As always.
- The Death of Anna Nicole Smith/February 8, 2007: I had been an Anna Nicole fan in one form or another for years. First in the 1990's, I admired her beauty and delicious curves. Then in 2002, her preposterously irrelevant E! television series tickled my fancy. But when she stunningly died at just 39 years of age, still blonde and beautiful, I was baffled. She had become increasingly strange and loopy in the last few years of her life, but she never seemed to be at risk of dying. The wall-to-wall media coverage of her mysterious death was both surprising given the fact that she wasn't a legend, and expected given the fact that the details of her final months and death had a tabloid salaciousness to them.
- Aaliyah Dies In Bahamas Plane Crash/August 25, 2001: I fell in love with her singing voice as soon as I heard her 1994 hit "At Your Best" on the radio. And by the summer of 2001, singer Aaliyah seemed to be rapidly ascending towards her "best" work. She was so talented, so seemingly sweet and stunningly beautiful that her shocking and tragic demise at just 22 years old seemed unfair and cruel on those reasons alone. The news was beyond comprehension, and the music video that she was in the Bahamas to film that fateful weekend ended up being one sad and final reminder of what we lost.
- O.J. Simpson Found Guilty/October 3, 2008: I was so emotionally invested in Simpson's historic 1994-95 murder trial that even when the fascination faded, he still was able to catch my attention. O.J.'s epic arrogance and idiocy reached a new low in 2007. That's when he masterminded an armed robbery and kidnapping plot to retrieve, by force, many of his belongings stripped of him by the courts to help satisfy the infamous civil judgments against him. This reckless event eventually led to his arrest and another criminal trial. After the way he shockingly evaded prison in 1995 on double murder charges, one would think that O.J. would've lived like a saint for the rest of his life. It never happened. On the 13th anniversary of his legendary acquittal, O.J. was sentenced to prison for between nine and 33 years. I was once again hoping for the man to beat the charges, but his luck finally ran out.
- Janet Jackson Super Bowl Debacle/February 1, 2004: Just two weeks after her iconic brother Michael was arraigned on charges of child molestation, Janet stole his negative media press. Performing with singer Justin Timberlake during a Super Bowl halftime show, Jackson crooned and sauntered her way back and forth across the stage as she and Timberlake sang. Towards the end of "Rock Your Body," Timberlake snatched away part of her shirt which was allegedly supposed to reveal something other than what it did. As it were, Jackson's right breast was briefly exposed on national television which set off a firestorm of controversy. Janet was investigated. The FCC handed down heavy fines and censorship hasn't been the same since. Inescapable was the noticeable difference in public sentiment towards Timberlake as opposed to Jackson.
- Kobe Bryant Charged With Rape/June 30, 2003: It seems silly now, but it was a major shock in the summer of '03 that a star pro athlete with a squeaky clean reputation could commit a major misstep. Such was the case with Bryant, who at the time was viewed as a wholesome and happily married young man and basketball superstar. When he had an ill-fated sexual encounter with a Colorado hotel clerk, his image soon absorbed a catastrophic blow. Days later, the woman went to the media and claimed that Bryant raped her. Within weeks, the Lakers star was forced to publicly admit that he committed adultery, but he maintained that the sex was totally consensual. Court proceedings ensued, but Bryant ultimately escaped with his freedom. Nowadays, the dark episode is little more than a blip on his still ascending legacy.
