Scandalous Stories of 2011

A Year in Review

What will you remember about 2011? Will it be the dates of 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, or 11/11/11? Perhaps will you remember 2011 as the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese calendar or maybe you’ll remember a special occasion or experience you had in 2011. Whatever you recall, hopefully it will be anything but the following outrageous stories.

11 Infamous Stories of 2011

11. How Can We Wash Our Cares Away Without Our Soaps/ABC Cancels Two Long Running Soap Operas

On April 14, 2011 ABC announced they were cancelling two of their longest running soap operas, "One Life to Live" and "All My Children." One Life premiered July of 1968 and All My Children went on the air in January of 1970. These two soap operas have been popular staples at ABC for many years and thus it was a shock to all the loyal fans when the plug was pulled on their 'stories.'

10. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow/Oprah Winfrey Leaves Her Daytime Talk Show to Run A Network

The Queen of daytime talk, Oprah Winfrey, left her popular daytime television talk show to run her "OWN" (fledgling) Network. After 25 years of couch talk, Winfrey decided it was time to go bigger, and instead of saying farewell to her loyal daytime audience, she said "…Until we meet again." Unfortunately, most of Winfrey's audience has not followed her and the OWN network has suffered from low ratings.

09. Thriller Verdict/Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty In the Death of Michael Jackson

On November 7, 2011, Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 50-year-old Michael Jackson. The pop star died on June 25, 2009 as a result of a lethal overdose of the anesthetic propofol, he was in the midst of preparing for his "This is It" comeback tour. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison on November 29, 2011.

08. Herman Gets Caned/The Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Story Spreads like Wildfire

It didn't take too long for women to come out of obscurity after Herman Cain became a frontrunner in the GOP Presidential race. These females claimed to have been sexually harassed by Mr. Cain, and although initial allegations against the former head of Godfather's Pizza were vague, the media ran with this story. Cain's wife Gloria insisted she did not believe the allegations in an interview with Greta Van Susteren, saying she knew the type of person her husband was and that he "totally respects women."

07. 'Father Time' Meets the Runaway Bride/Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Jilted

It was bound to happen, eventually one of the Stepford bunnies would regain consciousness and break-away from bunny bondage. Five days before their June 18 wedding date, 25 year-old Crystal Harris 'ran-away,' dumping her 85 year-old fiancé, Hugh Hefner. The Playboy Founder said he was shocked, believing his young bride-to-be loved him as much as he loved her (What???). However, don't feel too bad for old man Hef he hasn't missed a beat, since Harris left he's been consoling himself with lots of young beautiful women, more Stepford bunnies. For her part, Harris is moving forward with her life, she kept the engagement ring and there have been several rumors that she has or will be pawning it. Love is beautiful! On a side note, why don't we ever see young beautiful women with POOR old men, after all isn’t love blind? (Probably only when money is involved.)

06. "Oops, I Stepped In It"/GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Makes Gaffs at Debates

Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the GOP presidential race with a strong lead but it diminished rapidly after subpar performances in several GOP debates. One of his most infamous meltdowns occurred at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan, when he began to talk about the three Government Agencies he would do away with. He first mentioned Commerce then Education, however, when it came to the final agency Perry drew a blank saying "What's the third one there? Let's see…" When pressed by the moderator to name the third agency, Perry simply said "The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops." The next day Perry spoke to several news outlets in an effort to do some damage control, saying he’d “stepped in it.”

05. Like Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh-No/Justin Bieber Named in Paternity Suit

17-year-old pop-singer, Justin Bieber was named in a paternity lawsuit filed by 20-year-old Mariah Yeater, who claimed the singer fathered her young infant. Yeater alleged she became pregnant after a sexual encounter with the pop singer backstage at one of his concerts. Bieber denied Yeater's allegations and said he would take a DNA test to prove he was not the father.

04. That Weiner Isn't Hebrew National – Sexting Is Not Kosher/New York Congressman Anthony Weiner Caught In Sexting Scandal

On May 27, 2011 New York Representative Anthony Weiner sent a sexually suggestive photograph of himself in his underwear from the waist-down to a 21-year-old female college student via his Twitter account. He deleted the photo, however, not before the conservative website "BigGovernment.com" got a hold of it and reported the story. Weiner initially claimed his Facebook account had been hacked and later told a cable news outlet that he was unable to say "with certitude" whether the photo was of him or not. A few days later BigGovernment.com published more photos of a shirtless Weiner that were allegedly from a second woman. Weiner finally confessed saying he sent the photos of himself in his underwear to young women via Twitter but claimed he never met or had a physical relationship with any of the women. In a statement Weiner said "This was me doing a dumb thing, and doing it repeatedly, and lying about it." The scandal resulted in Weiner stepping down from his office.

03. Too Much Reality/The Husband of a Beverly Hills “Real Housewife” Commits Suicide

Credit: Introspective Pics

Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of Beverly Hills Real Housewives' Taylor Armstrong, was found dead at his home on Monday, August 15, 2011. Although investigators did not find a note, Armstrong's death was ruled a suicide. The state of the Armstrong marriage was one of the main storylines viewers tuned-in to watch during the first season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Taylor had claimed her marriage was "80% business and 20% romance" and she spent most of the first season whining that she and her husband were "disconnected." The first season ended with a glimmer of hope for the couple, who were planning a trip to Mexico to talk things out, but regrettably things did not work out. Bravo T.V., the network which airs The Real Housewives, issued a statement saying "All of us at Bravo are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Our sympathy and thoughts are with the Armstrong family at this difficult time."

02. And They Lived (Apart) Happily Ever After/Kim Kardashian Files For Divorce after 72 Days of Marriage

Seventy-two days can seem like a lifetime for some people, just ask reality princess Kim Kardashian who filed for divorce from husband, New Jersey Nets basketball player Kris Humphries, after 72 days of wedded bliss (well, maybe not "bliss"). The wedding, which took place on August 20, 2011, reportedly cost an estimated $10 million dollars and was watched by more than 4 million viewers on cable television network E! Channel. The audience seemed to be engrossed in anything having to do with the wedding, including Kim’s 20.5 carat engagement ring and her three wedding gowns. Many fans were upset 72 days later when the executive producer of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," Ryan Seacrest tweeted "Yes @kimkardashian is filing for divorce this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few mins." Kardashian gave a statement to the E! Channel which read "I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don't work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best." Divorce, American style.

01. Justice Is Really Blind/Casey Anthony found Not Guilty

Hundreds of people gathered outside a courthouse in Orlando, Florida on July 5, 2011 to hear the verdict in the Casey Anthony case. She had been on trial for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. The majority of the crowd in Florida, and elsewhere, had been hoping to hear the word "guilty!" However, this was not the opinion of the jurors who found Anthony not guilty. Outspoken HLN news commentator, Nancy Grace had stern words about the verdict saying the toddler's death had gone unpunished and she criticized the defense celebrations, saying "The devil is dancing..."

There you have it, 11 infamous stories of 2011! Here’s hoping 2012 will bring more positive stories…oh, I forgot, we have a U.S. Presidential election coming-up!

For interesting information on other topics see the following:

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