Royal Conspiracy Theories, Trafficking, Death, And Bennifer -- The Most Talked About Stories Of 2024!

2024 is coming to an end.

And with that, we must do a debrief on what the heck went on this year because there was A LOT! Between major celebrity legal drama, feuds between co-stars, a shocking murder, and the end of some big couples (RIP Bennifer), it has been a roller coaster! We fully expect most of these stories to continue into the New Year! So, buckle up and get a breakdown of the biggest stories that happened this year (below):

Related: Stars We Lost In 2024

Princess Catherine’s Cancer Reveal

Princess Catherine has not had an easy year. As we all know, the Princess of Wales always has been a pillar of the royal family, showing up at almost every public event no matter what. Not even a family feud could keep her down! But then, she disappeared. At the beginning of the year, people realized no one had seen her since the holidays — subsequently starting a wave of speculation about her health and well-being. Even her marriage status to Prince William came into question during this time!

That same month, the palace attempted to calm everyone down and announced she was undergoing a “planned abdominal surgery.” They then made it clear she would stay out of the spotlight, nor would she attend any public royal family duties while she recovered. However, that did not quell the conspiracy theorists online! Speculation ran rampant when no one had seen or heard from Kate Middleton for the next two months following the update. It did not help that body doubles even may have been involved during her first post-surgery outing! Crazy, right?! The royal family only made things worse when they dropped a highly edited photo of her with her and Prince William’s children — George, Charlotte, and Louis — on Mother’s Day in March, resulting in photo agencies issuing a “kill notice” since it was too “manipulated.”

By then, the royal family knew they had to come clean. Catherine revealed on March 22 that she was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and would be receiving preventive chemotherapy. Thankfully, doctors had caught it in time. She concluded her treatment in September, announcing she is “cancer free.” Amazing! Catherine has been slowly returning to the public eye since then. But here is a crazy twist! A whole new conspiracy blew up in November about how she may have never had cancer! Jeez! Hopefully in 2025, Catherine can get a break from all these wild theories! And most importantly, that she remains healthy!

Liam Payne’s Shocking Death

One of the most heartbreaking moments of 2024. Liam Payne died on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while on a deadly mix of alcohol and drugs at the time, including cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant. Because of the drugs, Liam was likely in and out of consciousness at the time of his death. So, according to Argentina’s National Prosecutor’s Office for Criminal and Correctional Matters, the 31-year-old singer did not die by suicide “since, in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it.”

As of late December, FIVE people have reportedly been charged in connection to his death. Read the latest HERE.

Justin Timberlake’s DUI Arrest

What a year it has been for Justin Timberlake. Not only did he attempt to make a music comeback with his latest album, Everything I Thought It Was, but he embarked on a tour (What tour? The world tour). Oh, and he got arrested for a DUI! In June, the pop star was partying and drinking with friends, including his former business partner and his wife Jessica Biel’s ex-stylist Estee Stanley, at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York. He then got behind the wheel while intoxicated to drive himself home. But during the journey, he caught the attention of 24-year-old rookie cop Michael Arkinson — who hilariously had no clue who he was — when he blew through a stop sign and swerved into another lane. The officer pulled Justin over and noticed he showed several signs of intoxication, including having “[b]loodshot and glassy eyes, odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from breath, inability to divide attention, unsteady afoot.”

Justin insisted he was not too drunk, as he only had “one martini.” His legal team later argued he was “not intoxicated,” too. However, the one drink he supposedly had was a Vesper martini! It’s strong! The amount of alcohol reportedly is “equivalent to a double of just about any other cocktail.” On top of that, Justin allegedly stole someone else’s drink that night. Explains why he failed the field sobriety tests and chose not to take a breathalyzer test!

Ultimately, Justin was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. He then took a plea deal and pleaded guilty in September to a much lesser charge of driving while ability impaired instead! That meant the Palmer actor avoided jail time! All he had to do was pay a $500 fine, complete 25-40 hours of community service at a non-profit, and make a “public safety announcement.” So, he got a slap on the wrist. Ugh. Let’s just hope he learned his lesson: Do not get behind the wheel after drinking! Take an Uber, a Lyft, or a taxi. Call a friend. Do anything else other than get in the car and drive yourself.

It Ends With Us Feud

Move over Don’t Worry Darling! A new cast feud took over in 2024! Rumors of beef between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni started over the summer during the press run It Ends With Us. And Blake was not the only one feuding with Justin. The rest of the cast and author, Colleen Hoover, were seemingly NOT on good terms with him, either! They unfollowed the filmmaker on Instagram and ignored him at the film premiere. They did not even stop to snap one picture with Justin on the red carpets!

All signs suggested that Justin was the problem here. Even some sources suggested the Jane the Virgin alum made Blake uncomfortable on set due to his “borderline abusive” behavior. Specifically, she reportedly was upset when she found out he’d asked about her weight so he could train for a lifting scene due to a previous back injury — and for lingering too long on a kiss. However, others claimed it came down to creative differences as Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, took over to make their version of the movie, not Justin’s, who is the director/star.

At first, the whole drama looked worse on Blake. She faced intense backlash online for weeks as fans insisted that she failed to respect the film’s serious domestic violence subject matter with flighty and problematic promotional appearances and interviews. Things were looking rough for Lively for a while there, TBH!

But then, in December, the social media (and real world) script TOTALLY FLIPPED!!! That’s because Blake dropped a mega-bomb in the form of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Baldoni. Linked to the shocking suit were Baldoni’s alleged texts said to show exactly how he planned to ruin Lively’s life via a SUPER shady PR push. Social media kicked up a whole new firestorm over the harassment filing, and millions of netizens were truly amazed at the seemingly conspiratorial nature of Justin’s alleged actions to portray Blake in a very negative light!

Following the lawsuit landing in court, reports leaked that Justin had hired Johnny Depp‘s crisis PR manager (you know, the same one involved in the infamous — and seemingly endless — Amber Heard situation) as Hoover and others quickly popped up to support Blake! The dramz just kept going as insiders began to alert the entertainment world about ALL the celebs Baldoni supposedly planned to use in his vicious PR battle against Blake. A more calculated and conniving situation we truly cannot recall!!!

Sadly, both Blake and her hubby were completely thrown off their equilibriums because of the unsettling alleged campaign. And things got SO bad that Justin’s ex-publicist actually filed a lawsuit against the actor, too! Even his own people were fast fleeing the sinking ship!

As for how it all ends? Well, we don’t know. Lively’s lawsuit will carry well into 2025 — and perhaps long after that — with a LOT more jaw-dropping drama to come, we’re sure!

Bennifer Breaking Up… Again

Years after calling off their engagement in 2004, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got back together in 2021, became engaged again in April 2022, and tied the knot in Las Vegas three months later. They had a huge wedding ceremony with all their friends and family in Georgia in August 2022. It was like a page out of a second chance romance novel! But then the honeymoon phase ended. Rumblings of trouble in paradise started after their nuptials. And the bombshell report from InTouch Weekly dropped in May of this year, revealing the actor “moved out” of their marital home in Los Angeles because “they’re headed for a divorce.”

For months, neither of them confirmed the rumors — though they fueled it with their actions, such as not wearing their wedding rings or being spotted together! She also canceled her tour to spend more time with family over the summer. However, poor ticket sales were the alleged real reason. Although Ben’s ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, reportedly tried to help the former couple during their separation, they just couldn’t make it work. J.Lo filed for divorce from the filmmaker in Los Angeles Superior Court on August 20, 2024, the same date as their Georgia wedding. They have yet to finalize it.

We had such high hopes for Bennifer 2.0. Sigh…

Dave Grohl’s Secret Love Child

No one saw this coming! In September, Dave Grohl announced to the world that he cheated on his wife, Jordyn Blum, and welcomed a daughter with another woman. The news shocked fans as he came across as such a family man. However, that image was shattered not just because of the secret love child news! Come to find out, this was not the first time he cheated! The Foo Fighters frontman allegedly stepped out of his two-decades-long marriage with Jordyn multiple times. He’s even cheated on several previous partners! Jeez! A serial cheater!

All of this is such a huge betrayal to Jordyn. For a while, it seemed these two were not going to make it, as Dave hired a divorce attorney BEFORE the affair announcement. The pair also were seen without their wedding rings on. However, in November, a source for People said he called off the lawyer and is “instead hoping to work things out with his wife.” Whether or not they will stay together, time will tell. But Dave certainly has a lot of making up to do these days!

Another VPR Couple Bites The Dust!

First, it was Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix. Now, it is Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright. In February, the 35-year-old reality star announced she and her estranged husband were “taking time apart” after four years of marriage, and she moved out of their shared home. What happened? There were rumors Jax cheated on Brittany again. However, they both denied the accusations. Instead, Britt claimed there were multiple reasons for the separation, including that she felt Jax was no longer “attracted” to her, lack of intimacy between them, and their constant fighting. We all saw how bad some of their fights got on The Valley! Oof!

Ultimately, Brittany needed to see some sort of change from Jax. He needed to put in the work and go to therapy if he wanted to save their marriage. However, as she said, nothing “changed” months later — even while seeking treatment at a mental health facility for 30 days over the summer. According to Brittany, he rage-texted her during that time, and whatever he said was bad enough to make her file for divorce!

The Quiet On Set Doc

The accusations that came out of The Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV were disturbing and surprising to those who grew up watching Nickelodeon as a kid! For starters, Drake Bell revealed he was the unnamed child star who accused convicted child molester Brian Peck of sexual assault in 2003. He opened up for the first time to the public about the “extensive” and “brutal” abuse he suffered at the hands of the dialogue coach. Heartbreaking. Then there’s the Dan Schneider of it all.

The documentary really went into the inappropriate and toxic behavior the producer displayed on the set of many series he worked on the network in the late ’90s through the early 2010s. In particular, his close relationship with then-teen Amanda Bynes and the sexualization of the kids shows, including Victorious, came up a lot. Dan apologized in a lengthy video posted to his YouTube channel afterward — but only for some of his actions. He did not mention many of the disgusting allegations against him, such as sitting in on costume fittings and taking pictures of kids’ feet. And to prove his apology meant nothing? He sued the producers of the doc for falsely implying he sexually abused the child actors by grouping with two other convicted child sex offenders.

Since the documentary series release, many stars have reevaluated and spoken about their time on Nickelodeon. And the overall consensus from fans and these actors is that many changes need to be made to keep child stars safe moving forward. Fingers crossed that will happen as a result of this doc.

Diddy’s Sex Trafficking Scandal

The downfall of Diddy all began last year in November when Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against him, claiming he raped and abused her during their decade-long relationship. She even alleged the disgraced music mogul forced her to have sex with male sex workers and recorded it. Although Diddy denied the allegations, they settled the suit ONE DAY LATER. Then later, a video came out showing him brutally abusing Cassie in the hallway of a hotel in 2016, backing claims she made in her lawsuit.

This was not the end of his legal troubles, however. That set off a torrent of lawsuits from many victims, many of whom detailed similar brutal and disturbing experiences of sexual assault and more. Some of the accusers were minors during the alleged incidents. Awful. In March, the Department of Homeland Security raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami, during which they discovered 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube. Six months later, Diddy was arrested on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. An indictment claimed the rapper hosted drug-and-alcohol-fueled sex parties called “Freak Offs,” where he forced men and women to perform non-consensual sexual acts and often filmed them. He pleaded not guilty and is in prison awaiting his trial on May 5.

Even after his arrest, more and more horrifying details of his heinous crimes have dropped as attorney Tony Buzbee is representing 120 victims. And this is just the start. We expect more to come out — not just about Diddy once the trial begins but other “powerful” figures allegedly wrapped up in this massive scandal.

Election 2024

But perhaps the biggest story of them all? The 2024 presidential election. Following a controversial campaign season, Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris — even though the Republican nominee has been convicted of over thirty felonies and is involved in a boatload of other massive scandals. It came as quite a shock and disappointment to many. But for her part, Kamala handled the loss with such grace. She definitely dealt with it a lot better than Trump did when he lost in 2020! She and President Joe Biden called Trump to congratulate him on his win and reportedly asked for a peaceful transition of power. What’s more? They gave an important reminder to be a leader for everyone in the country. Doesn’t look like that’s happening… Not with what he wants to do once he’s in office or the people he’s picked for his cabinet. Ugh.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting

Concluding the year, we had a jaw-dropping incident. In the early morning hours on December 4, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death on a sidewalk in Manhattan as he walked to a hotel for the insurance company’s board meeting. What proceeded from there was a days-long intense manhunt to find the killer. It wasn’t until December 9 that police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione (pictured above) in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was spotted at a McDonald’s. Since his arrest, a lot has happened. There have been a lot of wild conspiracies about the situation, shocking evidence to come out, including his alleged manifesto that detailed the motive for the murder, and even public support of Luigi as many understand the brutal and cruel realities of health insurance companies.

On December 17, Mangione was hit with 11 charges in connection to the death of Brian Thompson, including one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is listed as killing in the act of terrorism. He also was charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and possession of a forged New Jersey driver’s license. The suspect is now facing a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

2024 has been an insane year, huh? Reactions, Perezcious readers? Which one was your biggest story of the year? Let us know in the comments!

[Image via MEGA/WENN, Oscar Gonzalez/WENN]