4. The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad

What could have been a lucrative brand partnership turned into a PR crisis for Sweeney, who was accused of promoting racist ideas of genetic superiority, as it was seen as a play on the words “jeans” and “genes” in the phrase: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” She later came out with a lukewarm statement months after the fact.

5. Kanye West’s strange betrayal list

West is no stranger to controversy… he’s made comments about the Kardashians trafficking their kids and insulted Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s kids. He also arranged for his daughter, North, to meet Andrew Tate. In September, he posted a “betrayal” list on X, including his own daughter and ex Kim Kardashian. Other names included Diddy, Trump, LeBron James, Pete Davidson, and even cartoon characters, in a confusing twist of events.

6. Kristen Bell’s tone-deaf anniversary post

Bell wrote a post that tried to be funny but was accused of normalizing domestic violence. It read, “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kll you. A lot of men have klled their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to k*ll you, I never would.’ ” While some found it funny, others thought it was distasteful to joke about domestic violence. She refused to apologize for the post.