Christmas is usually a time of celebration and joy, but that hasn’t stopped the occasional celebrity from finding themselves at the centre of a festive scandal. For some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, their Christmas turned into a nightmare, one that was made even worse by playing out for the world to see.
While most people spend the holidays eating, drinking, and enjoying time with loved ones, others were serving divorce papers or being exposed for cheating. These festive periods were marked by anything but joy, replaced instead with chaos and heartbreak. For these celebrities, Christmas brought memories and headlines they’d probably rather forget.
Royal ‘racist’ row
Attending the Queen’s Christmas luncheon wearing an alleged racist pin is not a good look for anyone – that’s why Princess Michael of Kent hit headlines in 2017 for all the wrong reasons. The gathering, held at Buckingham Palace, was attended by the 80-year-old and 50 other members of the Royal Family, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Princess Michael of Kent – the wife of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin, Prince Michael of Kent – had the brooch pinned to her coat when she arrived at the palace with her husband.
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A very unfaithful Christmas
A car crash, the revelation of multiple affairs, public apologies, and a highly publicised divorce were probably not on Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren’s Christmas bingo card. But sadly, that’s exactly what they got around this time 16 years ago.
Just before Christmas in 2009, Nordegren, 45, chased Woods out of the house with a golf club after learning he’d been unfaithful. Despite abruptly leaving their $2.4 million mansion, which they shared with their two children, Woods didn’t make it further than the back yard.
(Image: Getty)
The professional golfer pulled out of the driveway, crushed some hedges, veered into a curb, hit a fire hydrant before smashing into a tree. The crash was the catalyst that exposed his infidelity to the world, with US Weekly publishing a damning report that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
In the days that followed, it became clear Woods was a serial cheater. His affair with nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel was exposed first, before numerous other women came forward with similar claims. The sportsman eventually entered a rehab facility for sex addiction and later admitted to having affairs with as many as 120 women during their six-year marriage.
(Image: Getty)
