SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento revealed its 15th annual Naughty and Nice List Wednesday, highlighting 10 naughty and 10 nice people, events or things that shaped 2023.
The list is on display at the corner of J and 9th streets in downtown Sacramento for anyone who wants to see it along with an illustration by editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman.
With further ado, here is this year’s list… along with a brief description of each one provided by ABC10.
NAUGHTY
Chinese spy balloon: A high-altitude balloon from China flew across American airspace for a couple days in late January before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina. Months later U.S. officials confirmed it was carrying intelligence gathering equipment but they didn’t think it sent anything back to China. Countless memes were created over the course of the week it was in the air, culminating in an SNL sketch.
OceanGate Inc.: A lot of companies came under scrutiny this year but this might have been the one with the most interesting goal – taking tourists down to the Titanic wreckage at a price tag of $250,000 per person. The submersible Titan disappeared in June and, after four days of headlines and search operations, was found to have imploded killing the five people onboard, which included CEO Stockton Rush. The company suspended all operations the following month.
Sam Bankman-Fried: The California native and crypto entrepreneur experienced a swift fall from grace over the course of the year. News first broke in Nov. 2022 of potential fraud with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and not even two weeks later the company collapsed into bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas the following month and was convicted in November of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
The Roy Family: This fictional family is the centerpiece of HBO’s show Succession. The family owns a media conglomerate and the four seasons depict their fight to control the company amid patriarch Logan Roy’s failing health.
Donald Trump’s mug shot: The former president turned himself in in Georgia in August resulting in the first presidential mugshot.
Tom Sandoval: The word ‘Scandoval’ spread like wildfire across social media in spring 2023 but unless you’re very online or an avid fan of Vanderpump Rules, you likely have no idea who Tom Sandoval is. All you really need to know is that Sandoval and his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, split after he was having an affair with Madix’s friend and fellow castmate Raquel Leviss.
Nepo babies: While the term ‘nepo baby’ is a few years old, a New York Magazine article really took it to the mainstream. The term refers to children of celebrities who have successful careers in the same field as their parents. It’s used negatively by people who feel a celebrity’s fame is unearned and only due to their parents’ industry connections. Discourse online got ugly fast in the wake of the article with many young celebrities trying to explain how they weren’t nepo babies.
X formerly Twitter: In short, it has changed a lot in 2023 after Elon Musk took it over.
Hunter Biden: The president’s son reached a deal with prosecutors in June on misdemeanor tax charges. The deal was rejected the following month and Biden changed his plea to ‘not guilty.’ By September he was indicted on federal firearms charges and a trial date is TBD. Republicans are planning hearings.
Luis Rubiales: The former Spanish Football Federation president kissed a player on the lips during a medal presentation and it was caught during a live broadcast. He was condemned, tried to defend his actions and was banned for three years. He eventually resigned.
NICE
Light the Beam: The rallying cry for Sacramento Kings fans around the world. A Kings win, whether at home or away, results in a bright purple beam being lit from the top of the Golden 1 Center. The Kings had an incredible run in the 2022-23 season, ending a 16-season playoff drought.
Barbenheimer: Sacramento's own Greta Gerwig directed the biggest movie of 2023. It was released the same day as the latest Christopher Nolan movie, Oppenheimer. The two films and the contrast in subject matter quickly became a double feature phenomenon dubbed 'Barbenheimer' with many fans seeing both films in the same day.
ChatGPT: Depending on how AI is used it can be nice and the proliferation of ChatGPT allowed many people to give the application a prompt and receive a detailed answer. Only time will tell how it's used going forward but some use cases this year included fine-tuning resumes, having a philosophical conversation or even essay help. The expanding use of AI will likely lead to many businesses or even universities putting guardrails in place for its use.
Kevin McCarthy: The Bakersfield native and former Speaker of the House of Representatives announced Wednesday he's retiring at the end of the year after serving the state of California in various capacities over the last two decades.
Matthew Perry: Perry's unexpected death in late October sparked conversation about his humor, kindness, warmth and advocacy as it relates to substance abuse. It was a topic he was personally familiar with as he struggled with addiction throughout his time on the show Friends. His story of recovery inspired people worldwide and countless celebrities described his death as a devastating loss.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift: The entire romance begins after Swift's Kansas City stop of her record-breaking Eras Tour. On a podcast Kelce mentioned wanting to give her a friendship bracelet but said she wasn't meeting people after her shows. Evidently, word got back to Swift and the two began hanging out in private before she appeared with his mother Donna at a Chiefs game on Sept. 24 aka the 'hard launch.' Since then, she's attended several more games driving up NFL viewership, he attended her tour again in Argentina and the two have praised each other in recent interviews.
Diane Feinstein: Feinstein died in September at the age of 90. At the time of her death she was the longest-serving U.S. Senator from California and the longest-tenured female senator in U.S. history. Her political contributions in California started in 1969 when she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She became mayor after the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, and she's credited with leading the renovation of the city's cable car system. She was elected to the Senate in 1992 where she became known for her work on gun control issues and the CIA's methods of interrogation following 9/11.
Tina Turner: The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll died in May after decades in the music industry. She was one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, won 12 Grammys and is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time.
SAG-AFTRA/writers strike: This year marked what other publications dubbed 'hot labor summer,' with workers in many industries pushing for better work conditions. The writer's strike lasted 148 days, interrupting the industry and ending in October with 99% of WGA members approving a new contract with increased wages and residual payouts, staffing minimums and guidelines about the use of AI.
Coronation of King Charles III: King Charles III was coronated in May after Queen Elizabeth II's Sept. 2022 death.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Greta Gerwig on missing Sacramento and 'Barbie' success | Full Interview
