There were no shortage of celebrity moments that fired up the group text and sent everyone down a social media rabbit hole this year.
Whether it was a reality TV cheating scandal, the pages of a tell-all memoir, or a courtroom clash over a crash on a luxe ski mountain, there was plenty to choose from when picking out the biggest scandals and controversies of 2023.
Here's all the celebrity drama that lit up the internet this year.
'Scandoval'
It was a reality TV scandal with a snappy nickname that was so perfect, it crossed over into everyone's timelines, even if you weren't a "Vanderpump Rules" fan.
The controversy started when Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, two longtime stars from the Bravo reality show, confirmed in March that they broke up after nine years together. It soon came out that the breakup happened amid rumors that Sandoval cheated on Madix with co-star Raquel Leviss, who was friends with Madix on the show.
Not only was the affair confirmed, much of the aftermath played out in public on a "Vanderpump Rules" reunion special, Instagram and podcasts. Madix now says she has no interaction at all with Sandoval, while Leviss entered a mental health treatment center in April and later said she would no longer do reality television. Sandoval recently said he "fought so hard" for Leviss and was "fully in love with her," but she "shooed him away" when the scandal broke.
Which is all to say, we can't wait for season 11 on Jan. 30. "It's going to be weird," Madix told TODAY.com.
Gwyneth Paltrow's ski trial
Gwyneth Paltrow's appearance on the witness stand in a televised trial in March treated us to meme-worthy moments.
It was all related to her collision on the slopes with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, who sued the "Sliding Doors" star for $300,000 after he said she ran into him in 2016 while skiing at a Utah resort. Sanderson said the crash left him with broken ribs, a concussion and brain trauma.
On the stand, some of the questions Paltrow received were valid (she described the moment the two collided), while others were maybe not so much (like what Christmas gifts she sent to Taylor Swift).
Paltrow called the lawsuit “an attempt to exploit her celebrity and wealth," and said on the stand that the collision caused her to miss "half a day of skiing" with a sore knee. The jury ultimately found the actor and Goop founder not guilty and said Sanderson was at fault in the crash.
Bombshells in celebrity memoirs
This was a banner year for celebrities spilling buckets of tea in print, highlighted by three memoirs in particular.
Prince Harry gave an inside look at his life in the British royal family in his memoir, "Spare." The revelations included alleged drama between Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, over a bridesmaid dress, King Charles III not hugging him after Princess Diana's death, an explosive fight between Harry and Prince William, and Harry's drug use.
Britney Spears' memoir, "The Woman in Me," continues to top nonfiction best-seller lists with some eye-opening moments from the pop superstar's life. She reflects on having an abortion while with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, shaving her head in 2007 and facing restrictions on her finances and diet while being in a conservatorship administered by her father.
And Jada Pinkett Smith made plenty of headlines with her memoir, "Worthy," as well as a revealing series of interview with TODAY's Hoda Kotb. In her book, she opens up about the Oscars slap involving Chris Rock and husband Will Smith, her "entanglement" with singer August Alsina in the midst of her marriage, and how Rock once asked her on a date (in the beforetimes, obviously).
In her interview with Hoda, Smith shared that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016 but are not legally divorced. She also spoke about what people didn't see in the aftermath of the Oscars slap.
Priscilla Presley's dispute over daughter Lisa Marie Presley's will
A situation that could've gotten ugly among one of the most famous families in the world appeared to have an amicable resolution.
In February, Priscilla Presley made a court challenge of daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s will, which gave Priscilla's granddaughter, actor Riley Keough, control of Lisa Marie's estate. It came just weeks after Lisa Marie's death at 54 from cardiac arrest.
The family in-fighting led a friend of Lisa Marie's to call it "a money grab" by Priscilla, while the widow of Elvis Presley requested everyone to ignore "the noise" around the court filing.
Keough was officially named the sole trustee of Lisa Marie's estate in August after a monthslong legal dispute. Presley told The Hollywood Reporter that she and her granddaughter "are on good terms," while Keough defined her relationship with Presley as "happy" in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Lizzo was sued by her backup dancers for alleged harassment
Three former backup dancers for music superstar Lizzo filed a lawsuit against her in August alleging sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
One dancer alleged that Lizzo shamed her for gaining weight, while another claimed the singer made her touch the breasts of a nude woman onstage at a strip club. Lizzo called the accusations in the lawsuit "false" and "outrageous" in a statement.
In a filing in October, Lizzo's lawyers asked the court to throw out the dancers' claims, citing the SLAPP statute against frivolous lawsuits. The lawsuit has not reached a resolution.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson's 30-year prison sentence
It was a stunning fall for Danny Masterson when the former "That '70s Show" star was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September after being found guilty of raping two women.
Masterson, 47, was convicted in May on two counts of rape that occurred more than two decades ago at his home in Hollywood Hills, California. Masterson did not make any statement at his sentencing, while the two women he was convicted of raping urged the judge to issue a harsh punishment. Masterson's attorney said he planned to appeal the conviction.
His former "That '70s Show" costars Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis also faced blowback for calling Masterson "a role model" in letters to the court prior to his sentencing.
Sean "Diddy" Combs settled a lawsuit with his ex and was accused of abusive behavior by multiple women
In a federal lawsuit filed in New York City in November, the rapper and music executive was accused by the singer Cassie, his ex-girlfriend, of rape, physical and sexual abuse, and coercing her into drug use during their 11-year relationship. Combs, who goes by "Diddy," denied the allegations.
A day after the lawsuit was filed, the two announced they had reached a settlement.
“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” the singer, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, said in a statement.
In the aftermath of the settlement, Combs has since had three other lawsuits filed against him by women alleging sexual assault. The second lawsuit was filed in November in New York Supreme Court by Joie Dickerson-Neal, who alleged Combs sexually assaulted her in 1991 when she was a student at Syracuse University.
A third lawsuit was filed in November in New York by Liza Gardner, who accused Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall of assaulting her and a friend at Hall’s apartment in the early ‘90s.
A fourth lawsuit was filed on Dec. 6 in New York by an unidentified woman accusing Combs and two others of sex trafficking and gang rape in 2003, when she was 17 years old.
Combs released a statement on Dec. 6 denying the each of the "sickening allegations" against him, saying "enough is enough."