Each year has its dose of events which rock the nation; some are funny, some ridiculous, and others unbelievably tragic. The most shocking moments are those that are completely and utterly unexpected; they create their own buzz, take over Twitter and Google trending topics, are the subject of tabloid and magazine cover stories and come up in everyday conversation. Here, in no particular order are just a few of the most shocking pop culture moments of 2009.
King of Pop dies at age 50 - The news that the gloved one had died circulated instantaneously causing many at first to believe it was a hoax - no one could fathom that Michael Jackson, the biggest pop performer of our time had died. The news of his death and the focus on his legacy took over almost every television show, magazine cover, and web site for months due to the nature of his mysterious death. Not only did he die, but for awhile reports were pouring in about what caused his death, asking questions like was it foul play? Did he overdose on a drug? What were his final moments like? What will happen to his three children? His doctor, Conrad Murray was later charged with the death for distributing the powerful drug Propofol to the music icon.
Nadya Suleman is nicknamed Octomom after birthing eight babies- Gasps and head shakes were made when people heard about a 32-year-old single woman named Nadya Suleman who was not only pregnant with octuplets, but also already had 6 children at home. All of her pregnancies, being my in-vitro fertilization raised eyebrows forcing many to question if this woman was obsessed with having children and questioned the mindset of the doctor who allowed all eight eggs to be implanted. The media began to refer to her as "Octomom" and she spent a lot of time on the cover of magazines, being interviewed for television shows and criticized for having so many children, yet unable to adequately take care of all 14.
Chris Brown physically assaults Rihanna - Dangerously in love. The night of the 2009 Grammys Chris Brown was a turning point for both of the young singers when Brown physically assaulted Rihanna after a heated argument took place in his rented Lamborghini. Pictures of the pop singer bruised and beaten in her face flew around the Internet creating a painful visual of what occurred that night. Brown later plead guilty to the incident.
Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at MTV Video Music Awards interrupted - The crowd at the VMA's and thousands at home watching were speechless when during Taylor Swift's win for best female video, "You Belong to Me", Kanye West rushed the stage, seized the mic from her and said he felt that Beyoncé should have won. Immediately afterward a huge backlash against the popular hip-hop artist ensued, even Beyoncé was taken aback by his act and apologized to Taylor Swift after the awards show for Kanye's comments.
Sammy Sosa changes his skin color - Retired baseball great, Sammy Sosa shocked us all this year when photos taken of him at the Latin Grammys showed the Dominican-Republic native several skin tones lighter than his natural brown skin tone. Speculations spread that he had his skin bleached, while a close friend of his who still worked for the Chicago Cubs claimed that a skin rejuvenation process was responsible for the drastic change. Others weren't so quick to believe her story and felt that perhaps Sosa's dislike of his skin color may have had more to do with his sudden change. Later down the road, Sosa did admit to use a bleaching agent from Europe to lighten his skin, one he eventually plans to market.
Susan Boyle smashes U.S records - Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer from Britain's Got Talent, proved that you don't need to be twenty-something, scantily dressed and move about suggestively across the stage to sell records. She was a huge success in Britain, but also moved her success over to the U.S this year by producing the best-selling debut album of 2009 and selling 701,000 her first week on the market and becoming the top-selling female debut since Soundscan started tracking record sales.
Balloon Boy's is a hoax - In October, a very odd story grabbed the media's attention. A Colorado married couple claimed that their six-year-old son was trapped in a homemade helium balloon and was traveling in the air in a balloon that was being watched through video. The story made national and international headlines as the child became known as "Balloon Boy". However, it was found out that the boy had been in the attic the entire time and the family had lied in hopes of gaining a reality show and get television fame.
David Letterman reveals affairs - For years, the late-night talk show host has made Americans laugh, but no one was laughing when he exposed in October of this year that he had indeed had several affairs with some of his female staff members over the past several years. The married comedian bluntly told the public about his wrongdoings in an attempt to out a man who knew about the affairs and was trying to extort him for money to keep quiet.
Kardashian sisters experience drastic changes in 2009 - This year was a series of changes for Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian; Kourtney and Khloe's own show called Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami premiered in 2009 and Kim, the most famous of the bunch, broke up with her longterm NFL player boyfriend Reggie Bush only to get back together in September, while second oldest, Kourtney became pregnant with her first child. Later in September, Khloe married Lamar Odom, a NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers. (Currently on the rumor mill is that Khloe may or may not be pregnant)
Tiger Woods sex scandal - Trailing in at the end of the year comes Tiger Woods' "indiscretions". The golf champion has been plastered all over the media for weeks after stunning revelations of infidelity including allegedly fourteen mistresses emerged; his wife Elin Nordegren, seeming to have given up on the marriage has petitioned for a divorce and taken the couple's two children.
Allen Iverson returning to the Philadelphia 76ers - Last, but not least is a moment unique to the city of Philadelphia. Allen Iverson returned to his first team, the Sixers, earlier this month. It's a moment many never thought would happen, but The Answer has brought his crossover back to the city he had hoped to "officially" retire from.
Below is a slideshow of Extra tv's list of the most shocking events of 2009.
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