Boris Yeltsin (1998) Time magazine described 1998 in
Russian politics as an
annus horribilis because of
Boris Yeltsin's
isolationist and militarist policies, the
East Asian financial crisis, and Western countries cutting off the reform money that they gave to the Russian government in prior years.
Ben Affleck (2003) Hollywood actor and filmmaker
Ben Affleck once said that 2003 was his
annus horribilis. Affleck starred in the films
Daredevil and
Gigli, both of which received negative reviews from critics.
Gigli was a
box-office bomb and drew particular ire from Hollywood critics and moviegoers, which culminated in six wins at the
24th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony. In addition, Affleck with his fiancée and later second wife,
Jennifer Lopez, were mocked and criticised by the public for their seemingly accommodating attitudes to and henceforth over-exposure in the tabloid media.
Kofi Annan (2004) Kofi Annan, the
United Nations Secretary-General, used the phrase in his year-end press conference on 21 December 2004. He reflected: "There's no doubt that this has been a particularly difficult year, and I am relieved that this
annus horribilis is coming to an end." His remarks were widely interpreted as having alluded to persistent allegations of corruption in the UN's Iraq
Oil-for-Food Program. He also spoke of upheaval and violence in
Afghanistan, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Iraq,
Palestine, and
Sudan; the ongoing process of UN internal reform; and "persistent...
criticism against the UN" and himself personally. • In February, Érika Ortiz Rocasolano, the youngest sister of
Letizia, then
Princess of Asturias, died of a sedative overdose in her apartment. • In July, a humour magazine, , published a drawing on the cover depicting
Felipe VI (then Prince of Asturias), and the aforementioned Princess Letizia having sex, with a caption reading: "Just imagine if you end up pregnant. This will be the closest thing to work I've ever done in my life." It satirized a proposal by the government to give 2,500 euros to the parents of newborn children. The magazine was banned and removed from distribution, which led to a censorship controversy. • In September,
Catalan separatists were tried for having burned photographs of King Juan Carlos and
Queen Sofía at an
anti-monarchy and
Catalan separatist rally in
Girona while the royal couple toured the city. • In early November at the XVII
Ibero-American Summit, after a verbal altercation between
Hugo Chávez,
President of Venezuela, and
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero,
Prime Minister of Spain, the king admonished Chávez, ("Why don't you shut up?"). • Shortly after the summit, the royal house announced the separation of the king's daughter, the
Duchess of Lugo, and her husband,
Jaime de Marichalar. The couple has two children,
Felipe and
Victoria.
Michael J. Fox (2018) Michael J. Fox used the term in his 2020 memoir
No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality multiple times (in Chapters 19 and 21) to describe his experiences in 2018; he also referred to 2018 as "
a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" year.
COVID-19 pandemic (2020) The year 2020 was widely remarked as being an for the entire world in general, most notably due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide throughout 2020. 2020 was also awarded a "Special Governors' Award for The Worst Calendar Year EVER!" at the
41st Golden Raspberry Awards. At the end of the year,
Netflix released
Death to 2020, a mockumentary discussing the events of the year.
Iran (2024) Journalist
David Leonhardt of the
New York Times described 2024 as an
annus horribilis for the
Iranian government, citing the failed outcome of the
strikes against Israel in April, the
death of
President Ebrahim Raisi in May, the death of the core leadership of the Iranian-backed
Hamas and
Hezbollah during their respective wars against Israel (including the
assassination of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh in
Tehran on July), the
reelection of
Donald Trump in November, and the
collapse of the Assad regime in
Ba'athist Syria in December.
British royal family (2024) Multiple media outlets described 2024 as an
annus horribilis for various members of the
British royal family, such as
King Charles III and
William, Prince of Wales, as well as the wider royal family in general. The year 2024 was difficult for the monarchy, with significant events including the
cancer diagnoses of both the King and
Catherine, Princess of Wales, weeks of speculation over Catherine's whereabouts before her diagnosis was disclosed, continued controversy surrounding
Prince Andrew, Duke of York (later Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor)'s conduct and the continued fallout over
Megxit, such as the publication of
Omid Scobie's book
Endgame. The monarchy's popularity with younger generations also continued to decline, with one
YouGov poll conducted in August suggesting more 18 to 24 year-olds would favour a republic (43% for republic, 35% for monarchy). Prince William described 2024 as the "hardest year of [his] life". ==See also==