2022 was truly a year of surprises, head-turners, and OMG moments for the celebs we love and hate to follow. No one bats an eye anymore every time Hollywood churns out a cheating scandal, love triangle, or another TV show adaptation based on true events. However, this year brought a surplus of headlines and gossip—and you know we live for the tea and drama, so of course we had to round up our fav moments.
Infamous Oscars slap
While traditionally the Oscars is known for its illustrious awards ceremony and star-studded red carpet, it also hosts a number of viral moments (that 2014 selfie, #EnvelopeGate, John Travolta’s Adele Dazeem fumble). But I think it’s safe to say that no one expected physical altercation to be on the list of Oscars memorable moments. When Chris Rock’s joke aimed at Jada Smith went awry, Will Smith clambered onto the stage, slapped Chris right in the face, and gave some haughty HGW vibes as he sauntered back to his seat. Let’s just say his proceeding Oscars acceptance speechwas *a little bit* awkward.
“It Seems Like Nobody Wants to Work Anymore”
Of course, who could forget Kim K’s now-infamous, “get your fucking ass up and work” comment in an interview with Variety? I mean, raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by Ms. Kardashian. I’m working hard Kim, I promise. Whether or not this clip was published out of context, as Kim claims, those words definitely stung.
Bennifer Reignites 2002 Engagement And Ties The Knot
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez truly revived y2k trends by bringing back the hottest 2000s couple—themselves. Bennifer broke off their engagement in 2003, just days before their wedding; but everything came full circle this year, nearly two decades later, when Ben popped the question (again) in April. The revived lovebirds tied the knot in July at the famed The Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. Maybe love does conquer all, after all.
Depp-Heard Trial
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard took all news outlets by storm in a high-profile case earlier this year. Both parties were suing one another with respective defamation claims. The trial was messy, triggering, and complicated, but that didn’t stop the masses from staying glued to the courtroom livestreams and updates. While both parties were charged with counts of defamation, Heard was charged with more counts than Depp (technically making Depp the trial’s victor). Needless to say, the fallout from this trial is going to stay with us into 2023 and beyond.
Marilyn Monroe Controversy
It wouldn’t be a proper pop culture roundup if Kim K wasn’t mentioned more than once, now would it? Kim is known for making bold statements at the annual Met Gala (see also: the cinched-waist look, her blackout gown moment), but none have received quite the amount of controversy as her decision to wear Marilyn Monroe’s original “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” gown.
Many people were angry that Kim was tampering with a piece of history (especially since she was accused of ripping the dress, as well), while others weren’t too comfortable with Kim’s pride in losing a significant amount of weight in order to fit in the dress. No matter which way you slice it, it’s safe to say this fashion moment didn’t make the headlines Kim wanted it to.
Don’t Worry Darling Drama
It’s unclear if people were more invested in the actual Don’t Worry Darling movie that came out earlier this year, or all of the drama surrounding its star-studded cast. The movie quickly became infamous for its negative headlines involving Olivia Wilde (director), Florence Pugh (lead actor), Harry Styles (lead actor and boyfriend of Olivia at the time), and Shia LaBeouf (originally casted to lead alongside Florence but ultimately replaced by Harry), who also somehow found himself wrapped up in the mess.
The premiere in Venice served as the boiling point for all the built-up tension– people were waiting with bated breath not to watch the movie, but rather to see how the cast members would interact. From the red carpet awkwardness to the much debated “spit-gate,” the Don’t Worry Darling behind the scenes drama did not disappoint.
Selena And Hailey Photo Op
It seems like we can *finally* put any rumors of a Selena/Hailey feud to rest. The two both rocked and graced our social media feeds when photographed together at the Academy Museum Gala. I had to do a double-take to make sure the pics weren’t photoshopped, but it looks like Hailey’s claims on Call Her Daddy are true—all of the drama is so 2018.
Pete Davidson Being Pete Davidson
Pete continuously dates the most successful, powerful, and hottest women in Hollywood, and this year was no exception: he concluded a 9-month relationship with Kim Kardashian and has since been linked to Emily Ratajkowski. Given his legendary dating history this may not be much of a shocker anymore, but like, let’s just have a moment to give it up for Pete, ok?
Rihanna. Enough Said.
2022 was our revered Queen Rihanna’s year. Aside from the most iconic pregnancy reveal (her Chanel open pink puffer sans shirt in the middle of east coast winter? Please!) and her two singles for the new Black Panther movie (after six years without new music), she also confirmed that she’ll be headlining the 2023 Super Bowl. Ah, finally a reason to watch football.
Julia Fox’s moment in the spotlight
Julia Fox graced our screens as Julia De Fiore in Uncut Gems back in 2019, but shockingly didn’t get her moment in the spotlight until this year. Julia made headlines once linked to Kanye West (btw, let’s normalize popularizing women for their accomplishments, not for the men they’re dating!) but managed to maintain relevance even once they broke things off.
She gave us plenty of meme-worthy moments, including her *unique* signature eyeliner look (which got its own filter on TikTok) and viral uncut gems pronunciation (it’s jams, ok?!). Not to mention her own TikTok content is popping off and she is steadily building a large fanbase. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stars in another movie and continues to develop her influence in Hollywood next year.
Taylor Swift’s Year of Highs and Lows
It seems that this year, Taylor’s major accomplishments were also followed by *significant* disappointments. Thanks to the release of the highly anticipated Midnights, we now all have updated HGW playlists and our new favorite post-breakup song. This album drop included a “chaotic surprise,” which simply meant the release of more songs at 3am (although I was expecting something like a tell-all memoir or documentary at that hour, but alas).
Taylor’s Eras tour was also announced (first stadium tour since 2018!) but with over 3.5 million people vying to be part of the presale, chaos ensued, and all general sale tickets were canceled. Also, while Taylor is a known advocate for climate change, it was released earlier this year that she is one of the top celebs with highest private jet carbon emissions. Yikes.
I have a feeling 2023 is going to bring the most epic stadium tour and maybe a little less time on that private jet.
