While we may only be three months into the new year, 2019 is already brimming with enough celebrity drama, messy behavior, and social media drag-sessions to fill up an entire calendar. With one scandal breaking after another, it's tough to keep up with which of your favorite chart-topper/A-listers is currently in the hot seat for their less-than-stellar extra-curricular activities.
Whether you're a Kardashian Stan waiting for #ThirdTrimesterThompson to show his true colors, or have been following the R. Kelly drama since news of his sex cult scandal first broke, we've got you covered. From controversial rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine snitching in court to Jussie Smollett allegedly staging his own attack in order to secure the bag, we've rounded up the juiciest stories from 2019 thus far.
Jordyn Woods/Tristan Thompson/Khloe Kardashian Love Triangle
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Unfortunately for Kardashian-Jenner satellite Jordyn Woods, her days of mingling in A-list circles and living in King Kylie's guest house are things of the past. Just when you thought that the Cleveland Cavaliers player couldn't stoop any lower, Thompson set the bar at rock bottom when he hooked up with Jordyn Woods just after Valentine's Day. According to TMZ and Hollywood Unlocked, Thompson flew into Los Angeles Thursday Night to celebrate the romance-filled holiday with his ex-beau and their daughter, True.
On Sunday night of that same week, Thompson was then spotted cuddled up next to none other than Jordyn Woods, Kylie Jenner's BFF and business partner. Hopping on Instagram to set the story straight, Hollywood Unlocked confirmed the rumors in full while slamming Thompson for the planned indiscretion. Despite the fact that Thompson swiped everyone's phones at the house party in an attempt to keep his private business on lock, he couldn't control the fact that everyone there could still see that he was messing around.
"It is true, you know why?" asked a Hollywood Unlocked staffer on Instagram. "Because one of my writers was there and Tristan, you took everybody's phone, but you let them stay. Jordyn came in, ya'll were smoking hookah, she was all up in your lap, you were all over her, touchy feely and you let the girl spend the night until 7 in the morning." According to the Kardashian inner circle themselves, Hollywood Unlocked served up nothing but "strong facts" with their initial allegations.
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In the aftermath of the scandal, Woods has been kicked out of Jenner's Hidden Hills with her security clearance revoked. "Jordyn has been trying to reach out to Khloé, Kylie and everyone else in the family to apologize,” a source close to Woods revealed. “She wants to apologize and make everything right. She’s completely remorseful. She spent the whole night crying with her mom and sister. It’s been a difficult time and she’s broken up about it. She’s heading home to be with her mom.”
With this scandal still teeming with loose ends, there's no doubt that 2019 will bring more drama on the Woods vs. KarJenner front.
Tekashi 6ix9ine's Legal Troubles
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For Tekashi 6ix9ine, it's not fuc*in' Tre3yway anymore. The rapper, legal name is Daniel Hernandez, was arrested alongside several of his Nine Trey Bloods associates - Tr3yway Shotti, Faheem Walter, Fuguan Lovick, Jensel “Ish” Butler, and Jamel “Mel Murda” Jones - on a string of charges stemming from an investigation dating back to 2013. On February 1st 2019, it was revealed that the "Gummo" rapper snitched on the gang members he used to run with in exchange for a lighter sentence, earning him the new nickname "Tekashi Snitch-Nine."
After pleading guilty to nine racketeering, gun and drug charges, 6ix9ine began cooperating with the feds and turning on his former crew. "In the fall of 2017, I met and joined the Nine Trey Blood Gang," the rapper admitted. “As a member of Nine Trey, the enterprise engaged in such activities including shooting at people, robbing people, and at times drug trafficking. I apologize to the Court, to anyone who was hurt, to my family, friends and fans for what I have done and who I have let down."
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In the fallout of 69's testimony, additional Nine Trey members have been indicted on federal charges--a reality that could lead to disastrous consequences for the rapper's friends and family. "My reaction, intially...I just think it's disappointing," said Sara Molina, Tekashi's ex-GF and baby momma. "I expected way more out of the situation. It's just sad honestly, to see all these men dragged into something that's really ugly. I've been with him seven years and the fame that he's had within a year--it's just sad to see how it's going now. It's just disappointing and it's sad."
"He made his bed and now he has to lie in it, but he didn't think of how it's going to affect others," she continued. "He's only thinking about himself in this situation. I'm left to pick up the pieces of whatever mess he's made--which is and has always been a thing. I don't feel like he's in a space right now [to have a relationship with their daughter]. My job is to protect my daughter at all costs."
Jussie Smollett
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The alleged assault of actor Jussie Smollett is far from straightforward. In late January, one week before Smollett alleged that he was attacked in Streeterville, Chicago, a letter was reportedly sent to Fox's production studios located on the city's West Side. Addressed to Smollett, the letter bore the words “You will die black fag" and was covered in the white powder of crushed acetaminophen. Soon after, Smollett reported that he was attacked by two men wearing "MAGA" hats that yelled racial and homophobic slurs while the actor was returning from an early-morning sandwich run.
With inaccuracies between Smollett's testimony and surveillance footage casting doubt on the actor's version of events, authorities interviewed two suspects allegedly linked to the attack. Shortly after their arrest, Smollett's allegations began crumbling around him in earnest. After it was revealed that Smollett knew the two men who allegedly assaulted him, the investigation quickly pivoted to the Empire actor himself, reportedly staging the entire incident as leverage for a higher salary.
"There’s still a lot of physical evidence, video evidence, and testimony that just simply doesn’t support his version of what happened," says Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, not at all swayed by Smollett continuing to argue his innocence. "Jussie Smollet took advantage of the pain and anger of racism in order to advance his career." Currently, Smollett is out of jail after posting bond. He has since been removed from the final two episodes of the hit series Empire.
R. Kelly
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In the long-awaited culmination of years of whispers, rumors, and allegations swirling around R. Kelly's sexual misbehavior and criminal activity, the R&B superstar was finally arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in February 2019. In the indictment presented by Cook Country prosecutors, R. Kelly sexually abused four victims, at least three of them minors, between 1998 and 2010.
After posting a 100k bond, R. Kelly is out on the streets once more after serving only three nights in jail--and immediately made a suspect trip to a McDonald's restaurant. The singer is set to appear in court once more on March 8, and according to prosecutor Michael Avenatti, there's more than enough evidence to put him behind bars for a very long time.