These 5 celebs are having a tough August.
5. Kodak Black because he's being sued for $10.6M
Two men are suing Kodak Black, alleging that they were shot alongside him during Justin Bieber’s Super Bowl after-party in 2022. They’re seeking a $10.6 million default judgment, but the rapper’s attorney says it’s nothing more than a shameless money grab.
Kodak’s lawyer, Bradford Cohen, told TMZ, “We are not paying them a thing — it’s us who are the victim of a legal assault by these two people.” Cohen stressed that Kodak was never properly served by the accusers and that they only learned about the lawsuit yesterday when a media outlet reached out.
The incident, Cohen says, was like a “cartoonish shootout,” only with real consequences. Fortunately, no casualties occurred, but Kodak Black, Mark Schaefer, and Adam Rahman were all shot outside The Nice Guy nightclub in Hollywood after Super Bowl LVI ended and the streets filled with crowds. Schaefer and Rahman filed their lawsuit in 2023, blaming Kodak for the shooting, but his lawyers are calling the claim complete nonsense.
“They allege Kodak initiated the altercation that led to the shooting? There’s video evidence showing Kodak running toward the scene of a fight to help people getting beaten up when the gunfire starts,” Cohen said. “Kodak gets shot, and now they’re suing the man who got shot? I don’t understand the lawsuit.”
Photos and videos from the night show Kodak posing outside the club with Gunna, who then gets into a vehicle where Chloe Bailey is waiting in the backseat. Moments later, Kodak appears to notice a commotion on the sidewalk and rushes over to intervene.
The scuffle escalates into a larger fight before multiple gunshots ring out, and Kodak can be seen stumbling away from the crowd. Whether the case gets thrown out remains to be seen, but if Kodak is right, getting shot and then having to pay $10 million would be a brutal twist.
4. Kelly Clarkson because her ex-husband has passed away.
Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson’s ex-husband and former manager, has passed away. He battled cancer for more than three years and died peacefully, surrounded by family. His loved ones are asking for privacy as they grieve his loss.
Blackstock had been fighting melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. Clarkson postponed her Las Vegas residency due to her ex-husband’s health issues and her desire to be with their children during this time. Rumors persisted that she planned to leave The Kelly Clarkson Show because of her numerous absences, but these were all linked to Blackstock’s illness.
Everyone on staff was aware of the situation but kept it to themselves out of respect for Kelly and Brandon’s privacy. Blackstock and Clarkson first met at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006 but didn’t start dating until 2012. They married in 2013, had two children together, and Blackstock even encouraged Clarkson to host her own talk show.
Kelly filed for divorce in 2020, and it was finalized in March 2022. Blackstock began his career with Starstruck Entertainment, his father’s company, and went on to manage major acts like Blake Shelton and Rascal Flatts. He was 48 at the time of his passing. Our condolences go out to his family and loved ones.
3. Brooke Hogan because she's unloading on the family drama.
Brooke sent a message to members of Hulk Hogan’s team, essentially warning that if they keep spreading lies, they should be prepared to lawyer up. She appeared on TMZ Live to explain why she skipped her dad’s funeral, why they became estranged, why she wanted out of the will, and why the past few weeks have been especially hard on her.
Brooke says people in her father’s circle are pushing negative narratives about her. While she finds some of the lies laughable, she admits they’ve also made her angry. She points to rumors that she ghosted him in Jacksonville, returned unopened gifts, and skipped the funeral, claims she believes are being spread by people who relied on Hulk for a paycheck and are now worried that their “meal ticket” is gone, and fearful of what she calls “the reign of Brooke.”
Brooke says that she and her father loved each other, and that he confided in her before marrying Sky Daily, but she doesn’t trust many of the people who surrounded him. She says she just wants to spend time with her children and remember her father, but she hasn’t eaten or slept in weeks and feels like a nervous wreck because of the false stories circulating about her.
She adds that the reason she wanted out of the will was to avoid what she felt would be inevitable family infighting over money. But despite her efforts to sidestep it, she says the fight has found her anyway. In the end, Brooke says she just wants to be left alone, and for her father’s memory to be put to rest.
2. Jacob Elordi and Olivia Jade Giannulli because they have broken up.
The actor and model have broken up after four years together, according to People, which cites an anonymous source. The couple had an on-again, off-again relationship, first dating in the fall of 2021 before reportedly calling it quits in the summer of 2022. They officially reconciled the following summer.
Earlier this week, Elordi was spotted attending Cara Delevingne’s birthday party without Olivia Jade. Notably, his ex, Kaia Gerber, was also at the party. Last year, Elordi and Olivia took a European vacation with her family and appeared to be going strong. There had been no public signs that the relationship was on the rocks.
1. Armie Hammer because he said he loved 'marijuana roofie-ing' people.
Armie Hammer’s rape allegations haven’t encouraged him to develop a filter, as the actor recently made a controversial joke about how much he enjoys “roofie”-ing people through excessive marijuana use. He made the remark on the latest episode of the Armie HammerTime podcast, telling his former assistant, Ashton Ramsey, that he used to love smoking cannabis back in the day.
He joked that he liked to “poison” people with marijuana, getting them so high that rational thought began to break down. As Hammer put it, he wanted to get people so high they “can’t find their feet.” That’s when he dropped the “marijuana roofie-ing” line a comment many felt went too far, given the serious allegations that have been made against him.
Hammer was accused of sexual assault by a woman named Effie Angelova, who also claimed he had fantasies involving cannibalism. Hammer denied the allegations but admitted he had spoken about cannibalism as a kink and once branded a lover with a knife.
Since the accusations, Hammer has been effectively excommunicated from Hollywood. The scandal also cost him his marriage to Elizabeth Chambers, the two separated in 2020 and finalized their divorce in 2023.