Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2015

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Zendaya and the Fashion Police

Former Disney star Zendaya was the subject of some nasty red carpet criticism in February 2015. On the special Oscars edition of Fashion Police, panelist Giuliana Rancic joked that because of her dreadlocks, Zendaya probably smelled "like patchouli oil or weed." Zendaya did not take the diss sitting down, and wrote a long diatribe on just how problematic the words were, leading to a downward spiral in Rancic's career and a months-long hiatus for Fashion Police.

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Rachel Dolezal

Dolezal went from a local Washington state leader to scandalous national news in June 2015, following the release of shocking details about her race and backstory. The former NAACP chapter president was born to white parents, but presented herself as an African-American woman, and, to the frustration of many, continued to claim in interviews in light of the scandal that she identified as black.

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Scott Disick

One set of fateful photos turned the tides on Disick in July 2015. Images surfaced of the father of three getting too close to his ex-girlfriend Chloe Bartoli on a yacht. His girlfriend of nearly 10 years, Kourtney Kardashian, dumped him soon after, and he checked into rehab for a very quick stint by the request of his loved ones.

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Tom Brady and The Patriots

Gisele Bundchen's husband and his New England teammates faced heat in early 2015 after the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship and went on to win Super Bowl XLIX. It later came out that the team used purposefully deflated footballs in the game against the Colts and Brady himself was referenced in the report that came out of the NFL investigation, leading to a four-game suspension. 

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Donald Trump

The aspiring politician kicked off his 2016 presidential campaign on one seriously scandalous note in June 2015. Giving a speech in New York City, Trump said of Mexican immigrants, "They're sending people that have lots of problems... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists." The controversial speech led to major corporations from NBC to Univision and celebs from Jeb Bush to Ricky Martin to denounce the star and, in turn, boycott his Miss USA pageant.

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Josh Duggar

The 19 Kids and Counting star fell from grace in a huge way in May 2015. The eldest of the Duggar family, Josh was forced to comment after documents were made public detailing the reality star's history of molesting young women. The revelation prompted TLC to suspend 19 Kids and Counting and pull all reruns from rotation.

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Ariana Grande

Donutgate! The "Problem" singer got herself into quite the sticky situation in July 2015, when security footage from a bakery in California surfaced. The video showed Grande and a male pal surreptitiously licking donuts meant for customers and muttering "I hate America." She released multiple apologies after the fact and dodged criminal charges for the incident. 

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Brian Williams

The veteran journalist lost his credibility in a big way in February 2015. A story that Williams had long told about being shot at in a helicopter during the Iraq War began to get murky when a man on the scene at the time revealed that it was his helicopter, not Williams' that had been attacked. Other inconsistencies then came to light and the anchor was handed a six-month suspension by NBC. 

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Bill Cosby

Cosby's downfall continued with a vengeance well into 2015, following his earlier turn in favor in the fall of 2014. While much of the public already believed the accounts of the dozens of women who came forward with sexual assault allegations against the comedian, Cosby's defense of himself became even weaker in July 2015. At that time, the Associated Press released a report in which Cosby admits to giving Quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.