By Angela Bethea | May 9, 2012

There’s always something going on the celebrity world. Whether it’s someone getting themselves into trouble with the authorities, caught in a compromising position or meeting a tragic and untimely demise, there’s never a quiet moment amongst the rich and famous. Without further ado, then, let’s look at eight of the most surprising celebrity shocks of the year so far:

Whitney Houston’s Passing

While the passing of one of the greatest singers ever known was extremely sad, it was also, unfortunately, shrouded in scandal and persistent allegations of drug addiction. Houston was found dead in her hotel room on February 11th 2012 and the official cause of death was listed as drowning after she suffered a heart attack in the bath. However, reports mention drug paraphernalia in the hotel room and the presence of cocaine was confirmed there along with several prescription drugs. Now the plot has thickened with police wanting to question Raffles van Exel, a close friend who is rumoured to have cleared the hotel room of much of the drug traces before the police could inspect it. What actually happened that night may remain a mystery, but Houston is sure to go down in history as a sad victim of drug addiction and a fallen star.

Kim Kardashian’s flour attack

Kim Kardashian has consistently invoked the ire of animal rights groups for repeatedly wearing fur, and it was only a matter of time before some consequence came of it. While walking down the red carpet at a celebrity event recently she was pelted with what appears to have been cooking flour in front of the media and flashbulbs. The culprit has been named as PETA supporter Christina Cho and Kim has yet to decide whether to press charges or not. However, Kim’s sister Chloe has now got in on the act and withdrawn her support for PETA, which she has appeared in campaigns for after her sister’s attack. PETA though are denying having anything to do with it and insist Christina acted independently.

George Clooney’s Arrest

Hollywood star George Clooney was brought down a peg or two recently when he was arrested while protesting outside the Sudanese Embassy against the government’s role in the Darfur crisis. George obviously feels very strongly about the issue, strongly enough to get arrested… Clooney later said it was ‘humiliating’ to get arrested but said he had to stand by his father who was also protesting.

Lindsay Lohan’s Hit and Run

Child star and wild child Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to a police cell, having been arrested numerous times over drink driving offences. This time was a little different though because the actress has been accused of a hit and run on a nightclub manager but is denying the whole thing. Apparently in order to escape the paps when leaving a nightclub, Lohan quickly turned her car around and nearly hit the manager’s car. He got out to discuss her driving and claims she sped away grazing his knee and running over his foot. He filed a complaint and police are trying to work out exactly what happened but this is just another police matter involving Lohan in a long line of arrests and jail time.

AnnaLynne McCord’s Topless Pic

90210 star McCord decided to reward a loyal fan recently and tweeted a pretty picture of herself to them. What she didn’t realize is that she was actually showing her nipples in the photo and before she had time to take it off and crop it had been re-tweeted around cyberspace thousands of times. She did eventually put a cropped version up but by that time she was best known for the X-rated version and it can still be seen all over the web.

Tulisa’s Sex Tape

N-Dubs singer and X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos had to face a very embarrassing allegation at the beginning of this year. Ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards went to the press claiming he had a sex tape of the singer which he was going to release. Before long the vid had made it onto good old YouTube and was seen by thousands of people. In a very unusual move Tulisa took to YouTube herself and in a video addressed to her fans admitted that it was her performing the sex act in the clip and spoke of her devastation at the betrayal she had been shown by her ex. However, although many fans have stuck by her, many have taken to Facebook and twitter, skeptical of the timing of the video, which has come just before she releases her debut solo single. Set up anyone?

Simon Cowell’s Stalker

Simon Cowell got a shock recently when he returned home to his million pound mansion in London only to discover that 29 year old Leanne Zaloumis had got there first and was lying in wait for him. Cowell found her in the bathroom armed with half a brick and locked himself in another room while he rang the police. She was promptly arrested and is now due to appear in court. Police later discovered she had handled many of his possessions and had found the master bedroom where she rolled around in his bed!