Celebrities who had the worst year in 2024

(NEXSTAR) — As the end of 2024 draws to a close, you'll likely see dozens of "best" and "worst" lists. And while some celebrities, like Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, had undoubtedly great years (as far as we know), not everyone got so lucky.

Below are six celebrities who might be glad 2024 is almost done.

Curious which celebrities were included in last year's list? Check out Celebrities who had the worst year in 2023 to see if there are any repeat inclusions (there are).

Sean "Diddy" Combs

The once-beloved rapper and business mogul was included in last year's list of celebrities who had the worst year and unfortunately for Combs, 55, his 2024 was likely even worse.

It was just last November when Diddy's troubles began, when his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit claiming Combs physically and sexually abused her for over a decade. Though Combs’ denied the allegations through his attorney, the two parties reached a settlement agreement just one day later for an undisclosed sum. Though the settlement helped Combs avoid a public trial, three more women filed lawsuits claiming he had raped them at different points, including one woman who said the incident happened when she was just 17.

At the time of publishing last year's list, Combs was still denying all allegations of abuse. But over the next few months, another cascade of lawsuits would be filed against the artist, including by a producer on Combs' last album, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who accused Combs of sexual harassment and assault, in addition to grooming him. Additionally, Dawn Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane — which was put together by Diddy for MTV's "Making the Band" — filed a federal lawsuit against her former boss, accusing him of assault and imprisonment.

In May, things took an even more dramatic turn when CNN obtained and released hotel surveillance footage dating back to 2016, which showed Combs brutally attacking Cassie in a hallway as she tried to escape.

On Sept. 16, Combs was arrested by federal agents on an indictment containing multiple charges, including racketeering, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams.

Diddy pleaded "not guilty" and has since been denied bail.

In addition to the previously mentioned lawsuits and accusations, a further cascade of criminal accusations would arise through the fall of this year, including a lawsuit accusing Diddy of the rape of a 10-year-old boy in 2005 and a complaint filed in late November by former Combs' clothing designer who says he sexually battered her and dangled her of a 17-story-high balcony in 2016.

Katy Perry

Obviously this is a different kind of bad year. Perhaps the only crime committed by the 2010s pop icon is not understanding how to be a pop star in the 2020s.

After several years serving mostly as a judge on ABC's reboot of "American Idol," Perry staged a major musical comeback in the form of "143," her critically panned seventh album released in September. The album was preceded by lead single "Woman's World," which only charted at no. 63 on Billboard and was eviscerated by critics and social media users alike. The song was widely criticized for being generic, corny and promoting an outdated (and cringey) brand of feminism.

The album, meanwhile, wouldn't fare any better with critics. As reported by the New York Times, "143" would go on to become the worst-reviewed album by a female artist in MetaCritic's history.

In addition to Perry's seeming loss of "cool" factor is her decision to work with producer Dr. Luke on "143." The Swedish producer, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, is a well-known hitmaker and musical pariah to many following the long legal battle between the producer and his previous protege Kesha, who claimed (in a now-settled lawsuit) that he sexually assaulted her. Perry's decision to reunite with Gottwald was controversial as many pop fans — i.e, Perry's core audience — sided with Kesha. Joining with an accused sexual assaulter (Gottwald has denied all allegations) was not ever going to be cool with a large portion of the people Perry needed to pull back in. The move also made even less sense as Perry promoted the previously mentioned attempted feminist anthem, "Woman's World."

Despite the album's lack of cultural interest or acclaim, Perry is set to tour in support of "143," with The Lifetimes Tour, which is expected to kick off in April 2025.

Alex Jones

Fifty-year-old conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been on a long losing streak.

The InfoWars founder and "The Alex Jones Show" host continues to deal with the fallout of the disproven conspiracy theories he peddled on his show in 2012-13 about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As a result of spreading lies that the massacre was "staged" and that "no one died," Jones was slapped with multiple lawsuits by families who lost loved ones in the shootings and said his comments resulted in them receiving targeted harassment.

Jones lost several of the lawsuits against him, including a 2022 verdict which ordered Jones to pay $965 to relatives of the Sandy Hook massacre victims. Just this week, the Connecticut Appellate Court reaffirmed the verdict. According to the Associated Press, Jones owes about $1.2 billion in total as a result of his lawsuits.

Even worse for Jones? The InfoWars platform he founded was bundled into a personal bankruptcy auction — and left-leaning satirical news outlet The Onion will likely be its new owner (and likely dedicating much of its use to making fun of Jones).

'Bennifer 2.0'

For many, the reunion of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck felt like a course correction to the early 00s. Back then, "Bennifer," as the celebrity couple came to be known, was among the most famous in the world. The relationship was covered inside and out, from the couple's co-starring films (the box office bombs "Gigli" and "Jersey Girl") to the 6.1-carat pink diamond worth $2.5 million that Affleck proposed to Lopez with. The couple ultimately ended their engagement in January 2004.

But the pair set the internet aflame with their April 2021 reunion. About one year later, the couple were engaged for a second time and the two eventually married in July 2022 in Las Vegas. Though it may have seemed like "happily ever after," initially, by May 2024, "Bennifer 2.0" was already fielding separation rumors.

It was unfortunate timing for Lopez, especially, as the rumors arrived as the now 55-year-old was still working to promote her album, "This Is Me... Now," which was very heavily inspired by and tied to her reunion with Affleck. Making matters probably even more awkward were the two additional components to the album era, a musical film co-written by Lopez and Affleck titled "This Is Me... Now: A Love Story" and a documentary film following the creation of the album and musical, in addition to a lengthy discussion of Lopez's past love life and how all of it led her back to Affleck.

Finally, on August 20, Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck, with the separation date filed as April 26.

While Bennifer 2.0 didn't last this time, Lopez-Affleck fans might have to wait another 20 years to see if the lovers make it back to each other once more.

Elon Musk

It's difficult to say that Tesla CEO and owner of X, Elon Musk, had a bad year when he successfully campaigned for President-elect Donald Trump and was rewarded for it with a role in the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the upcoming administration.

That said, Musk's takeover of Twitter, now called X, continues to exist as an albatross around Musk's neck. Following the election, users have abandoned the site in droves — opting for the Twitter-clone site Bluesky, originally founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. While Musk's changes to misinformation and hate speech filtering have made the site more popular with some audiences (particularly far-right users), those outside of that core have found greener pastures over on Bluesky. While the platform still massively trails X in user numbers, the site gained about 10 million new users post-election. Bluesky currently boasts around 25 million users, per USA Today.

Although some big-name advertisers are slowly inching their way to ad considerations on the site (after a mass exodus in 2022-23), it still must sting for Musk to have at least 10 million users prefer another site because you aren't involved in it.

And if that wasn't enough, the internet found a new thing to roast him relentlessly for after he continued to jump in the air at live events for some reason.

Drake

Back in 2015, rappers Drake and Meek Mill had one of hip-hop's most iconic contemporary beefs. The feud began when Meek Mill, then-boyfriend of Drake colleague Nicki Minaj, accused the "Hotline Bling" artist of having his raps ghostwritten.

Drake didn't take the jab lightly and proceeded to drop back-to-back diss tracks, including the Grammy-nominated hit "Back to Back," which appeared to end the beef. Generally, Drake is considered the winner of the feud and the two later resolved the beef.

In a stunning reversal of fortune, this year, Drake found himself on the losing end of a beef with rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Though the two have collaborated in the past, their relationship has been rocky, with exchanged barbs over the years. The beef came to a head in March 2024, when Lamar addressed a mention of him in the Drake-J. Cole song "First Person Shooter" from last year. Apparently, Lamar wasn't happy with the line — which referred to the three rappers as "the Big 3." In a guest spot on "Like That," from Future and Metro Boomin's collaboration album, Lamar rebutted: "Motherf--k the Big 3, n----, it's just big me."

Drake was quick to respond with the diss tracks "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle," (which were taken down due to complaints over AI voice use) which took direct aim at Lamar and featured Drake poking at Lamar to respond. If he knew how the beef would go, he might not have done that.

Just days later, Lamar released the six-minute diss, "Euphoria," and just days later, a second track, "6:16 in LA," and then two more, "Meet the Grahams" and most importantly, "Not Like Us." In these four tracks, Lamar accused Drake of exploiting other Black artists to gain street cred, of having no style, of trying to "act tough", and most damning, of alleged sexually predatory behavior towards minors.

Drake has denied all allegations.

Though Drake released a rebuttal one day later, for many listeners tuned into the beef, the battle was already won by Lamar. It didn't help that "Not Like Us" would go on to debut at no. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and become a certified pop culture moment. All of which would find Lamar being named the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime performer and releasing a critically acclaimed hit album, "GNX."

Meanwhile, Drake filed a lawsuit in late November accusing Lamar's label UMG and Spotify of inflating Lamar's "Not Like Us" streaming numbers — which UMG has denied. Drake has since filed a second lawsuit, where Drake's own attorneys acknowledge that "Not Like Us" was a "viral mega-hit" and argue UMG should not have released a song "falsely accusing him of being a sex offender."

Here's hoping your 2024 was a better year than it was for everyone in this story!