2022 has been a rollercoaster of celebrity drama and scandals as there were plenty of controversial moments.
We witnessed all sorts of celebrity scandals ranging from breakup drama to child custody battles to even embarrassing sex videos.
Below are the top seven celebrity scandals we shouldn't forget about in 2022:
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Mwende Frey
Mwende Frey caused a stir in April 2022 when she advertised services offered at her barbershop aptly called 'Man’s chamber barbers and spa'.
A video of Mwende and her all-female staff twerking provocatively for male clients at her barbershop went viral on social media, earning her some notoriety in the mainstream media as well.
The 27-year-old single mother came under scathing attack, especially from women who accused her of thirst-trapping men by luring them to her barbershop using sexual appeal.
“When you say I’m sexualizing the business by twerking, what do you mean? Women twerk in clubs every day and they don’t get paid. I get paid to do this, so why not," Mwende Frey told a local TV station amid uproar from women.
“I’m sexy, I’m fabulous, I’m confident in my body, I’m a beautiful woman, kwa nini tufiche…. It has worked for this business, men love seeing nice things, hakuna mtu anataka kwenda kunyolewa alafu ashikwe na mikono ngumu, here you meet soft hands, soft voices and beautiful girls,” she added.
The young businesswoman further denied that Man’s chamber barbers and spa was a brothel only masquerading as a barbershop.
“This is not a brothel, it’s a grooming den for kings where they are served by African maidens. If you don’t want your man to come here, wash his feet when he comes home, give him a massage, make him look pretty otherwise he will come here. Actually, you should be thanking us for doing the work you’re not doing,” she stressed.
Mwende’s barbershop employs full-time twerk queens whose job is to dance suggestively to besotted male clients while they have their hair cut.
“I’ve got a lot of beautiful women here who twerk for our customers all day long, from morning to evening. It’s part of what we offer here and we see absolutely nothing wrong with that,” Mwende said.
Notably, Mwende's unconventional services at her barbershop earned her international attention when the German state-owned international broadcaster DW interviewed her in May 2022.
Stevo Simple Boy and Pritty Vishy
Rapper Stephen Otieno Adera alias Stevo Simple Boy and Purity Vishenwa aka Pritty Vishy entertained the country with their breakup drama in March 2022.
Stevo and Pritty had been dating since 2019 but their relationship was only made public in early January 2022.
Pritty met Stevo in 2017 at Kibera Creative Arts (KiCA) centre where she had gone for an acting gig.
She, however, 'friendzoned' Stevo until 2019 when they officially started dating.
In March 2022, Stevo and Pritty parted ways with Stevo claiming that they broke up because Pritty was forcing him to sleep with her yet he wanted to remain celibate until marriage.
Vishy on her part claimed that she cheated on Stevo with a mubaba while they were still dating.
Speaking during an interview with Obinna on Kula Cooler show, Simple Boy revealed that Vishy routinely cheated on him while they were dating.
The rapper claimed that his ex-girlfriend slept with 50 men that he knows and some of them were his friends.
Size 8 and DJ Mo's breakup
DJ Mo and Size 8 made headlines in August 2022 when they briefly broke up again.
Size 8 ran away from her matrimonial home and took her kids with her after clashing with her husband DJ Mo.
The mother of two admitted that she ran away from her matrimonial home because her husband wronged her really bad.
Speaking to Vloggers, DJ Mo and Size 8 emphasized that they were a normal couple and that they had their ups and downs.
"Yes, I ran away. I ran away and I was very angry at DJ Mo alikua amenikosea. So I ran I just needed some space to breathe and just talk to God. I believe when my emotions are so high if we are under the same roof tutaongeleshana vibaya, tutatreatiana vibaya so I had to just go," Size 8 said.
Speaking during an interview with Kiss FM, Size 8 opened up about a major disagreement with her husband in 2016.
The mother of two revealed that sometime in 2016 she locked DJ Mo out of their house and threw out his belongings.
She acknowledged the fact that at the time she was not mature enough to handle domestic squabbles calmly.
Size 8 also narrated another disagreement in 2018 which resulted in her moving out of their family house and renting her own apartment.
“I’ve moved out…In 2018 nilitoka nikapack na nikaget hao yangu,” she revealed.
In October 2020, DJ Mo was exposed for having extra-marital affairs with a manicurist working in Bahrain identified as Margaret Wanyama.
Wanyama through blogger Edgar Obare said she had been dating the DJ for a while and that, at some point, she got pregnant for him, a pregnancy she allegedly terminated later.
Mo and Size 8 tied the knot in a secretive and private ceremony at the Attorney General’s office on September 23, 2013.
Diana Marua
A video of Diana Marua confessing she used to sleep with men for money also sent social media into a frenzy.
In the video, Diana narrated how she used to have flings with men, explaining how each man played a specific role in her life like one was for paying her rent, another catered for her house shopping etc.
"I used to date guys for money at some point in my life because I lacked. I lacked the whole of my life to a point where all I wanted was a good life, all I wanted was to live well. And I dated guys for money. I had people who used to give me… I dated someone who used to pay my rent, nlikua na mtu wa kunifanyia shopping ya nyumba, nlikua na mtu wa kunibuia manguo, nlikua na mtu wa kunipeleka… unajua I used to date… Let me tell you, in my early 20s money for me was never a problem," Diana Marua narrated.
The video was first uploaded on Diana's YouTube channel on October 26, 2020, but it went viral again in November 2022 as netizens trolled Bahati's wife - with many people poking fun at her body count.
Vera Sidika
Vera broke the internet when she duped Kenyans claiming that she had her butt implants removed after she developed complications.
“This has been the hardest phase in my life. Due to health risks and complications I had to undergo surgery. It’s still very unbelievable but I’ve come to terms with it and learnt to love myself regardless,” Vera wrote.
“Ladies, please learn to love yourself and don’t ever let peer pressure rush you into things that will ruin you in future. I’m lucky to be alive, God loves me so much. Honestly, it’s been pretty hard, I didn’t even celebrate my birthday this year but here we are,” she added.
Vera's announcement came as a shock to many people going by how she was ruthlessly trolled on social media for days before she came out to reveal that she lied about the butt implants, insisting that her booty is 100 per cent natural.
Mary Lincon
Perhaps the biggest celebrity scandal of 2022 was gospel singer Mary Lincon's leaked nudes.
Mary Lincon in November became more famous for her leaked nudes than for the songs she sings.
Lincon set tongues wagging after she was seen naked like an animal in the leaked sex video.
Social media was awash with nude photos and videos of Mary Lincon moments after blogger Martha Hinga posted on Facebook that they were in possession of very disturbing images of the singer.
Khaligraph Jones and Cashy
Khaligraph Jones and his estranged baby mama Karimi Muriungi alias Cashy entertained netizens with their child custody drama for the better part of 2022.
The celebrity ex-lovers broke up and went their separate ways before Cashy gave birth to their son sometime in September 2018.
The mother of one exposed Khaligraph as a deadbeat for the first time in October 2021 while engaging her fans in an interactive Questions and Answers (Q&A) session on Instagram.
Cashy was dragged to court after going public with the challenges she had been going through raising her son Xolani as a single parent.
The mother of one had on numerous occasions publicly blasted Khaligraph for being a deadbeat dad to their son.
Cashy lamented that Khaligraph was not concerned about Xolani's welfare at all, claiming the rapper didn't even know where his son stayed or what he ate.
Khaligraph ultimately filed a law suit in court against Cashy in February 2022 at the Milimani Magistrate's Court.
In his suit, the rapper sought a court order to stop Cashy from publishing details of the minor and he also sought to have the court grant him custody of the child.
The court ultimately ruled in Cashy's favour.
The mother of one took to social media on November 18, 2022, to celebrate her victory in court against Khaligraph.
"The weapons that formed against us did not prosper. The whole year they tried to take my baby from me, but God has delivered justice for Xolani when it seemed impossible. They tried to deny his presence and his rights, but God is faithful," Cashy wrote.
"They dismissed, discouraged, threatened, insulted and labelled me. Did the most to humiliate and intimidate me but who is God?" She added.
