2022 exploded with new music, great television shows and some of the best pop culture moments in quite some time. This was the year the threat of the pandemic was at its lowest. Unfortunately, the devastating virus took the lives of millions and wreaked havoc on our lives. It also took a toll on our physical and mental health, making it difficult for people to continue working, run businesses and take care of their overall well-being.

This year people were back in the office, demand for jobs was | is at an all-time high, the death toll significantly decreased and the entertainment industry was back in full swing. This meant more live shows, a ton of movies to see on the big screen and opportunities for celebrities and public figures to shine again. Take a peek below to read some of the biggest and most talked about pop culture stories of the year.

Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, more than thirty years after graduating Top Gun. He is sent to train an elite group of Top Gun graduates as they anticipate embarking on a huge mission. Not only did the movie prove that Tom Cruise is still an excellent actor, but that a sequel made thirty years after the original, was even better than the first. It was a huge box-office success, too raking in 1.488 billion dollars worldwide, making it the highest grossing movie of 2022. Usually, movies that achieve that level of success or close to it, aren’t really favored by critics or even considered a good movie. Top Gun: Maverick is better than good, it’s magnificent. The film is nominated for Best Picture at the 2023 Golden Globes Awards and I wouldn’t be surprised if it snagged a Best Picture nomination at the 2023 Academy Awards as well. Congrats to everyone behind this breathtaking achievement in cinema, making it one of the most talked about topics of the year and a milestone in pop culture history.

Colorado Avalanche | 2022 Stanley Cup Champions

The 2021-2022 season for the Colorado Avalanche was nothing short of amazing for the hockey franchise. They played such great hockey throughout the season and fought tooth and nail to get to the finals. They had not won a title since 2001, so when winning the Stanley Cup on June 26th, 2022, it was a huge win for Colorado and hockey fans across the world. It was the most watched series in years and showcased strong talent from the guys on both teams, especially Cale Makar of the AVS. Beating the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had just won the coveted title the year before, shocked the nation and made the Colorado Avalanche the most talked about sports team in the world.

Will Smith | 2022 Oscars

It was the slap heard from the across the nation. Chris Rock, who hosted the 2022 Academy Awards, poked fun at Jada Pinkett’s appearance during the ceremony. He joked about her shaved head, comparing her to G.I. Jane, the movie Demi Moore starred in with a shaved head as well. Not only did husband Will Smith come to Jada’s defense in a screaming match, Will charged the stage and slapped Chris in the face. People were flooding social media outlets with their take on the incident and news channels were covering it for weeks after the altercation went down. “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth,” is still cemented in our minds, thus making it one of the most unbelievable and jaw-dropping events of the year.

Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard

The trial was watched almost as much as the OJ trial back in 1995. People were glued to their screens watching the drama play out and commenting their thoughts all over the Internet. Did he or didn’t he were just a few of the world’s thoughts on Johnny Depp abusing Amber Heard. What was so astonishing, is the majority of us, including myself, saw right through Amber’s bullshit. Each day the trial continued, she embarrassed herself more and more, making her look like a lying, crazy lunatic. Her acting skills were terrible; she couldn’t even make believe that what she said Johnny did to her, actually happened. It became so cringy that it felt like the world was watching a bad lifetime movie play out, but was also something you couldn’t take your eyes off of. What started as a woman crying for help legit exposed Amber Heard to really only crying wolf. This made her so diluted and out of touch with reality, that we began to feel for her obvious, ballistic mental health meltdown.

Britney Spears | Naked Instagram

It’s safe to say that Britney is not ashamed of showing the world her naked body. We knew this though; she was the queen of scandalous videos and magazine covers that had people questioning her morals back in the early 2000’s. This year, however, Brit was plastering her boobies and ass on Instagram on an almost daily basis. Accompanied with bizarre dance videos and poses with a dead look in her eyes, Britney was the talk of fans, critics, family and friends alike. People are now speculating that she’s being held hostage, she’s dead or that what we see online is a clone of her, not really the Britney Spears we all know. Some say her mental health is worse than ever, more so than when she was under the controversial conservatorship placed by her father, Jamie Spears, in 2007. Famous blogger Perez Hilton says he knows what’s going on and that he can’t come out with it. He also stated that if and when Britney exposes the truth, that the entire world will be shocked and hurt. Believe what you want, but Britney Spears definitely had people gabbing about her all year long with supporters still showing their concern for her today.

Adam Levine Sex Scandal

Adam Levine has always been known for his flirtatious and sexually aggressive behavior, but when Instagram “influencer” Sumner Stroh came out with direct messages from Adam to her, the world lost it. Sumner exposed him by releasing screenshots of the exchanges with the Maroon Five hunk, where Adam comments on her beauty, alludes to wanting an affair and even sinks so low as to ask Sumner that when Adam and his wife have their next baby, that he can name him Sumner, if the baby was a boy. It’s a pretty wild thing to say to someone when you’re married with a family, so on que, the media and social channels went berserk with opinions of the drama surrounding both Adam and Sumner. Then, more women came out with the same allegations that Sumner made so public. Who was to blame stumped the nation and was discussed for weeks.

Queen Elizabeth II Dies

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8th, 2022, at Balmoral Castle in Ballater, Scotland. With the cause of death listed as old age, the entire world mourned the late Queen, who reigned supreme for seventy years. She accomplished such great things during her lifetime and was a fierce leader that people followed for decades. The impact she made on the world made her passing not only one of the most talked about events of 2022, but also a historic moment for our generation and generations to come.

Jenna Ortega | Scream Queen

Jenna Ortega had the best year in television and movies than any other actor this year. She has proven to be this generations Scream Queen, giving Drew Barrymore and even Jamie Lee Curtis a run for their money. Jenna starred in X, a Ti West film about pornography and murder in 1979 rural Texas and revived the Scream franchise with a frightening performance in Scream (2022). Finally, she plays Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series, Wednesday. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination and the series is the second most watched show on Netflix, currently. Her scary portrayal as Tara in the coveted opening scene in Scream (2022) and her ability to make the audience feel the pain Jenna’s in during traumatic scenes of the movie, give her the appropriate title of a true Scream Queen and someone who has a bright, successful career ahead of her.

Harry Styles

2022 was definitely the year of Harry Styles. With an album that produced many hit singles (good ones, too), a starring role in one of the most talked about movies of the year (Don’t Worry Darling) and millions of people flocking to stadiums to see him live, it seemed as though the man could do no wrong. Most solo artists that come from a band don’t have nearly the amount of success that Harry has endured, especially this year. Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson both started in a band and have been the only two artists to obtain stardom greater than when they were in a group. Harry Styles has taken the world by storm, demonstrating an array of talents while achieving Justin and Michael’s level of success. Women and men are completely infatuated with the icon and it’s easy to see why.

What were your favorite moments in pop culture this year? Should the Dahmer series on Netflix have been included? What about Elon Musk buying Twitter? As the year comes to an end, I think most people can agree 2022 was one for the books and that 2023 will be even better.