The #MeToo movement is alive and well in 2021. Some of the biggest celebrity scandals and cancellations arrived this year off the back of years-old sexual assault cases from the likes of Armie Hammer and Chris Noth. Other bombshells were the result of bullying. Chrissy Teigen was cancelled (at least for now) while the Royal family has been accused of emotional abuse. Some incidents were just tragic and unexpected.
Below we unpack some of the biggest headlines of 2021.
ARMIE HAMMER
In January, fans were shocked to learn that now-disgraced actor Armie Hammer was accused of sexual assault and wait for it, cannibalism on Twitter. In March he was named a suspect in a LAPD sexual assault case – the result of that is not yet known. The actor was checked into a treatment centre in June before being discharged last month.
#FREEBRITNEY
On November 12, 2021, Britney Spears’ controversial conservatorship was officially terminated after 13 years under the control of her father, Jamie Spears. He is accused of medicating the pop star with lithium and allegedly denied removal of her birth control in the event she wanted to fall pregnant. The singer has said her vitamins and even coffee was taken away.
ALEC BALDWIN
During the filming of independent film Rust, award-winning actor Alec Baldwin allegedly fired a prop gun (which happened to contain live rounds) which accidentally hit and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza was also wounded. In a recent interview Baldwin denied ever pulling the tigger. Investigations are ongoing.
MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY
Following their exit from Buckingham Palace in 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey which was televised around the globe. Among the many bombshells, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex detailed cases of horrific emotional abuse which lead Markle to have ideation of suicide. You can catch up on all the allegations, here.
CHRISSY TEIGEN
Across 2021 Chrissy Teigen was repeatedly accused of cyber bullying. Courtney Stodden accused Teigen of repeatedly telling them to kill themselves via social media in 2011. Social media receipts also surfaced of Teigen’s trolling to Lindsay Lohan and Farrah Abraham, as well as accusations from designer Michael Costello who said Teigen bullied him. Subsequently the model and Instagram personality lost a deal with Target and stepped away from her voice-over role in Never Have I Ever and her home cleaning line, Safely.
TRAVIS SCOTT
In early November, Travis Scott was embroiled in controversy after his Astroworld Festival was the centre of a mass casualty incident. Eight people aged between 14 and 27 were killed that evening while countless others were hospitalised when a crowd surge of 50,000 caused concert goers to either be trampled or collapse. The singer and guest star Drake, are accused of not stopping the show as officials performed CPR at the base of the stage. The rapper now faces several lawsuits over the tragedy.
CHRIS NOTH
Following the release of And Just Like That, two women came forward via The Hollywood Reporter to accuse the actor of two incidents of sexual assault between 2004 and 2015. The next day a third woman, actress and director Zoe Lister-Jones, accused the actor of misconduct on the “Law & Order” set. He has since been dropped by his talent agency and will not appear in the upcoming episodes of The Equaliser.
