitalization for mental evaluation. She subsequently spend a good couple of months in rehab and has since been let out.
Chris Brown
This year’s undisputed king of trouble must be R&B singer, Chris Brown. Ever since his highly publicised altercation with on-again/off-again girlfriend, Rihanna, he has somewhat embraced his bad boy persona. This year was no different. The star announced that he and Rihanna were back together, sending fans and critics into a frenzy. He then dissed Rihanna on social media, fuelling rumours that there was trouble in paradise. Talk about irony, because the singer then got slapped with another 1 000 hours of community service for allegedly lying about the number of hours he had already completed, as part of his sentence in the Rihanna case. Then there’s the long-running feud between him and Drake, which gained more steam after Breezy dissed Drake by freestyling over his Started From the Bottom instrumental and said he did it because "ain’t nothing gonna happen so I say whatever I want". Brown also brawled with Frank Ocean and his cousin outside of a studio in Los Angeles, which led to him being sued by Ocean. We cannot forget the Guardian interview where Brown said he lost his virginity at eight to a girl who was 14 or 15, or the time he reportedly refused to give a driver his insurance information after getting into a car accident. He flipped out after the police filed hit-and-run charges against him following his May 2013 car accident. He recently got arrested after he allegedly punched a man in the face outside of the W Hotel in Washington D.C. And now, he’s been hit with misdemeanour charges for it and he’s reportedly entering rehab. Even in rehab Mr Brown can’t seem to escape trouble, getting kicked out after just 16 days for throwing a rock at a woman’s car, then throwing a hissy fit when rehab staff wouldn’t allow him to bring his beloved marijuana with him into the facility when he was ordered to spend another 90 days under their watchful eye.
Kelly Khumalo
After a successful comeback with her reality TV show and SAMA wins, afro-pop star Kelly Khumalo seemed to have shaken her rocky past with convicted boyfriend and rapper, Molemo ‘Jub Jub’ Maarohanye. But earlier in the year the star made headlines for the all the wrong reasons when she and her sister handed themselves in at the Hillbrow police station for allegedly assaulting the wife of Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa. The Gauteng police told Sowetan at the time that Khumalo was arrested in Hillbrow. Khumalo allegedly found Meyiwa chatting to his wife, Mandisa, on Empire Road near the M1 and allegedly pulled over and without provocation, assaulted Mandisa with open hands. Khumalo’s younger sister, who was sitting in the car, joined in. The star appeared in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court where she was charged with three counts of assault, grievous bodily harm, reckless and negligent driving and damage to property.
Black Coffee
Usually not one to be in the spotlight, renowned DJ and producer Black Coffee’s private life came under public scrutiny after Pheladi Makola, his alleged mistress, hit back at critics after Sunday World revealed that she and the DJ were having an affair. The 24 year-old Makola, had allegedly been stalking Black Coffee’s wife Mbali Mlotshwa with cash demands ranging from R3 500 to R20 000 to keep her from going to the media to spill the beans about her alleged secret relationship with Black Coffee. Black Coffee and his wife shrugged off the story and denied any involvement with Makola.
Brickz
Kwaito bad boy Brickz is another local star on our list, after he was accused of rape in November 2013. Brickz was described as previously violent and threatening to his wife and his 16 year-old alleged victim. This was during the singer’s bail hearing at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on 12 November. He was denied bail and the judge declared him a flight risk. The star, whose real name is Sipho Charles Ndlovu, has been in police custody since 1 November after he was arrested for allegedly raping the young women who him and his wife used to take care of. Brickz didn’t make things easy for himself when his lawyers omitted the fact that he had been previously charged for drug possession. The case is still pending.
