6 International celebrity flops and fails of 2023

Celebrities provide a vital public service throughout the year by keeping us all entertained - even if it isn't always on purpose.

In a world where the news is so often depressing, here's a light-hearted look at some of the mishaps, blunders, flops and fails from 2023.

Prince Harry's book embargo

There was extremely tight security around the release of Prince Harry's memoir Spare in January. Or at least, there was supposed to be.

The publishers kept the book under lock and key to make sure all the gossip contained within it did not leak to the media early and damage sales.

But one bookshop in Spain had a slightly more cavalier attitude to the release date, and put the Spanish version of the autobiography on the shelves early.

The Sun duly flew a journalist out to get hold of one, started translating it back to English, and began running a live blog of everything in the book.

Wild red carpet outfits

Shania Twain channelled a Dalmation at the Grammys, while Jared Leto went to the Met Gala as Karl Lagerfeld's cat.

But it was Sam Smith who delivered the best celebrity red carpet look at this year's Brit Awards. Breath-taking in its brilliance.

The DIY supermoon

When footage of the blue supermoon failed to appear as expected in August, BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri attempted to recreate the phenomenon using her hands.

"The rare astronomical event took place for the first time since 2009," she began promisingly. "It only occurs when the moon as it its closest point in the orbit around the earth." Sadly no moon appeared on screen.

"I'm so sorry, I don't have anything to show you," she told viewers as she made the shape with her hands instead. "It looks a little bit like this. There you go. Supermoon." Outstanding improvisation.

A few months later, Moshiri went viral for her hand gestures all over again when she was caught on camera giving the middle finger - something she later explained was an inside joke with her colleagues in the gallery.

Weird objects given to pop stars

One fan gave Pink a giant wheel of cheese during her gig at Hyde Park, a truly un-brie-lievable moment, while another threw their dead mother's ashes on stage while she was performing.

Much more concerning than that, however, were some more serious incidents. Ava Max, BeBe Rexha and Florence Pugh were among the stars injured by flying objects or during stage invasions.

It fell to queen of everything Taylor Swift to plead with fans to maintain some boundaries. "It really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on the stage," she said at a gig in November, "because if it's on the stage then a dancer can trip on it.

"I love that you brought presents and that is so nice, but just can you please not throw them on the stage. I love you so much."

Doja Cat's cash grab

Doja Cat put some fans' noses slightly out of joint when she said her previous two albums were nothing more than money-making exercises, and effectively mocked people for enjoying them.

"Planet Her and Hot Pink were cash-grabs and y'all fell for it," she wrote on social media. "Now I can go disappear somewhere and touch grass with my loved ones on an island while y'all weep for mediocre pop."

Frankly, this made us love her more - we all have bills to pay and she isn't wrong about our music taste.

But she didn't stop there. In another post she questioned the name her fans gave themselves, writing: "If you call yourself a 'kitten' or 'kittenz', that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house."

Twitter being renamed X

Sadly we seem destined to say for the rest of our lives: "Oh yeah, I saw that on Twitter - sorry, I mean X."

Just change it back Elon, for goodness sake