What a year it’s been to go viral online…
Somehow, I’m talking about 2024 as if it’s already over. It’s November…which means you should be sorting out the gifts you’re getting your friends and family.
And with the holidays and the wind down of the year comes a time of reflection. Whether that’s assessing how your 2024 New Year’s resolutions went, or recapping the year in general…it’s fun to think about how things have changed.
Especially since it’s an Election Year, it may be smarter to focus on the funnier side of life. Like how the internet has gone up in flames over multiple different events this year.
Whether you were here when Ariana Grande started dating the formerly married Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater, or you watched every single TikTok that Cancelled Podcast’s Brooke Schofield made about her lying ex, Clinton Kane, it’s been a drama-packed year.
Luckily, I’m chronically online and love drama. 2024 is not over yet, so there’s still time for a celebrity or two to cook up another public online scandal…but here are the 8 biggest internet scandals of the year…. so far.
Brooke Schofield and Clinton Kane
On The Cancelled Podcast, Brooke Schofield and Tana Mongeau are famous for not holding back. But Schofield had never fully opened up about her relationship with singer, Clinton Kane, until recently.
She’d dropped hints that he faked an Australian accent and wasn’t actually who he said he was…but when he posted a TikTok saying she wouldn’t stop “yapping” Schofield unleashed holy hell on Kane.
Thus, Schofield’s 16-part TikTok series was born. Schofield claims that Kane lied about his mother passing away, her personal details, and where he haiiled from. She details Kane’s emotional abuse during their time together. Kane’s gaslighting led her to believe he was innocent in all of this.
Then, a he-said-she-said war ensues. Kane continues to take shots at Schofield, while other women who’ve been involved with him report the same things. Schofield also shares videos and voice recordings from Kane where his accent slips, or he’s yelling at her for some vague reason or another.
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater
I honestly had not heard of Ethan Slater until this scandal. However, Ariana Grande made headlines when rumors swirled that she was now dating formerly-married co-star, Slater.
The pair met on the set of Wicked, which is set to release on November 22nd – the week before Thanksgiving. The narrative being pushed is that Slater left his wife and child for Grande. Grande vehemently denied these allegations, but reports indicate that his ex-wife was caught off guard by the divorce.
Flash forward to when Grande releases her album, Eternal Sunshine. She dedicates a lyrics to explaining her divorce and her union with Slater. The internet rages on.
The Willy Wonka Experience
Willy’s Chocolate Experience was supposed to be Glasgow’s version of Willy Wonka’s factory. AI images were used to lure in customers, who were expecting to be wow’d by a Wonka experience.
On the contrary, they were met with a barely decorated warehouse and a few actors who were barely committing to the bit. The police were even called. And photos of the event quickly went viral thanks to the sheer insanity of it all.
A day before the event, the actors were given a script and had barely any rehearsal time. There were new characters created for the experience like “The Unknown” – an evil chocolate maker who lived in the walls.
Sabrina Carpenter And Camila Cabello
No one even batted an eye when Sabrina Carpenter and Shawn Mendes briefly dated…however, our eyes were widely opened when Carpenter released her new album, Short n’ Sweet.
In her songs, she tells a tale of Shawn Mendes leaving her to get back together with Camila Cabello. In songs like “Coincidence,” Carpenter seemingly talks to Mendes about how it’s no coincidence that Cabello’s coming back around.
In songs like “Dumb & Poetic,” she chastises a boy for reading self help books to feel more like a man. A song like “Sharpest Tool,” references how he “found God at his ex’s house.”
While Sabrina Carpenter is happily dating Barry Keoghan now, the internet quickly went into detective mode to figure out past details of her relationship with Mendes.
Drake Vs. Kendrick
While Drake and Kendrick have been feuding for over a decade now, things escalated when Kendrick, Future, and Metro Boomin released “Like That” this year. The pair engaged in a full on rap battle outlining the drama in their personal lives.
The public went wild over Lamar’s “Meet The Grahams” and “Not Like Us,” with the latter being a summer hit. In those songs, Lamar alludes to Drake’s secret second child, Drake being a pedophile, a sex trafficker, and more.
In Drake’s songs – hello “Family Matters” – he alleges that Kendrick Lamar is a domestic abuser and not all of his children are truly his. In other songs, he claims his team leaked false info on purpose to embarrass Lamar.
Either way, it’s pretty clear that Kendrick won this one…read our full recap on the drama here.
Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry
Most recently, country singer Zach Bryan and Barstool Sports’ podcaster Brianna Chickenfry publicly announced their breakup. The pair have endured a tumultuous relationship with numerous speculations about cheating and breakups.
Both Bryan and Brianna have taken to social media to confirm the breakup. While Zach’s message said the breakup was mutual, Brianna Chickenfry uploaded a YouTube video saying she was blindsided.
Fans had already caught onto the breakup thanks to Zach Bryan’s presence on high profile dating app, Raya. Since then, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy dished that Zach was never a good boyfriend in the first place and has banned Dave from his concerts.
Dave confirmed that Zach even briefly broke up with Brianna when she said a male actor looked good while hosting a red carpet event.
Olympic Australian Breakdancer, Raygun
Breakdancing was new to the Olympics this year…which meant a lot of people tuned in to see what it was all about.
While many of us knew next-to-nothing about breakdancing, one thing became prevalently clear: Australian breakdancer, Raygun, could. Not. Dance.
It was as if I went out there and claimed I was an Olympian. She lost all three of her battles and did moves like The Sprinkler, The Kangaroo Hop, and other obscure dances.
The public then launched its own investigation into the matter. They claimed Raygun created her own governing body to get her into the Olympics and had her husband judge her qualifying round.
The NYC-Dublin Portal
What started as a wholesome idea to connect two cultures turned into a free-for-all. The NYC-Dublin portal was accompanied by a 24/7 livestream, where two worlds could connect but without audio.
However, Lithuanian artist and dreamer Benediktas Gylys never imagined how crude people can be. There was nudity that shut down the Portal for a while. Visitors were flipping each other off, lighting joints, and drinking together.
Not only that, hateful symbols like swastikas and images of the September 11th attacks flashed on the screen for New Yorkers to see. When it came to the Portal, it seemed that people had lost all sense of humanity. It’s just a reminder of why we can’t have nice things.
The Menendez Brothers
Whenever Ryan Murphy makes a show based on a real-life murderer, there’s drama. It happened with Dahmer…so naturally, the general public was going to be outraged when they heard he’d made another series about Erik and Lyle Menendez.
While the show is captivating, it’s not without controversy.
At first, people saw clips from the show depicting an incestuous relationship between the brothers and thought that Murphy got the story wrong. However, the opposite effect actually happened.
Murphy revealed the Menendez brothers’ case through all lens…including that of the defense. With Cooper Koch as Erik and Nicholas Alexander Chaves as Lyle, the two actors broke the internet and stole our hearts along the way.
Fans catapulted Koch and Chaves into the public eye while breathing newfound life into the case. Now, the Menendez brothers may get released from prison thanks to the show’s support.
