2022 was quite the year—we saw the first ever big-budget gay rom-com, watched Pete Davidson date yet ANOTHER of the most beautiful women in the world, and had “Running Up That Hill” playing on a loop in the background.
I want to take a moment to remember the most important moments in the cultural zeitgeist of 2022 — basically, to quote the Tik Tok trend, 2022 pop culture moments that permanently altered my brain chemistry.
We’re breaking down 12 iconic moments from the past year that we won’t be forgetting any time soon.
The Oscars Slap
Starting us off was the slap heard ‘round the world—a.k.a. The Oscars Slap.
Following a joke from host Chris Rock that poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, her husband (and the evening’s winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role), Will Smith, marched on stage and slapped Rock across the face.
Collectively, I don’t know if the world has ever been more unified in a moment of “is this a bit or not?” immediately followed by, “Oh shit, it’s not.”
Much of the resulting exchange between Rock and Smith was censored out of live broadcasts, but the unedited footage had already been immortalized online. This story captured the real news cycle for days, but it also gave birth to some of the best memes from 2022.
The Don’t Worry Darling Drama
The drama behind the scenes of Don't Worry Darling was a huge point of celebrity gossip in 2022, thanks to director Olivia Wilde’s romance with leading man, Harry Styles. Their relationship was always the subject of scrutiny, since public favor tended to side with Wilde’s ex, Jason Sudeikis.
The drama took a hard left turn when Wilde shared that she felt forced to fire Shia LaBeouf, who had been the original star of her film. LaBeouf came back with receipts: a video from Wilde to himself, practically begging him to continue filming and speaking kind of unfavorably about costar Florence Pugh. Rumors, of course, began to swirl about tension on set between Wilde and Pugh.
The whole circus came to a head at the Venice Film Festival, where “spitgate” had the whole world wondering if Styles actually spit on co-star Chris Pine. All that drama for a movie that only has 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kim & Pete
A newly-single Kim Kardashian first met Pete Davidson while hosting an October 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live. The two shared their first kiss during a sketch as Jasmine and Aladdin—and much to everyone’s surprise, were photographed spending time together off set soon after.
Kardashian and Davidson attended the Met Gala Together, and he was even featured on episodes of The Kardashians on Hulu. They’ve since broken up, but their relationship was iconic mostly because everyone loved seeing the SKIMS founder smiling and having fun during a messy divorce.
Eras Tour Broke Ticketmaster
The Eras tour fiasco wasn’t the first time Ms. Taylor Alison Swift came under fire this year—this past summer, we learned that her private-jet use essentially makes her an eco-terrorist. But, more drama found the singer/songwriter after the release of her most recent studio album, Midnights.
The album was a hit with fans, who hadn’t been able to see Swift live in concert since her Reputation tour in 2018—that’s four new albums and two re-records ago. So when Swift announced Eras, a tour that would serve as a celebration of her entire discography, it’s safe to say public interest was high.
Swifties flocked to Ticketmaster to claim presale tickets—but the site was forced to announce later in the day that traffic to the site had essentially “broken” their Verified Fan system and there were no tickets left for the general public sale (other than the ones resellers are currently asking thousands and thousands of dollars for).
The event literally caused Congress to launch an antitrust investigation on Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, making the Eras tour presale a tragic but iconic 2022 moment.
Amber Heard & Johnny Depp’s Lawsuit
A courtroom in Virginia became the focal point of the entire country during the lawsuit and countersuit between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard.
So many juicy details came out of this trial, but the real spectacle was some of the unusual lines of questioning used by Heard’s lawyers during the trial (the Amicream line of questioning was wild).
Everyone and their mom became a legal expert during this trial, but it was another weirdly unifying moment of “schadenfreude” that brought us all together.
Rihanna’s Baby Bump
I think the world collectively held our breath when Rihanna announced her pregnancy with A$AP Rocky—if anyone is going to absolutely rock maternity, it’s Rhi.
As expected, Rihanna showed off her baby bump proudly in 2022 until her son was born in June. Rather than disguise her tummy, the singer and beauty mogul basically treated her bump as the world’s best accessory.
Rihanna’s pregnant energy completely matched a quote from Alexa Demie’s character in Euphoria: “I wouldn't wear any of those nasty maternity clothes. I would just be me, plus pregnant.”
J-Lo And Ben Affleck Got Married
Capping off a decades-long saga with a happy ending, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindled their relationship and tied the knot in 2022.
This A-list marriage is a perfect dose of nostalgia for people who were fans of the couple when they first dated in 2003—plus I think everyone just likes to see two people finding their way back together.
Kim Wore Marilyn Monroe’s Dress To The Met Gala
Come on, of course Kimmy was responsible for two of the most iconic moments of 2022!
The Kardashians star made her aforementioned appearance with Pete Davidson at the 2022 Met Gala wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress—not a copy of her dress, but the actual piece Monroe herself wore to JFK’s birthday party in 1962.
The look sparked controversy, with some saying the dress is a piece of history that should be preserved and others still calling out the crash diet she had to go through to fit into the garment.
Love the idea or hate it, you have to admit: We’re still talking about it. And isn’t that the whole point anyway?
Lea Michele’s Return To Broadway
If you weren’t online for the Funny Girl drama, strap in. Beanie Feldstein was cast as Fanny Brice in 2021 for the revival of the Broadway show—but after the production was snubbed at the Tony Awards, Feldstein announced in June that her final show would be on September 25.
However, Feldstein later took to Instagram to share that she wouldn’t actually be staying until September: she was leaving the show earlier than expected, and her last show would be at the end of July. Almost immediately following her announcement, the production came forward to announce that Lea Michele would be taking over the role of Fanny Brice.
Michele came under fire a little bit when people started to suggest she had “Rachel Berry-ed” her way into the part—after all, she previously worked with Funny Girl’s director on Spring Awakening, and shared in an interview that she and the director had discussed Feldstein’s role in the show over drinks. We obviously don’t know what was said behind the scenes, but the whole thing felt like an IRL replay of Michele’s Broadway-hungry character on Glee.
Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Dance
Completely dominating everyone’s FYP this December was Jenna Ortega’s dance routine in Tim Burton’s Wednesday. The show has been a huge hit (especially with YA viewers), and it’s clear that Ortega’s charming-but-creepy portrayal of Wednesday Addams is the secret to Wednesday’s popularity.
Ortega choreographed Wednesday’s now-iconic dance to The Cramps’ Goo Goo Muck herself, drawing inspiration from goth culture, Fosse, and past iterations of Wednesday’s dance stylings. The scene went totally viral, with basically everyone feeling the need to recreate Ortega’s spooky choreography.
Even other celebs got in on the trend too, like Lady Gaga:
@ladygaga ♬ original sound - heyy
She slayed that, of course.
Heidi Klum’s Worm Costume
Supermodel Heidi Klum is known for her unusual Halloween costumes—in the past, she’s dressed as Princess Fiona from Shrek, Jessica Rabbit, and an old lady, all complete with prosthetics and makeup that make her unrecognizable. But the former Project Runway judge really outdid herself this year with a larger-than-life worm costume.
But, it gets better: it’s a COUPLES costume, with Klum’s husband, Tom Kaulitz, dressed as the fisherman with the worm on his hook:
Every year Heidi Klum’s Halloween costumes remind me that you don’t have to take yourself too seriously, and the worm costume was no exception. It also gives a whole new meaning to the “would you still love me if I were a worm” trend.
Elon Musk Bought Twitter
In one of the more cringe-worthy moments of 2022, billionaire Elon Musk made the decision to buy Twitter. Then unmade the decision. Then made it again. Seriously, I got whiplash from all the back and forth.
Ultimately Musk did go through with buying Twitter and immediately went to work making “improvements” to the site. For example, there was a period of several lawless days where any Twitter user could pay to be verified, leading to a frenzy of users impersonating celebrities, corporations, and Musk himself.
All in all, Musk’s net worth fell by $9 billion—yes, that’s BILLION—as a result of his quest to “make Twitter funny again.” And honestly? That is pretty funny to me.
Did we miss any of your favorite defining pop culture moments from 2022? For a look at what’s coming up in the early months of the new year, check out our 2023 TV schedule.
