History Main / Scandalgate

* * In ''VideoGame/Hitman3'', Valentina Yates lost her diplomat status after a phone data leak scandal six years prior forced her to retire and head back to Argentina. Conversations overheard by the staff outside the main house calls it "one of those whatever-gates", and is a rare example of being referred to in the spirit of the trope, but not formally named.

* In the Creator/GoldieHawn vehicle ''Film/{{Protocol|1984}}'', Goldie Hawn's blond ditz character, Sunny Davis, is unaware that she's being asked to be a prostitute for a high-ranking Arab shiek. When the scandal finally broke, the TV news called it "Sunnygate".

For Real Life Examples, see Website/TheOtherWiki for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_%22-gate%22_scandals an in-depth list.]]

* In ''Film/TheHunt'', a conspiracy theory about liberals hunting conservatives for sport is mentioned several times by the huntees, and is dubbed "Manorgate". [[spoiler:Turns out the similarities between the conspiracy and [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame their current situation]] are larger than they thought -- "Manorgate" was the result of a tasteless joke between friends getting leaked online and conspiracy bloggers jumping on it, leading to the friends making it real as vengeance when they lose their jobs because of it.]]

->'''Webb:''' Well, I think the American government hasn't been this screwed since...well, I think you have to go all the way back to Watergategate.\\

A more modern variation is "-ghazi" from the Benghazi incident.

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[[quoteright:296:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scandal.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:296:I wonder what my new dad'll look like...]]

* On ''Series/{{Community}}'', the main characters conspire to make "Star-burns" lose his job in a scandal. The school newspaper headline reads "[[NamesTheSame Star-Gate!]]" in big letters, and underneath reads "[[LampshadeHanging Headline in reference to Watergate, not]] [[Film/{{Stargate}} the 1994 sci-fi film]]."

For Real Life Examples, see Wiki/TheOtherWiki for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_%22-gate%22_scandals an in-depth list.]]

->'''Webb:''' That must be the biggest scandal since Watergategate.\\

* ''Series/OneHundredThingstoDoBeforeHighSchool'': In "Run for Office Thing!", Blake and his administration are forced to resign after attacking Crispo in a bear costume in a scandal referred to as 'Pootie-gate'.

* Referenced in the Post-Boot ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes''. The crisis of the United Planets' PortalNetwork being subverted by an alien power and used to invade Earth is referred to as "Softgate."

* [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]], after having his identity leaked in the press and subsequent imprisonment, was found innocent of being Daredevil thanks to [[spoiler: Vanessa Fisk]] having the FBI director in charge of the case killed and making it look like suicide, complete with a suicide note stating he had framed Matt Murdock. The scandal was dubbed "Framegate".
* An issue of ComicBook/ThePunisher has him being blackmailed by a reporter into letting him follow him for the night. While listing his accomplishments, he says that he exposed "[[ShapedLikeItself Gatesgate]]".
* A Brazilian ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'' magazine had "Buxleygate", a scandal involving the SexySecretary of General Halftrack.

* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': In one cartoon, a caveman impresses the rest of his tribe with his invention of fire--except the fire in question is just a wooden cutout, painted to look like flames. The caption notes that he was exiled from the tribe over "the Firegate incident".
* In an early ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' strip, a MediaScrum of barking (yes, barking) reporters questions Senator Bedfellow at his house: "What about Candygate? Did your aides really trade long hugs for Snickers bars?" He impolitely dismisses the reporters, but then one of them starts rifling through the Senator's mailbox:
-->'''Reporters''' ''(variously)'': Looks like a Sears catalogue. It's filled with women's underwear! Great Scott... It's... Girdlegate! ''(Barking resumes)''

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In the Creator/GoldieHawn vehicle ''Film/{{Protocol|1984}}'', Goldie Hawn's blond ditz character, Sunny Davis, is unaware that she's being asked to be a prostitute for a high-ranking Arab shiek. When the scandal finally broke, the TV news called it "Sunnygate".

* In ''[[Literature/TheWanderingsOfWuntvor A Disagreement with Death]]'', the last of the Wuntvor novels by Craig Shaw Gardner, Wuntvor's master, the wizard Ebenezum, refers repeatedly in interviews to "Wizardgate," but it is never revealed what the Wizardgate scandal [[NoodleIncident actually involved]], partly because Ebenezum cast a spell to make the reporter, and possibly everyone else, forget all about Wizardgate.
* In ''Literature/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue'', FSOTUS Alex and Prince Henry knocking over Prince Phillip's £75,000 wedding cake soon becomes known as "Cakegate" by the press.

* ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' -- Flatgate, despite Terri pointing out that Film/NottingHill-Gate would be a lot cleverer.
* In ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', Rob refers to the original scandal as "Watergategate" on the grounds that, otherwise, what would you call a scandal about water?
-->'''Mitchell:''' ...Aquagate?

* A similar one happened in ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'', the Polk Middle School newspaper reveals that the money supposed to replace the tiles has been spent on something else. The following day's headline: "Tile-Gate!"
* Hugh Dennis on ''Series/MockTheWeek'' made a joke about this, calling a scandal about tapping the phones of celebrities "stargate" and one about politicians buying pornography "[[{{Pun}} masturgate]]."
* ''TMZ'' is fond of blowing seemingly minor events out of proportion, often with the "-gate" suffix. For instance, they attributed the Los Angeles Lakers' troubles in the 2010 NBA Finals (you know, ''before'' the epic Game 7 close call) to the fact that many of their key players ate steak with heavy, buttery sauce the night before at Ruth's Chris Steak House. They dubbed it "Steakgate" and over the next few days made repeated reference to it.
* A crossover between ''Series/SesameStreet'' and ''The [=MacNeil=]-Lehrer [=NewsHour=]'' (the predecessor to today's ''PBS [=NewsHour=]'') occurred during a PBS pledge drive in the '80s in which news anchor Robert [=MacNeil=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6W6fG1FGpM covered a presumed cookie theft]] by Cookie Monster known as "Cookiegate". Kermit was there too, acting as Cookie's lawyer (for some reason).
* Creator/StephenColbert on ''Series/TheColbertReport'' referred to Michelle Obama shaking the hand of Indonesia's Health Minister as "Handergate."

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'':
** A SleazyPolitician invented a sex scandal with Leslie in order to divert attention from the far more embarrassing sex scandal which he was actually involved in. Eventually, Leslie challenges him to provide proof of their affair on TV and he claims she has a mole in her buttocks. After a very fed-up Leslie shows her butt to the reporter, said reporter terms it "no mole-gate".
** When an explicit tweet is sent from the Department's official account, the local news dubs the scandal "Twitter Watergate, until we can think of a snappier name for it."

* In ''Series/SixteenHundredPenn'', President Gilchrist makes a joke about marriage being pointless. The press dubs the incident "Wedding-gate" and spends the next month harping on his supposed opposition to family values.
-->'''Marshall''': Sir, you've offended women. And men trying to impress women, [[AllMenArePerverts which is all men]], except gay men, whom you've also offended.

* ''Series/{{Veep}}'':
** In the pilot, the minor scandal over Selina using the word "retard" as a joke gets dubbed "Retardgate".
** The Season 5 episode "C*untgate" lampshades this with its titular example, as Mike and Amy argue with reporters and other staffers over whether reports of someone in the White House calling the President the c-word counts as a "gate".
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': In "Whine Club", the club's outgoing Corkmaster makes a reference to a NoodleIncident by the name of "Spritzergate".

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/DanielBryan's firing in June 2010 was called "Tiegate". This was because the day before was the infamous [[Wrestling/TheNexus NXT Riot]], where Bryan choked out ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie. Sponsors called for his release because, apparently, the action was reminiscent of the Wrestling/ChrisBenoit tragedy. The actions of the company was much maligned by virtually everyone, especially the wrestling community. Bryan was then rehired (after the heat from the sponsors died off) and became the final man on Team Cena later that year for ''Wrestling/SummerSlam''. As an epilogue, Bryan would later on become the most over wrestler since Stone Cold and the Rock, his popularity jump started by the above situation -- it was probably the greatest thing to ever happen to his career.

[[folder:Radio]]
* G. Gordon Liddy occasionally complained about the practice on his {{talk show}}, on the grounds that attaching the "-gate" suffix to every scandal diluted his personal place in history.
* In a New Definitions round on ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'', Linda Smith redefines the seaside town Margate as "the mother of all scandals".

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in a review of ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Deep Throat" by WebSite/SFDebris, in which he owns that the habit of calling every other scandal with the suffix "-gate" annoys him a great deal.
* Named number four in this Website/{{Cracked}} article: [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18416_5-things-media-loves-pretending-are-news.html 5 Things The Media Loves Pretending Are News]]. Parodied in the entry in the form of "Gatesgategate", a hypothetical scandal involving then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates misappropriating public funds to install a new gate on his property.
* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'': Episode "PTA Meeting" describes a disastrous PTA meeting that was broken up by rampaging pteranodons, dubbing its continuing coverage "Pteranodon Attack-gate."
* In-universe, [[https://tellygunge.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/the-wammies-2012-awards-ceremony-arrivals/ A segment of the Tellygunge 2011 Wammies]] cites "Godfreygate" (where [[spoiler:Olivia Godfrey orgasimed during a gunging on live tv]]) in the Sky Sports ladies episode of ''Davina's House Party'', leading to cancellation. In reality, the author was burned out and declared it a DeadFic.
* ''Blog/WorstMuse'' comically mistakes the practice of adding the "-gate" suffix as just [[https://twitter.com/WorstMuse/status/515533773597732864 "basically what Woodward and Bernstein did."]]
* ''WebVideo/TheAnnotatedSeries'' has "babygate", in reference to a particularly [[SeriousBusiness controversial]] episode of ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' where the main villain [[VillainDecay gives up his chance at ultimate victory for the sake of a baby]].

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode title "Surro-Gate".
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': When a lunch lady doesn't give Gene enough tater tots, he refers to what happened as "Tatergate."