Warning: This article contains brief mention of sexual harrasement, child abuse, mass shootings, and self-immolation.
Hello hello! Every month, I collect all of the wild things that happen in my own time capsule from hell. Now that we've finished out one-fourth of the year, here's a look back of everything we've experienced in 2024 so far:
1. January 2: The New Year is largely considered a time when people can reset and start fresh. Perhaps, this most fittinglly applies to Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, a 32-year-old woman who was recently released from prison after pleading guilty to the second degree murder of her abusive mother nearly eight years ago.
Well, on January 2, Gypsy defended her husband from a slew on online hate by commenting a now-viral sentiment on his Instagram post, writing: "Ryan, don’t listen to the haters. I love you, and you love me. We do not owe anyone anything. Our family is who matters. If you get likes and good comments great, if you get hate then whatever because THEY DON’T MATTER. I love you💕 besides they jealous because you are rocking my world every night…yeah I said it, the D is fire🔥 happy wife happy life ❤️."
4. January 3: Shannon Sharpe's now infamous interview with Katt Williams racked in 56 million views on YouTube. People couldn't look away as the comedian called out other big industry names for allegedly stealing jokes, accusing rappers of joining the illuminati, and even suggesting Harvey Weinstein offered him oral sex in return for movie roles.
View this video on YouTube
5. January 3: Unsealed court documents surrounding Epstein, his victims, and associates were released following years "of public speculation about who the disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker may have involved in his schemes," HuffPost reported.
6. January 4: In lighter news, Jeremy Allen White's Calvin Klein ad hit the internet and spawned thirsty reactions from most across the nation, except for his The Bear costar Ayo Edebiri, who cringed when she saw it.
View this video on YouTube
7. January 5: We've reached my personal Roman Empire — the emergency door plug from an Alaska Airlines flight that blew out at 16,000 feet.
10. January 6: Halle Bailey announced the arrival of her newborn after months of pregnancy speculation.
14. January 9: Several were arrested after a secret tunnel was discovered under the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in New York.
15. January 10: Republican candidate Chris Christie announced he'd be ending his bid for president.
20. January 13: January continued to be a rough month for Boeing, as a flight in Japan had to return after a crack formed in the cockpit window.
22. January 15: Twice-impeached Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses.
24. January 21: Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race.
28. January 25: In dystopian news, lawyers are trying to figure out how to legally create a trust for clients who pass away, have their bodies frozen, and are later brought back to life (should technology ever reach this point). Because, according Scottsdale attorney Mark House, “You don’t wanna come back poor."
29. January 26: Explicit AI-generated photos of Taylor Swift were shared — and thankfully removed from — online, eliciting outcries in support of legislation that would criminalize and punish such acts.
33. February 1: Universal Music Group pulled their artists' songs from TikTok.
Universal Music Group, otherwise known as UMG, represents big-name artists like Taylor Swift, Drake, and Justin Bieber — all of whom have songs regularly used as trending audios on TikTok. However, at the beginning of the month, UMG and TikTok failed to come to an agreement on contract renewal for the app's use of UMG's artists' songs.
In a statement, UMG said, “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.”
TikTok retorted with their own statement, claiming that UMG is putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," and added, “TikTok has been able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans."
35. February 2: The groundhog who predicts seasons, aka Punxsutawney Phil, ruled that there will be an early spring this year, and then the internet immediately called BS. because of our horrible, climate-change-driven weather.
36. February 3: Sweetly Seasoned issued an apology for withholding a tip for a barber and hairstylist that was gifted by TikToker Keith Lee.
If you somehow missed the saga: Keith Lee visited a food truck in Dallas, TX called Sweetly Seasoned and noticed that a barber and hairstylist unaffiliated with the truck were working out of the same parking lot. The barber and hairstylist were friends of the Sweetly Seasoned owner's son, and the hairstylist even helped fill orders that day.
To keep transactions simple, Keith tipped Sweetly $2,000 and asked that the owner hand out an additional $2,000 he'd be tipping through their system —$1,000 for the barber and $1,000 for the hairstylist.
The owner of Sweetly Seasoned, however, initially kept the entire $4,000. It wasn't until later, after much backlash from the internet, that the owner seemingly begrudgingly agreed to issue give the barber and hairstylist their money.
37. February 3: Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton announced he'd be leaving Mercedes to join the Ferrari team.
38. February 4: Taylor Swift announced she'll be dropping a new album on April 19 during her Grammy speech.
39. February 4: Speaking of the Grammys, Jay-Z delivered a now-famous speech when accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. While on stage, he questioned how Beyoncé could have more Grammy wins than any other artist, yet not an Album of the Year award, and said some artists in attendance low-key don't even belong in their categories.
No lies were spoken.
40. February 5: Buckingham Palace announced King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer.
The palace did not specify what kind of cancer the King has been diagnosed with, nor what stage.
42. February 6: In an unprecedented move, a jury found the mother of the Michigan high school mass shooter, Jennifer Crumbley, guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
In 2021, Crumbley and her husband gave their 15-year-old son a semi-automatic handgun a few days before the shooting, despite him displaying both behavioral and mental struggles. These notably include an instance where her son texted Crumbley saying that he was "hearing voices and seeing demons," HuffPost reports, and their son texted friends saying his mother laughed in response to requests for help.
Then, just a few hours before the shooting, school administrators called the 15-year-old's parents to discuss drawings he'd created of guns and gunshot victims. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Crumbley not only dismissed these concerns, but also failed to acknowledge that she'd given her son a gun.
Crumbley's son was sentenced to life in prison, and Crumbley has been found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the victim's deaths.
43. February 7: Following Katt Williams' explosive interview, Shannon Sharpe interviewed comedian Mo'Nique on his show Club Shay Shay.
Clips from the interview went massively viral, as Mo'Nique called out big names like Tiffany Haddish as well as discrimination in the industry.
View this video on YouTube
44. February 7: Not sure if you even remember her, but Marianne Williamson dropped out the 2024 presidential race.
She has since un-suspended her campaign and is back in the race.
(Girl, let it go.)
49. February 11: Beyoncé broke the internet after announcing she was dropping new music during a Verizon commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
Queen Bey gave us two songs: "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."
51. February 11: Oh, and since we're talking about the Super Bowl, we may as well note that the Kansas City Chiefs won.
52. February 11: And Travis Kelce + Taylor Swift shared a now-viral post-win kiss.
54. February 14: Outside of ongoing world news, TikToker Reesa Teesa started her now-viral series retelling the story of her marriage to someone she describes as a "pathological liar"
The series is 50 parts and totals about 8 hours of viewing, but it's worth every second.
55. February 15: The entertainment industry was bustling as the Dune: Part 2 cast hit red carpet after red carpet. One of the most notable looks came from Zendaya, of course, who sported this futuristic getup.
58. February 16: A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that Donald Trump owed the city over $350 million in damages over fraudulent business practices and he has since been barred from officer or director of a New York corporation for the next three years, HuffPost reports.
59. February 18: Prince William had an incredibly viral moment after meeting Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Sophie Wilde, and Mia McKenna-Bruce at the BAFTA Awards...and he seemingly weirded them out.
60. February 21: The Biden administration canceled federal student loans for about 153,000 borrowers.
“Starting today, the first round of folks who are enrolled in our SAVE student loan repayment plan who have paid their loans for 10 years and borrowed $12,000 or less will have their debt cancelled,” Biden shared in a tweet. “That’s 150,000 Americans and counting. And we’re pushing to relieve more.”
61. February 21: After Timothée Chalamet was lightheartedly criticized for not being as fashionable as Zendaya on the Dune: Part 2 red carpets despite being the lead actor of the films, he and Z showed up in matching outfits.
64. February 21: Last year, several pandas were returned to China from US zoos. But, according to a statement released by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the cute bears will be making a return to their facility!
66. February 22: It was announced that former talk show host and TV personality Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.
68. February 24: A Willy Wonka "Immersive Chocolate Experience" opened its doors in Glasgow and the event was immediately compared to Fyre Festival.
For a $40 ticket, families expected to enter a warehouse full of recreations designed to look as if they were stepping right into Willy Wonka factory. Instead, the event featured a few dispersed props, a very disgruntled looking chocolatier working at what appears to be a meth lab, and an incredibly creepy character that doesn't appear in any of the films.
74. February 28: A weird conspiracy started, claiming Kate Middleton was missing.
This conspiracy stems from the fact that Netizens haven't seen Kate in public for months. The last news about her whereabouts up until this point came from Kensington Palace in early January when a statement said the princess was undergoing a "planned" abdominal surgery.
This has led some to jokingly speculate that the statement is a front and she's actually missing.
75. February 28: Just as this conspiracy was getting started, Kensington palace immediately shut it down.
In a statement, the palace wrote: “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”
77. March 1: Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and one of history's most influential manga authors, died at 68.
Fans who grew up on his acclaimed series were joined in their mourning by similarly big names in the anime industry, including One Piece and Naruto creators Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto, who released statements detailing how much Toriyama meant to them.
78. March 4: After a Colorado court disqualified former President Donald Trump from appearing on state ballots because of his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the Supreme Court overruled this decision.
A very weird Uno reverse, in my personal opinion.
80. March 6: Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential race, leaving Trump as the GOP's last major candidate.
81. March 7: In aerophobia news, a United Airlines flight lost its tire after taking off from San Francisco International Airport.
As someone who doesn't fly, I need airlines to get it together and stop fueling my worst nightmares.
84. March 10: Kate Middleton shared a photo we now know to be altered, which fueled conspiracy theories about her whereabouts at the time.
85. March 10: The 96th Academy Awards took place, and Ryan Gosling won the night with his "I'm Just Ken" performance.
View this video on YouTube
86. March 10: Speaking of the Oscars, many celebs walked the red carpet with pins displaying the Artists4Ceasefire symbol, in reference to an organization calling for "an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost."
89. March 13: You may remember the name Clive Palmer. He's an Australian billionaire who shook the world about three years ago after announcing his plan to rebuild a replica of the Titanic.
Well, the 69-year-old — who made his money from mining — provided an update via a press conference. Building of the Titanic II, as it's been dubbed, is planned to start next year, and its maiden voyage has been scheduled for June 2027, Forbes reports.
92. March 14: In NSFW news that realistically affects millions, Pornhub disabled access to its website for users in Texas in protest of the state's age verification requirement.
94. March 17–18: The documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV was released, exposing the allegedly toxic work environments and child abuse some Nickelodeon stars endured in the early aughts.
In one of the documentary's most shocking moments, actor Drake Bell identified himself as a sexual abuse victim of Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, who was arrested in 2003.
Since airing, at least a dozen more actors have spoken out about their experiences on sets.
97. March 23: While visiting a community center in San Juan, Kamala Harris was met outside by a group of singers protesting her arrival. In a now-viral clip of the encounter, the vice president claps along to the performance until she's seemingly informed that their lyrics aren't positive.
99. March 25: Following numerous allegations of violence and sexual abuse, Homeland Security raided Los Angeles and Miami properties owned by rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Much is still left unknown about the investigation.
100. March 25: It was announced that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of 2024.
This news follows a string of incidents involving Boeing planes and an audit completed by the Federal Aviation Administration, which found "dozens" of problems in the company's manufacturing process.
104. March 29: Three months after being released from prison, Gypsy Rose Blanchard announced she and her husband Ryan Scott Anderson are separating.
The two married in July 2022.
105. March 29: Lizzo shared the following statement on Instagram: "I quit."
106. And finally, March 30: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V star Chance Perdomo died in a motorcycle accident at age 27.
