It’s somewhat reassuring that rich, famous, shiny celebrities are as fallible as the rest of us.
But luckily for most of us, when we screw up the whole world isn’t watching.
The list of celebrity bloopers is seemingly endless. We round up a few choice moments from 2011.
That’s what actor, former bodybuilder, former California governor and all-round Big Important Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger learnt when his wife Maria Shriver — a niece of John F Kennedy and therefore one of America’s sweethearts — discovered he had fathered a child during an extramarital affair, 14 years before. When confronted by Shriver, who had suspicions about Schwarzenegger’s relationship with a former employee, their housekeeper spilled the beans. The pair announced their divorce soon after. Proof, if any was needed, that even the rich and famous need to be careful about What the Butler Saw.
This became all too evident when actor Ashton Kutcher, the first celebrity to reach a million followers on the social networking site, was caught cheating on his wife, actress Demi Moore, who also had many Twitter followers.
When it was revealed that Kutcher had spent a debauched night at a hotel with a number of scantily-clad young women, and, soon after, that the couple were getting divorced, their timelines were examined for clues as to whether they had been having marital problems before the incident. Moore deleted her account, while Kutcher tweeted “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi.” Moore has since reopened her account, and, oddly, still uses the handle @mrskutcher.
When the couple divorced a mere 72 days later, rumours started to spread that the whole marriage had been a publicity stunt and money-making exercise. The wedding had attracted a number of endorsements and Kardashian’s former publicist claimed that, despite the couple’s relationship problems and reluctance to get married, they had decided to go through with it to avoid breaking expensive contracts which would have cost them a fortune. The rest of the Kardashian Klan rallied around their sibling, defending her actions and asking that people respect their privacy.
Foul-mouthed fashionista
His illustrious fashion career had seen him leading legendary fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior, but all this came crashing down around him in February when he alleged hurled anti-Semitic insults at a couple in a Paris café. A video of a similar tirade, which had taken place a year earlier, soon surfaced.
Dior immediately suspended, and later dismissed, the designer and many celebrities announced that they would no longer wear his clothes. He was charged under French law with “public insults based on the origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity”, and, after a lengthy trial, was found guilty. He was ordered to pay a $8 500 fine.
He was later cleared of charges of hate speech, with the BCCSA deciding that he had been misquoted (he had not made a reference to girls or women). A storm in a teacup, perhaps, but certainly not good for his reputation, already built on controversial statements.
On the other hand, Darren
It didn’t take long for a racial slur, said “in anger” against a fellow Jacaranda 94.2 employee, to look like it would put an abrupt end to DJ and SuperSport presenter Darren Scott’s career.
Scott resigned from his job at the station, and took leave from the sports channel.
The incident took place, ironically, at a team-building function at a private game lodge, when an inebriated Scott was approached by colleague Africa Tshoaedi. Scott, angry about the fact that Tshoaedi had not paid back money he had borrowed, called him the k-word. Colleagues apparently tried to defuse the situation, but the damage had been done. Scott has since expressed remorse about the incident, and has said that there is no excuse for his behaviour, even commenting, as have many others, that even though he denies being a racist, the use of the word may be indicative of racist feelings that he needs to address.
As one viral tweet put it: If only Scott had called him a c*nt instead.
View more highlights of the year that was in our special report.