From Gen. Petraeus to John Travolta, this year saw a lot of allegations (and some confirmations) of bad behavior by the famous and powerful.
Gen. David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell's email-documented romance.
This one definitely wins for complexity: The affair between a CIA chief and former general and his biographer, exposed by another woman who claimed said biographer had sent her harassing emails. And that woman, Jill Kelley, turned out to be an insolvent socialite who ran a questionable cancer charity and may or may not have exchanged inappropriate emails with General George Allen (he says there was no impropriety). And that's not even considering Jill Kelley's twin. Despite all this, the affair has faded somewhat from the public eye, with some pointing out that coverage of the news has veered into misogyny and others wondering whether Petraeus really did anything so wrong.
Image by T. Ortega Gaines/Charlotte Observer/MCT, Tim Boyles/Getty Images, AP Photo/The Seattle Times, ISAF via Getty Images
The Secret Service's stingy visit with Colombian prostitutes.
This scandal broke when Secret Service agents staying at a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, allegedly refused to pay sex worker Dania Suarez (above) what she was owed. In addition to the resignation of several agents (including supervisor David Chaney, who also raised eyebrows by posting pictures of himself ogling Sarah Palin), the scandal sparked an investigation suggesting Secret Service agents might also have visited prostitutes in El Salvador, Panama, Romania, and China. Which in turn suggests that this scandal, though it has cooled, may stay alive for a long time.
Image by Cadena SER / AP
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's prostitution-ring investigation.
This scandal broke last year when Nafissatou Diallo accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a New York hotel room. But news of Strauss-Kahn's alleged misdeeds continued unabated in 2012 — he was accused of attending sex parties linked to an illegal prostitution ring, he was investigated in connection with an alleged gang rape (though this investigation was dropped), and he and his wife Anne Sinclair split up. But Diallo recently settled her civil suit against him (she's rumored to have gotten as much as $6 million), so 2013 could be quieter for DSK.
Image by Jacques Brinon/AP, REUTERS/Seth Wenig/Pool
Kleiner Perkins' harassment and discrimination lawsuit.
Ellen Pao (right), a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, alleges that another partner (not pictured) coerced her into having sex with him, and that when she broke things off, the company retaliated against her repeatedly for years. Her lawsuit, which is ongoing, has raised larger questions about how Silicon Valley companies treat female employees. We'll probably still be hearing about it, and the issues it raises, in 2013.
Image by /Meg Perotti/Handout / Reuters
