2009 In Review: 10 Events That Caught My Attention

CLEVELAND - I've been reviewing many top moments of the past decade recently, but today I'm going to recap a few stand out moments from 2009 that caught my attention. These moments are a further reminder of how and why celebrity is so intriguing.

Here goes everything!

1. The Michael Jackson Odyssey, March-December: Since Michael was acquitted of child molestation charges in June 2005, he'd been in heavy seclusion from the public. On March 6, 2009, he resurfaced in London, England to announce a return to live touring. The disgraced icon hadn't toured in a dozen years and news of his planned residency at the famous O2 Arena was to span several months, beginning in July and running until the following Spring. Tickets for the event sold out in rapid fashion, earning about $85 million. Shockingly, Jackson died on June 25, just three weeks prior to the start date for the concerts. His death shook the planet and resulted in global tributes and appraisals of his legendary career and complicated legacy. Of course, it shook me to my core as did his widely telecast memorial service on July 7 in L.A. From there, the media attention continued relentlessly, especially with regard to Jackson's doctor, who administered the deadly drug that killed him. On August 29, many of Jackson's fans across the world held celebrations to honor his would-be 51st birthday. I personally donned a few of his trademark accouterments, played his music videos and songs and had a cake made with his name on it. I also sang happy birthday to him and had several emotional moments that day. Five days later, he was finally buried a full 70 days after his death and I proclaimed he'd "never be buried to me." A hastily pieced together "new" song of his was released on October 12 using decades old vocals, but I felt that it was bland and not at all something he would've put out himself. Two weeks later on October 28, his final artistic work was released to movie theaters all over the world. That work, a pseudo documentary musical film entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It was an assembly of Jackson's private rehearsals for his never-to-be concert tours. I was blown away at his highly detailed creative process, and the film itself garnered massive critical acclaim. It eventually earned more than $250 million worldwide and broke many box office records. In November, Michael was honored posthumously with four American Music Awards, which I felt was "an appreciation too late." Last week, many FBI files were released revealing the agencies' 13-year investigation of the megastar. As it turned out, nothing was ever found that would substantiate allegations of child sex abuse at his hands. In other words, he was essentially cleared of any wrongdoing. AGAIN. One sinister thing did crop up in the FBI report; some nutjob threatened to kill Michael and then-President Bush in 1992. The would-be assassin was trying to get Michael's sister Janet (whom he was obsessed with) to notice him, but was soon sent to prison.
2. Barack Obama Sworn In As 44th U.S. President, January 20: It was a truly transcendent moment in American history and felt like it as it unfolded. Obama greatly impressed me throughout his awesome campaign in 2008, so I was glued to the television when he was set to be inaugurated. With grace, class and endless intelligence, Obama made me proud to be an American. This was an amazing day from start to finish, and what a treat it was watching Obama and wife Michelle attend 10 different inaugural balls that night together and share a ceremonial dance at each one without the tired, stiff and bland monotony of past presidential couples.
3. Tiger Woods Sex Scandal, November-December: When someone is the most accomplished, transformative, iconic and wealthy figure in the history of their profession, it is only fitting that that person's private life would be of great national interest. That is why the stupefying fall from grace of Tiger Woods has been so riveting and garnered the relentless media attention that it has. Yes, I have been amazed at the number of mistresses that Woods has apparently been having sex with. But I have also come to the man's defense. Just because he is an ingenious golf legend worth hundreds of millions of dollars, doesn't mean he is immune from normal human behavior and insusceptible from making common mistakes. In any event though, this story will always be a colossal attention grabber.
4. Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame Speech, September 11: Jordan is the most iconic and well known brand in the history of basketball. He is also widely considered to be the greatest hoopster in league history which would seem to place a ton of pressure on the man to be humble. Judging from his Hall of Fame induction speech, he is a man who feels no need for humility. During MJ's speech, he recapped the past 30 years of his life, half of them spent as an NBA deity. He spoke of searing rivalries he's had with people since his high school years, both in his mind and outwardly. It was his insistence to prove his doubters wrong that birthed his legendary drive and work ethic. The way he seemed to gloat at his endless parade of triumphs at the expense of many ended up alienating many people that heard his vitriolic lecture. They wondered why a man as revered as Jordan was apparently so petty and punitive, even after he'd won basically everything possible in basketball. They wondered why the man is still holding grudges that are decades old. They rolled their eyes at his arrogance and elitist attitude and castigated him for not being more like fellow inductees John Stockton, David Robinson and coach Jerry Sloan. In other words, full of bland and humble effusion. What those critics never seemed to understand and apparently never will is obvious. Michael Jordan became and remained as great, accomplished and iconic as he was and is solely because of his uncompromised mentality. Period. If anyone has a problem with that, then they should really have a problem with people who never fulfill their promise or potential.
5. Kanye West Disrespects Taylor Swift, September 13: For all of West's prodigious talents as a record producer and recording artist, he has chosen to display a severe lack of tact, grace and humility quite often throughout his short but illustrious career. He took those deficiencies to another low level at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 13. As young country sensation Taylor Swift began her acceptance speech after winning an award, West stormed the stage and soiled her moment with a selfish rant about how he felt that fellow nominee Beyonce Knowles should have won instead of Swift. The unbelievable moment was met with immediate shock and booing and earned West an ejection from the building. In the days that followed, West's deplorable behavior ignited a national backlash against him and continues to be lampooned on television and radio. For me, it was classless, tasteless and should never happen between artists, especially when they all understand the artistic investment that they all make in creating their craft.
6. David Letterman Extortion Scandal Breaks, October 1: When Letterman used a pre-emptive strike to reveal a growing extortion attempt against him, America was stunned. What I admired so much about his disclosure was the way he encased it in heavy self-deprecation. Not to mention the fact that he blamed no one but himself for his ill-advised dalliances with female staffers on his venerable late night talk show. Letterman's accountability and contrition were amazing and refreshing, regardless of why they existed, but one other thing impressed me as well. The man never stopped telling jokes (while noting the similarities) about other high-profile men in similar situations as his. It is always awesome to be able to laugh and poke fun at yourself.
7. Chris Brown/Rihanna Domestic Abuse Story, February-December: I always marvel at the hypocrisy of people when it comes to almost any and everything. So when many people in the general public condemned singer Chris Brown for bruising up then-girlfriend and fellow singer Rihanna's face, I wasn't the least bit surprised. Of course, I'm not saying that it was okay or justified for Brown to hit her. I am really saying two things actually. One; no one except those two people know exactly what the exact circumstances of that incident was, so none of us should ever pretend to understand why things happened the way they did. Secondly, none of us are even remotely perfect and have certainly done ill-advised things ourselves. I'll bet anything that many of the same police officers that arrest and imprison domestic abusers are unconvicted and possibly undetected abusers themselves. It sickened me to hear people paint Rihanna as a beautiful and victimized angel when none of us know what she's like as a girlfriend. Suppose Rihanna, in the privacy of Brown's vehicle told him that she'd known that she was HIV-positive long before they became sexually involved. Is that not something that, in the heat of the moment could trigger an infuriated person to lose control? What if she had been pregnant with his child and he saw her snorting cocaine or smoking crack, he yells at her to stop for the sake of the unborn child, but she scoffs and refuses. Is that not a reason to lose control and wail on her? Now, neither of those things probably happened but the point is simple. Never judge a situation or circumstance until having knowledge of all the details. And never pretend that we aren't as imperfect as those whom we criticize.
8. The Sarah Palin/Levi Johnston Sideshow, January-December: When Sen. John McCain lost the 2008 election to Barack Obama, I thought America had seen the last of these two "characters" for at least a couple years or so. Boy was I wrong. From the outset of '09, we were besieged with reports of Palin's unwed-with-child daughter Bristol. Then we had to hear about Bristol's now ex-boyfriend Levi becoming a shameless media whore and peddling salacious stories about the Palins to every media outlet that he could find. Then there was Palin's overexposed mini-feud with David Letterman over a "tasteless" joke he told about one of her underage daughters. There was Levi posing in army fatigues armed with a rifle. There was Palin walking away from her job as Alaska's governor 18 months early. There was Johnston being offered to pose nude in Playgirl magazine. There was the Palin book and accompanying book tour. There was Levi getting a Hollywood makeover and doing pointless and contrived commercials. Then Palin's "legendary" sit-down with Oprah Winfrey! Enough of these desperate losers. Stay far away from our pop culture in 2010! 
9. Roman Polanski Captured, September 26: That filmmaker Roman Polanski was able to successfully avoid being arrested for 32 years on statutory rape charges is nothing short of a major miracle. The elusive auteur finally saw his legendary luck run out when Swiss law enforcement arrested him September 26 in conjunction with his infamous 1977 sex crime against a then-13-year old girl. While many in the media felt that Polanski, now aged 76 should still be forced to pay for his ancient crimes, I felt as though it was a done and over with story. Polanski's victim, now aged 45 has constantly asked the courts to basically act like it never happened and her wishes should hold some weight. The man has lived in a self-imposed exile for decades and has had to look over his shoulder at every turn. Not to mention the fact that he supposedly paid a financial sum to the victim (although that has been debated). All in all, this stunning tale has held my attention for years, but it is time to let it and Polanski go. Nothing can be gained or accomplished at this point.
10. Bruno Defaces Eminem, May 31: This was an event that upset me greatly when it happened. Whack job actor Sacha Baron Cohen made his entrance into the MTV Movie Awards clad in a slinky, flamboyant and winged costume and suspended high above the crowd by wires and pulleys affixed to the ceiling. As he babbled a series of ridiculous lines, he was lowered into the transfixed audience and ultimately landed bare-bottomed on hip-hop megastar Eminem. Making matters worse, Baron Cohen's bare backside ended up only a few inches from Eminem's face which caused the incensed icon to unload a series of expletives at the androgynous freak. Em, famously labeled homophobic for nearly a decade, demanded his coterie of rap artists to "get this motherf***er off [him]." Once the moron was pushed away, Eminem stormed angrily toward the building's exit with his crew following while the celebrity studded crowd sat in jaw-dropping astonishment. In the coming days, it was reported to have been a staged and flawlessly executed stunt with Eminem himself in on the "joke."