Image via Complex Original
Complex Media doesn't employ any certified meteorologists, but from the chill in the morning air, and the fact that September is a day away, we're of the mind that summer is a wrap. And what a summer it has been. The London Olympics captivated the entire world as we watched Gabby Douglas make a name for herself, Michael Phelps become the best Olympian of all time, and Usain Bolt become the fastest human to ever walk the Earth. On the music front, we saw Nas come back to form with an outstanding album, Rick Ross sell more records than he ever has, and G.O.O.D Music drop the best song of the summer. Then there was The Dark Knight Rises, the movie that was so good, people saw the three-hour flick thrice.
But with the good comes the bad. As New York City community advocate Tony Herbert said, this season was "The Summer of Guns." From the shooting in Aurora, CO, to the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, this summer had no shortage of gun violence. Which is interesting because as we enter the third day of the Republican National Convention, we haven't heard any politicians speak on gun control. And we're not expecting any to mention it next week at the Democratic National Convention, either. So it goes.
No matter what happened, however, it was discussed on Twitter. And as is always the case with Twitter, the comments and conversations sometimes got a little out of hand. And by a little we mean a lot. From insensitive jokes about national tragedies to claims that certain musical geniuses weren't actually responsible for their crafts, we've seen a boat load of craziness spewed out in 140-character blurbs. As we wave hello fall, check out the most controversial tweets of the summer.
50. Lolo Jones “Gun Shooting” Tweet
Date: July 28
Tweeter: @lolojones
Tweet: USA Men's Archery lost the gold medal to Italy but that's ok, we are Americans...When's da Gun shooting competition?
If she wasn’t catching shade from her Olympic running mates, Lolo Jones was finding other ways to draw serious heat. The media blew her “gun shooting” tweet out of proportion, which lead to an onslaught of negative press and criticism from numerous Twitter users. Man, they hated on her before she even hit the track.
49. Rap Fan Booted From Concert For Tweeting
Date: July 18Tweeter: @AdmiralMikey
Tweet: “Dear nerd rapper opening for Powerglove/MC Chris. You're not good enough to pander to me. Better luck next time."
Concertgoer Mike Taylor (@AdmiralMikey) got brave and dissed the opening act at a show via Twitter. Headliner MC Chris caught wind of it on his Twitter feed, hit the stage and asked for Taylor, then had security escort him out. According to Taylor, the rapper yelled: "Security is going to take you the fuck out now! That's what you get for talking shit on Twitter!" Moral of the story: Don’t shit on the opening act on Twitter. What happened to free speech?
48. Wrestler Calls Out WWE for Lack of Pay
Date: August 6
Tweeter: @Jtg1284
Tweet: "The camels back just BROKE ! I had enought of this ... As a pro athlete,Im tired of me and my lockerroom brothers being taken advantage of . Fans have no idea what we go through.#itsanillusion ... Yea I said it ... Nobody wants to speak up, everybodys afraid of losing their job or getting taken off TV."
During an episode of Monday Night Raw, wrestler Jayson Anthony Paul, better known as JTG, hopped on Twitter and vented. While the motive of his rant was unclear, it later came out that 27-year-old professional wrestler was referring to the WWE paying mid-level stars less than they expected after the extremely successful WreslteMania XXVII. According to Cagesideseats.com, wrestlers that appear in WWW pay-per-view events are guaranteed a hefty bonus—especially if the event is a hit. JTG felt that due to the success of April’s WrestleMania, he and his fellow athletes should have gotten a bigger payday. Power to the people?
47. Blake Shelton Threatens to Kill Turtle
Date: July 25
Tweeter: @blackshelton
Tweet: “Does anyone know if the Eastern Box turtle is protected in Oklahoma? If so I didn’t just swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash one…”
If country singer Black Shelton's decision to go host American Idol Americas Got Talent Duets 106th & Park The Voice didn't cost him a good number of fans, his off-color remarks about killing a turtle may certainly have. The post was retweeted 630 times and consisted mostly of people going in on him for his lackadaisical attitude towards animal abuse. After it was clear no one got the joke, Shelton apologized, saying "...I want to apologize for my ignorant joke... I never ran over a turtle. It wasn't even possible."
46. Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand Tweets Racial Slur About Chelsea's Ashley Cole
Date: August 17
Tweeter: @rioferdy5
Tweet: "I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic! hahahahahahha!"
After Ashley Cole gave his testimony in the criminal trial of Chelsea captain John Terry who was accused of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand, a Twitter user tweeted: "Looks like Ashley Cole's going to be their choc ice." Now, we have no clue what the hell "choc ice" is supposed to mean. In the U.K., it's understood to be analogous to an "Oreo," a black person who acts white. After reading the tweet Ferdinand's brother, Rio, replied with the above text.
45. Spanish Olympic Athletes Hate Their Russian-Made Uniforms
Date: July 27
Tweeter: @CharlyMoya
Tweet: "It’s so frustrating that we had to pay an extra 2,000 [Egyptian] pounds to have other proper stuff to wear so that we can look OK, not even good."
Uniforms were quite the stir at the 2012 Olympic games. There was the big hoopla with Egyptian athletes getting fake Nike wares, and then there the U.S. politicians that complained about the the fact that the kits Americans were set to wear during the games were all made in China. Spain joined the fray early on when its athletes received the uniforms they were meant to wear during the Game's ceremonies. Many Spanish athletes went on Twitter to voice their displeasure at having to wear such an eye sore. Canoeist Saul Craviotto managed to hold his tongue only saying "Best I don't comment, I will leave it up to you," while Spanish tennis player Carlos Moya posted a tweet that called the uniforms "ugly." So, why did Spain have such hideous uniforms? Simple: They were free. Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco defended the decision by stating that Russian sporstwear company Bosco was making them for free, saving the country 1.7 million Euros.
44. Chad Ochocinco Johnson Hacks Ex-Wife's Twitter Page
Date: July 1
Tweeter: @ochocinco hacked @Evelyn Lozada
Tweet: "Any dudes want to send there [sic] last DM's to Evelyn before she gets married? I promise to relay the message..."; "While I'm on Evelyn twitter, why do y'all (woman) urinate and use half a roll of tissue to pat pat such a small area?"; "As men and I speak on behalf of all of them WE hate performing oral activities and coming to clean tissue that's been left behind..."
Seeing as how Chad Johnson lost his wife, job, and condo all in the span of a week, we'll take it easy on the wife-beating wide receiver and just say, this stunt should have served as a fair warning to Evelyn that the man who legally changed his last name to Ochocinco was fucking crazy.
43. A Belieber Calls Star the Reincarnation of Kurt Cobain
Date: June 13
Tweeter: @MandaSwaggie
Tweet: “Kurt Cobain (some rock singer) died in 1994, the same year Justin Bieber was born. RT if you think Bieber is Kurt reincarnated”
A Justin Bieber stan dubbed “Amanda Bieber” took her obsession to another level after linking the pop singer with the late, great Kurt Cobain. She then followed that by asking fans to retweet one of the most blasphemous claims ever: “RT if you think Bieber is Kurt reincarnated.” To no surprise, Amanda became a victim of cyberbulling and took brutal jabs from thousands of Twitter users. Her response: "Justin Bieber is much bigger than Kurt Cobain, so shut up. Did Kurt Cobain ever have the biggest fan base on Twitter? NO.” Well…
42. Filipino Baller Accuses PBA of Fixing Games
Date: July 3
Tweeter: @alotofDON
Tweet: “I’m the guy that says what others can’t. #PBA games are fixed. They control who is in & who is out. It’s a disgrace to be in this league.”
For a moment, Barko Bull Energy player Don Allado took pride in doing what no one else in the league would: Call out the Philippine Basketball Association for fixing games. He humbled himself super quick, however, apologizing to the commissioner and the entire league. His Twitter rant stemmed from a loss against the Powerade Tigers that knocked his team out of the playoffs, blaming the defeat on crooked refs: "I can accept losing to teams. But I can't accept losing bcoz of referees.” Wonder what changed his mind.
41. Former 16 and Pregnant Star Blasts Abortion
Date: July 7
Tweeter: @nikkoleMTV
Tweet: "Don't broadcast having an abortion on national television & expect not to get crap for it. You're not brave in my eyes. #sorrynotsorry"
If you're one of the pregnant teenagers on MTV's hit reality show 16 and Pregnant you should know that no one really cares to hear your advice on birth control. Someone should have told Nikkole Paulun. After watching a teenager discuss getting an abortion on national TV, the former reality star took to Twitter to voice her disapproval. To be fair, as someone who undoubtedly has gotten her fair share of criticism for the decisions she's made in life, we see her point. But by the same token, she shouldn't have been surprised that people found her comments in bad taste when she blasted it out to her 44,000+ followers.
40. Rob Lowe #Trappedinahellhole
Date: June 12
Tweeter: @RobLowe
Tweet: “The local affiliate is interrupting the 4th quarter of the #NBAFinals to show city council election results!!! #TrappedInAHellHole”
The Brat Pack celeb had hopes of watching the NBA Finals at a bar in Winnipeg, until the station interrupted coverage to report on municipal elections. That pushed Lowe to vent his frustrations on Twitter and trash the city by ending his tweet with the hashtag "#Trappedinahellhole". Winnipegers bombarded his page with responses and told him to take a hike. Blame it on Canada.
39. Azealia Banks vs. Jim Jones
Date: August 6
Tweeter: @AZEALIABANKS
Tweet: "VAMP: a sexually/financially powerful woman who is usually characterized by a penchant for dark things; nighttime, witchcraft, ..Etc."; "@jimjonescapo don't be tryna take no credit Holmes."; "@jimjonescapo UUUUUGGGGGGHHHH SHHHUTT UP!!! Who was even taking [sic] to you in the first place?!"; "@jimjonescapo like seriously... Stop being such a Harlem nigga right now."
Another day, another Azealia Banks beef. This one involved Dipset Capo, Jim Jones. When Banks took to Twitter to define the word "vamp" for her fans, someone thought it wise to let her know that everyone already knew what the word meant because Jim Jones already used the word in his songs. A back in forth between the rappers ensued with Banks telling Jones to stop acting like a "Harlem nigga" and Jones calling Banks a "2 bit slore."
38. Marlon Wayans Trashes Kentucky Town
Date: June 11
Tweeter: @MARLONWAYANS
Tweet: "I love that there's a Whole Foods right next to my hotel in bum fuck Lexington Kentucky. This way I can get organic gluten free racism anytime."
Before entering a Whole Foods in Lexington, KY, Marlon Wayans left a remark on his Twitter page that had some laughing and others repulsed. Those who weren’t attending him and brother Shawn’s performance at Comedy Off Broadway felt the comedian’s gaffe would ruin the town’s rep. Then there’s that whole “racism” innuendo.
37. Kris Humphries Gets Back at Kanye
Date: July 17
Tweeter: @KrisHumphries
Tweet: "I'm up at Brooklyn! @S_C_ 'lucky I didn't have Jay drop me from the team' lol!"
After a year of being a public punching bag due to his incredibly short marriage to Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries was finally able to turn the tables around when news broke that he would remain on the Brooklyn Nets. When him and Kim split, Kanye stepped in as her new man and released a song wherein he spoke about his long-held crush on the reality TV star and threw shade towards Humphries saying, "Lucky I ain't have Jay drop him from the team." Being that the Nets failed to lure Dwight Howard, and Humphries was the best rebounder on the relocated squad, it wasn't much of surprised when, despite Ye's threats, he remained on the team. Hey, even a garbage can gets a steak.
36. Bow Wow's Twitter Account Gets Hacked, Held for Ransom, and Vandalized with Compromising Photo
Date: August 21
Tweeter: @bowwow
Tweet: Photo; "N---- i got Bow twitter on smash follow me... Im the haaacker this n---- got BITCHES in his DM's. Bow u want pg back i want 10k."; "People hate too much for me just dissing my mixtape. I'm 19 trying my hardest. I will tweet until I'm heard..."
Struggle rappers are going to new heights to get put on. This time around, a teenage MC from Indiana thought it would be a good idea to hijack Bow Wow's Twitter account and hold it ransom for $10,000. While in his command, the rapper posted threats, reasoning for the hacking, and a photo of two men, one of which the hacker said was Bow Wow, sleeping on top of each other. It later came out that the photo was not of Bow Wow and the account was deactivated. Struggle rappers, take not: That is not the way.
35. Fired WWE Employee Attacks Linda McMahon's Campaign
Date: August 10
Tweeter: @AWPromotions
Tweet: “@linda_mcmahon : Creates jobs my ass!! I'm fired thanks to you and your campaign.”
Making a Kobe Bryant rape joke on a PG-rated wrestling show while Vince McMahon’s wife is running for senate is what we call a massive fail. Former WWE wrestler Abraham Washington did just that. He made matters worse by then tweeting in support of Linda McMahon’s campaign, which led to his termination. However, Washington still had access to his WWE Twitter handle and used it to bury the boss’ wife, as well as single out the CEO for his hypocritical moves throughout the years.
34. Kanye Tweets About His and Kim's Private Time
Date: August 24
Tweeter: @kanyewest
Tweet: "I just fucked Kim so hard"
Sorry, Nas, we know your life is good, but Kanye's may be bit better. Last week, Twitter was ablaze when an image of this tweet which alleged that Mr. West just put it on the current love of his life, Kim Kardashian. The tweet, which later came out to be a fake, was later deleted, but not before it was retweeted over 7,000 times and favorited nearly 40,000 times. We're not sure why anyone would want to Favorite a tweet like that, but hey, whatever makes people happy.
33. London Rapper Offends With Nas Quote
Date: July 28
Tweeter: @professorgreen
Tweet: “I’m over they heads like a bulimic on a sea-saw.”
One can never go wrong quoting Nasty Nas. Well, except London’s Professor Green. The U.K. rapper set things off by tweeting a line from Nas’ “Queens Get The Money” and caught serious flack later on for calling bulimia an “intelligent” eating disorder. Seeing how the U.K. has a reported 1.6 million people who suffer from bulimia, controversy was bound to stir. Green defended his tweet saying he often jokes about his issues with OCD and called his followers “hypocrites” for grilling him.
32. Egyptian Olympic Athlete Blows Whistle Fake Nike Uniforms
Date: July 25
Tweeter: @YomnaKhallaf
Tweet: "It’s so frustrating that we had to pay an extra 2,000 [Egyptian] pounds to have other proper stuff to wear so that we can look OK, not even good."
One of the biggest stories of the 2012 London Olympic Games was the sick Nike gear athletes were laced with. All of the company's athletes were rocking the latest and greatest the Oregon-based company had to offer. Well, almost. Egyptian athletes thought they were sponsored by Nike, but quickly discovered that the gear they were given was counterfeit. Synchronized swimmer Yomna Khallaf was one of the first to speak out about the fake goods when she went on Twitter and posted that she was given a bag that had a "big Nike logo in the front and the zippers are Adidas." When asked about the allegations, the Egyptian Olympic Committee said it had no idea the products were fake. Once news reached Nike, the company sent a letter to the EOC requesting the Committee to "take immediate action."
31. Azealia Banks vs. Nicki Minaj
Date: August 12
Tweeter: @AZEALIABANKS
Tweet: "Did you mean... "delusional?" ... Delirious was the wrong word. @NICKIMINAJ ..."
Azealia Banks is not very good at making friends in the rap game. After she turned down the opportunity to go on tour with Nicki Minaj to finish her debut album, the YMCMB artist tweeted "#ManTheseBitchesDelirious." Banks, thinking the tweets were directed at her, shot back at the superstar telling her that she needed to step her grammar game up an that she didn't believe in "'Rap game' hierarchy." First Kim, then Nicki. Someone put Foxy on notice.
30. Clay Aiken States Obvious, Gets Called Racist
Date: August 28
Tweeter: @clayaiken
Tweet: "Playing drinking game with my brother now. We drink every time we see a black person on screen at the RNC convention. #soberasamormon"
If you watched the first night of the Republic National Convention, you saw a lot of grandstanding, a lot of women in red dresses, and a lot of signs that read “We Built It.” One thing you didn’t see much of, however, was black people. We’re not trying to be flippant or funny. There were nearly less black people at the 2012 RNC than there were Tupacs at Coachella. Clay Aiken, the guy who came in second to Ruben Studdard on American Idol and went on to become one of the show's most successful stars, noticed as much and decided to make the above joke. As expected, GOP members and supporters smelled blood in the water and attacked. Fox News' Greg Gutfield even got in on the fun, saying "I drink every time you write a decent song. #sober."
29. 50 Cent's Jab at Autism
Date: July 3
Tweeter: @50Cent
Tweet: “i dont want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else.”
Curtis is no stranger to controversey, but some say he went too far when poking fun at special needs kids on his Twitter page. It all began when Twitter user @yung_raditz sent 50 the following tweet: “@50cent Release the album or get shot again”. 50 responded by saying, “yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic.” Obviously that didn’t earn the rapper brownie points with autism activists. Fifth apologized for the remarks.
28. Political Journalist Calls Mitt Romney A Dick
Date: June 21
Tweeter: @jdub321
Tweet: “Either Ann Romney meant Mitt is flaccid or that when we 'unzip him' we'll find he's a dick.”
Not one Democrat would dispute the declaration, but White House correspondent Joseph Williams should have known better. The Politico reporter went off on Twitter during a TV interview with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stressing the politician only feels comfortable around whites, deriding his personal wealth, and flat-out calling him a dick. If Williams had his eyes on a suspension: Mission Accomplished!
27. Olympian Channels Sexy Side With Bikini Shot, People Go Nuts
Date: July 27
Tweeter: @ItsStephRice
Tweet: Photo
Who would think a swimmer tweeting a photo of herself wearing a swimsuit would cause an uproar on Twitter? Australia’s own Stephanie Rice caught hell from her followers after posting the above Instagram pic on her Twitter page, branding the image inappropriate, especially in light of the country’s Facebook gun-photo controversy involving two male Olympic swimmers. Yeah, we don't know.
26. Asus Makes Ass of Itself With "Rear" Comment
Date: June 4
Tweeter: @Asus
Tweet: "The rear looks pretty nice. So does the new Transformer AIO.”
The tech world has already earned a bad rep for being a sexist industry. Asus did little to break the stigma by throwing kerosene onto the fire with its chauvinistic tweet. The company’s social media team thought it was cute to comment on its new Transformer AIO tablet and the booth babe’s shapely figure. Asus pledged it would never happen again. Not the best impression to leave at an IT trade show.
25. Kanye Tweets Alleged Naked Kim K Photo, Then Deletes It
Date: June 13
Tweeter: @kanyewest
Tweet: Photo
Yeezy’s made it clearer than Evian that he loves his “Perfect Bitch.” So when he tweeted this raunchy alleged photo of girlfriend Kim Kardashian, we all assumed Kanye was sharing his beauty with the world. But the voluptuous rear didn’t belong to Kim. The chick in the photo turned out to be porn star Amia Miley. Rumors had Kim threatening to leave Mr. West, but the power couple continues to ride on their haters.
24. MLB Gets Taken to Bat for Sexist Tweet
Date: August 28
Tweeter: @MLB
Tweet: "Yadier Molina was forced to exit after this devastating collision, but he held onto the ball because he's a man."
Baseball is not known as a contact sport, but if you ask St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, he may have a different opinion. Molina had to leave the Cardinals' game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August after Josh Harrison bulldozed him while attempting to score a base hit. Molina miraculously managed to hold onto the ball and protect home plate. The play was so amazing, Major League Baseball went on Twitter and applauded Molina. Some woman weren't too happy with what they perceived to be unabashed sexism. After a wave of criticism, MLB deleted the tweet.
23. Cher Pisses Off the Mormons with a Shot at Mitt Romney
Date: June 30
Tweeter: @cher
Tweet: "I Feel if he doesn't get all his DUCKS IN A ROW we'll b forced 2 listen 2Uncaring Richy Rich! The whitest man in MAGIC UNDERWEAR in the WH."
At the age of 66, it's apparent Cher is in the "fuck it" stage of life. Take a peek at her Twitter feed and you'll see a stream of unfiltered rhetoric that focuses on her career, people hitting her up for retweets, and politics. If you didn't know, the megastar is a Democrat, and doesn't care for Mitt Romney's plans for the country... or as a person. Before Cher sent the tweet about Romney rocking "magic underwear" (a reference to the "celestial underwear" Mormons wear insider their temples), she sent another scathing tweet a month earlier saying that if Romney won she wouldn't be able to "breathe the same air as Him & his Right Wing Racist Homophobic Women Hating Tea Bagger Masters." Damn, Cher. Tell 'em how you really feel.
22. Horny Sportswriter Gets Aroused Watching Olympics
Date: July 29
Tweeter: @JohnHendersonDP
Tweet: “That was fun. First time I’ve gotten horny covering the Olympics. Thank you!”
Denver Post sportswriter John Henderson was assigned Twitter duties during his London 2012 Olympics coverage and mismanaged personal tweets from a private convo he had with a woman—making it look like he was getting off on watching the games. But wait, it gets creepier. Henderson sent the tweet around the same time he wrote a story on teenage swimmers. “Somehow, someway, I sent a response to my general Twitter account and not to her directly,” he said.
21. Girls Creator Makes Insensitive Joke
Date: August 10
Tweeter: @lenadunham
Tweet: "I had a real goth/fundamentalist attitude when I woke up from my nap"
Lena Dunham, the creator of HBO's latest hit show, Girls, has been under the public microscope all year. Most of the time the hate sent her way was unwarranted, but in this instance it was well-deserved. Days after the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, writer/director/producer posted a photo of herself in a scarf that was wrapped around her head like a hijab and tweeted that she had a "goth/fundamentalist" attitude. After the Twitterverse exploded, Dunham apologized saying, "Been in production and completely not reading the news. Didn't realize what a bad time it was to make a joke like that. Not a good excuse you guys, but an excuse nonetheless. I'm glad you keep me informed and I'm deleting those tweets." A cringeworthy apology, but an apology nonetheless.
20. Rugby Player Takes Racist Shot At Olympic Champion
Date: August 11
Tweeter: @BCSharman
Tweet: “Good luck Mohammed running for Paki ... I mean Great Britain.”
Northampton Rugby player Brett Sharman tweeted a derogatory comment questioning the nationality of British Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah. The Rugby player immediately deleted the tweet and closed his account shortly after violating the team’s social media regulations. Neither served as his saving grace, as the Northampton Saints terminated his contract claiming the decision was solely based on Sharman’s knee injury. Right.
19. Nicki Minaj Tells U.K. Fans to #EatSh*tAndDie
Date: August 20
Tweeter: @NICKIMINAJ
Tweet(s): "I am so thankful to my true fans who understand WHY I couldn’t play#VFestival & WHY I can’t play Dublin. Absolutely gutted However, if u have anything negative to say to me, please#EatSh*tAndDie – I am human. I was in jeopardy of losing my voice entirely and needing surgery on my vocal chord. If u can’t understand that, your mother’s a WH*RE!!!! I will NOT let you people make me feel horrible for a f*cking HEALTH issue! That’s what got me in this mess! I shldve listened 2 the doctor! Like people are hitting me telling me I shldve mimed. No! Then you woulda made a f*cking STORY out of that too! #killyaf*ckingself My beloved United Kingdom, u know how much I fucking love u! Ireland, I truly appreciate you. Barbz, thnku for the well wishes. All you do is rip people apart and when they’re dead & gone u won’t lose a wink of sleep. #goF*ckYourselves"
Nicki, Nicki, Nicki. After her doctors ordered her to cancel her appearance at the V Festival as well as her shows in Dublin, her U.K. fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the platinum-selling star. In usual Minaj fashion, she got let Roman come out and get revenge by posting the above diatribe.
18. Playboy Model Makes Light of Aurora, CO. Shootings
Date: July 12
Tweeter: @HollywoodTricia
Tweet: "I heard the new Batman movie is really 'to die for'! Too soon?"
Uh, yeah. Less than a day after the horrific shooting that took place at an Aurora, CO. movie theater during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, Playboy model Tricia Evans let loose a joke that all but confirmed what everyone already thinks about blonde-haired pin-up girls. Before the Twitterverse had its way with Evans, Canadian producer Deamau5 tweeted back, good to know. @HollywoodTricia i seriously had no idea how big of a piece of shit you are. unfollowed. " The two engaged in a brief back-and-forth that had Evans telling Deadmau5 " Listen, apparently I have a different opinion than u. That doesn't make me a piece of shit." Deadmau5 shot back: "so your opinion of the tragedy in Colorado is... 'humor'? not sure how that's convoluted into an opinion." Game. Set. Match.
17. Steve Czaban Shows Little Sympathy for Andy Reid's Dead Son
Date: August 9
Tweeter: @czabe
Tweet: "Unqualified low level team assistant dies ingesting illegal drugs. 'Ladies and gentlemen, please boy your heads."
Before the Philadelphia Eagles kicked off against the Pittsburgh Steelers for its first preseason game, the players, staff, and everyone in attendance at Lincoln Financial Field was asked to observe a moment of silence for Garrett Reid. The eldest son of Eagles head coach Andy Reid, Garrett was found dead early that morning. Seeing as how he died of a drug overdose, Yahoo! Sports Radio host Steve Czaban didn't think Reid's son, who worked with the team's strength and conditioning coaches, was deserving of a public moment of silence. He went on to say that "Genuine personal sympathy for the Reid family is humane and deserved. A forced, public, moment of silence is wholly inappropriate." What do you think?
16. Rosanne Wishes Cancer on Chick-Fil-A Customers
Date: July 25
Tweeter: @TheRealRoseanne
Tweet: “anyone who eats Shit Fil-A deserves to get cancer that is sure to come from eating antibiotic filled tortured chickens 4Christ.”
Before her Comedy Central roast, Roseanne Barr joined the Chick-Fil-A rumpus and shared some deploring remarks directed towards the fast-food chain and its customers. Could it get any worse than that? You betcha. She then added the following: “off to grab a s*** fil-A sandwich on my way to worshipping Christ, supporting Aipac and war in Iran.” The backlash was overwhelming to say the least and Roseanne finally admitted she was wrong for using the term “deserves.”
15. Los Angeles Entertainment Reporter Takes Shots at Yung Berg
Date: July 12
Tweeter: @samontv
Tweet: "@therealyungberg: fake ass nigga"
Yeah, this really happened. And, no, we have no idea as to the story behind it. All we know is that on July 12, KTLA entertainment reporter, Sam Rubin sent a tweet to Yung Berg (remember him?) calling him a "fake ass nigga." That's it. End of story. Rubin claims he was hacked, but before the tweet was deleted, he tweeted out "OOPS....I will explain later. But, biggest boo boo of the year. For reals." Yung Berg just can't catch a break, can he? If he's not getting relieved of his jewelry, getting embarrassed by rappers and video models. he's getting called out by random journalists.
14. Samuel L Jackson Laments Hurricane Isaac Missing GOP Convention
Date: August 27
Tweeter: @SamuelLJackson
Tweet: "Unfair Shit: GOP spared by Issac [sic]! NOLA prolly Fucked Again! Not understanding God's plan."
First: If you don't follow Samuel L Jackson on Twitter, do yourself a favor and rectify that situation immediately. It's nothing but profane, off-the-cuff statements about whatever the fuck he wants to talk about. Case in point: When it was discovered that Hurricane Isaac was going to bypass Tampa Bay, FL where the GOP is holding its national convention, the world's highest grossing actor took to Twitter to voice his displeasure. Naturally, a lot of people were not pleased that Jackson wished death upon the Republican party.
13. Swiss Olympian Banned For Discriminative Tweet
Date: July 29
Tweeter: @morgastoss
Tweet: “I’d batter the Koreans, burn them all.” (Translation)
Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella was banned from playing in the 2012 London games for posting offensive tweets targeting South Koreans after the team’s 2-1 win. In short, he talked about pummeling them and used a slanderous French term to imply each one has Down Syndrome. Swiss Olympic team chief Gian Gilli said Morganella "discriminated against, insulted and violated the dignity of the South Korea football team as well as the South Korean people." His Twitter account’s been shut down ever since.
12. Chris Brown Tweets Photo of His Injuries
Date: June 14
Tweeter: @chrisbrown
Tweet: Photo; "How u party wit a rich n---- that hate? Lol... Throwing bottled like girls? #shameonya!"
As the story goes, Drake and Chris Brown were both partying at W.i.P. nightclub in NYC when Drake reportedly returned a bottle of champagne sent over by Brown with a note that read "I'm f------ the love of your life, deal with it." Brown went nuts and a melee ensued with fists and bottles being thrown. Innocent bystanders were injured and the interior of the club was destroyed. After ruckus, Brown took to Twitter and send thinly veiled shots at Drake before posting an image of a gash on his chin allegedly caused by him being stuck in the face with a bottle. To paraphrase Dave Chappelle: They never should have gave those dudes money.
11. Politico Reporter Defends Todd Akin's "Legitimate Rape" Comments
Date: August 19
Tweeter: @davecatanese
Tweet: "So looks like he meant to say -- 'If a woman was REALLY raped, it's statistically less likely for her to get pregnant.' What's the science?"
Rep. Todd Akin made headlines earlier this month when he made highly controversial comments regarding a woman's right to have an abortion if conception occurs during rape, saying "First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Shortly after, David Catanese, a reporter from Politico logged onto Twitter and attempted to start a conversation about Akin's comment. In doing so, he appeared to defend Akin's comments. The reaction wasn't positive. In fact, the backlash was so great, Politico removed Catanese from further Akin coverage.
10. New York Knick Greets Fan With Homophobic Slur
Date: June 23
Tweeter: @Amareisreal
Tweet: "Fuck you. I don't have to do anything fag."
Amar’e Stoudemire is arguably the most emotionally sensitive player in the NBA. Need a recap of his fight with the fire extinguisher after a playoff loss against the Heat? Didn’t think so. The All-Star forward tweeted about finishing an offseason workout when follower Brian Ferrelli (@BFerrelli) put him on blast for his weak play this season. Ferrelli was then greeted with a profane gay slur. If that wasn’t enough, Stoudemire posted the tweet on Gay Pride weekend. He apologized shortly after.
9. WSJ Editor's Aurora Tweet
Date: July 24
Tweeter: @@jamestaranto
Tweet: “I hope the girls whose boyfriends died to save them were worthy of the sacrifice.”
Wall Street Journal editor James Taranto raised eyebrows and lost a ton of journalistic credibility for his tweet about the Colorodo shooting where three men died protectiong their girlfriends. His feed was flooded with scathing responses with one Twitter user named @dennholt tweeting: "Wow. Apparently, you have no soul." Taranto went on to defend his comment calling it “challenging” and retweeted some of his hate replies.
8. Greek Olympian's Racist Joke Gets Her Sent Home
Date: July 22
Tweeter: @papaxristoutj
Tweet: "With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!"
Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou thought mocking African migrants made for good humor. The Greek Olympic Committee, along with the Twittersphere, didn’t find her remarks funny and she was expelled from the Olympics for the callous remark. Realizing the embarrassment she brought onto her country and family, Papachristou issued several apologies. All is forgiven?
7. Prince Jackson';s Cryptic Tweet
Date: July 12
Tweeter: @princemjjjaxon
Tweet: “these tweets our not our own”
Caught in the midst of the Jackson family drama, MJ’s son allegedly regained control of his Twitter account and sent a subliminal tweet implying that it had been hacked. Or at least that’s what someone wanted us to assume. Prince had just engaged in a Twitter argument with aunt Janet, bashing the singer/actress for keeping him and his siblings from seeing their grandma. Minutes later, this mysterious tweet appeared on his page. Sister Paris verified her brother’s confrontational tweets and mentioned his page had been hacked, possibly by a family member. We still have no idea what's going with that family.
6. Republican Compares Obama To Stalin, Hitler
Date: August 5
Tweeter: @MarishaAgana
Tweet: “History has a way of repeating itself: Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung and now Obama!!!”
Dr. Marisha Agana tried gaining some traction in her fight to win Ohio’s 13th congressional district seat by juxtaposing our nation’s leader to murderous dictators like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Agana opened the floodgates as a Twitter user shot her tweet over to a local news station, forcing the Republican to backtrack the statement and apologize for the “poor choice of analogy.” Good luck grabbing that distract seat.
5. Chris Rock's Independence Day Tweet
Date: July 4
Tweeter: @chrisrock
Tweet: "Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks.”
The politically incorrect comedian has never shied away from racial humor. But conservatives across the nation viewed his Independence Day tweet as both unpatriotic and (brace yourself) racist. Several of Rock’s industry friends like Don Cheadle came to his defense, but the backlash created more pyrotechnics than the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show. Get over it, America.
4. Celeb Boutique Attempts to Profit from Aurora Shooting
Date: July 12
Tweeter: @CelebBoutique
Tweet: "#Aurora is trending, clearly about our Kim K inspired #Aurora dress ;)"
We would like to believe that companies hire people that are well-versed in the ins and outs of social media to run their social media properties. That’s obviously not the case for woman’s fashion site Celeb Boutique. When “#Aurora” began trending on Twitter due to the horrific Colorado shooting, the company saw an opportunity to promote a dress that shares the same name as the grieving town. When confronted, Celeb Boutique apologized and blamed the mishap on the fact that its PR is handled outside of the country. Right. Because the U.S. is the only country with Internet.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow's N-Word Debacle
Date: June 1
Tweeter: @GwynethPaltrow
Tweet: "Ni**as in paris for real."
The Oscar-winning actress hit up The Throne’s Paris show and chopped it up with The-Dream, who posted a Twitpic of her dancing on stage. Paltrow tweet in response that referenced Jay and Ye’s hit single had Twitter users going cray. The-Dream had to go to bat for Paltrow, saying he typed the comment on her phone: “Fyi Sorry for the [confusion] I typed Ni**as in paris for real from Gwens Phone my bad... please excuse it! We were lit!"
2. Dream Hampton Accuses Nas of Using Ghostwriters
Date: August 12
Tweeter: @dreamhampton
Tweet: "I think Jay writes what he believes. Nas' 'Nigger' album was largely written by Stic of dead prez and Jay Electronica."
Every art, no matter the medium, is a collaborative endeavor. However, when it comes to Rap, it is assumed that the artist works alone in mining his or her mind for clever verses. There have been many rappers throughout the years who have either admitted or been accused of having people write their verses. Nas was never one of them. That is until legendary journalist Dream Hampton let loose a grenade in the form of a tweet that said Nas' "Untitled" album was largely the work of stic.man and Jay Electronica. The tweet set off a maelstrom of controversy in the music journalism world with everyone taking a side. Both Jay Electronica and stic.man came out and said they did not have a hand in writing rhymes for Nas. Which side did we fall on? Read this to find out.
1. NRA Tweets After Aurora Shooting
Date: July 20
Tweeter: @NRA_Rifleman
Tweet: "Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?"
The National Rifle Association got a little trigger Twitter happy the following day after the Aurora, Colorado shooting and mistakenly posted this disastrous tweet wishing its shooting members a “Happy Friday!” Unintentional by all means, its social media team pre-scheduled tweets using HootSuite to go up that morning, which backfired and placed a ton of heat on the lobbying group. Worst. Timing. Ever.