Despite the fact that the last twelve months have felt like an endless void with no end in sight, it has been, quite literally, a year. Like, can you believe Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell Oprah interview happened in 2021? It did! And it’s just one of several major pop culture moments that happened this year.
2021 was the year of high-profile divorces, several Real Housewives scandals, unexpected babies, excessive High School Musical: The Musical – The Series drama, and plenty of Twitter backlash (Chris Pratt simply wasn’t safe from the internet). Oh, and then there was Kim Kardashian hosting Saturday Night Live, kissing Pete Davidson, going Instagram official on Flavor Flav’s Instagram, and wandering around NYC’s very own love island (aka Staten Island)—a sequence of events that truly no one was prepared for, but we should all have seen coming based on Pete’s dating history.
ANYWAY, the point is a lot happened in 2021 (including several non-Pete Davidson-related news cycles), and we’re taking a look back at 24 of the wildest moments from this year, all of which had the internet in a state of pure !!!! and/or existential crisis. Please be advised that plenty of headline-making antics didn’t make this list (I fought hard for Tom Hiddleston dancing in a Marie Antoinette costume), so if your fave/least-fave celeb news moment didn’t get featured, try not to spiral. On that note, bring it on, 2022?
1. Paul Wesley being confused about Madison Beer
Paul Wesley thinking Madison Beer was a kind of literal beer is still the only thing that currently matters to me, next.
2. The ‘ICarly’ reboot
What happens when Nickelodeon reboots everyone’s fave childhood show? The internet absolutely loses its mind.
3. Celeb shower gate
Raise your hand if you personally feel victimized by that one week when every single celebrity ever felt the need to tell us how often they shower.
4. Britney Spears being freed from her conservatorship
Much of 2021 was defined by Britney Spears’ fight to end her conservatorship and the unrelenting support of the #FreeBritney movement—so the fact that the year wrapped up with Britney being free just feels so damn good.
5. Armie Hammer’s whole…thing
2021 began on a super weird note, with the leak of unverified DMs that allegedly featured Armie Hammer telling a woman he wanted to “drink [her] blood” and is “100% a cannibal.” It was, um, a lot.
6. The phenomenon that was ‘Squid Game‘
Remember that week when all you did was watch Squid Game, watch YouTube videos about Squid Game, spam your group chat with theories on Squid Game, and stalk every member of the Squid Game cast on Instagram? Let’s go back to that time.
7. Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett’s ‘hsm:tm – ts’ drama
Olivia and Joshua breaking up while filming High School Musical: The Musical – The Series gave us more angsty music than we were prepared for. Not only did Olivia drop “drivers license,” but Josh dropped THREE songs about Olivia in response.
Considering Olivia is probably about to win several Grammys, I’m comfortable saying HSM: TM – TS was the most impactful series of the year, goodbye!
8. Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s breakup
No one saw this one coming, but Gigi and Zayn parted ways after Gigi’s mom, Yolanda Foster, accused Zayn of physical assault—which he denied. You can read up on that over here, but all in all, yikes.
9. Kimye’s divorce
Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in February and hasn’t looked back. Except for that time she got dressed up in a wedding gown and recreated her vows during a Donda listening concert, but whatever.
10. The ‘Emily in Paris‘ golden globes controversy
The Golden Globes are always a mess, but Emily in Paris‘ nomination was a bridge too far for some people, who were shocked that a not-that-good show could get nominated for awards based on clear pay-to-play favoritism, while other deserving shows were completely snubbed.
11. The ‘Friends‘ reunion
The good: Lady Gaga dressing up as Phoebe and singing “Smelly Cat,” the cast touring their old set, and BTS showing up. The bad: James Corden hosting, at least according to the internet who had THOUGHTS.
12. Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey getting together
They went official on Insta at the beginning of the year and they’ve been the hottest celebrity couple 2021 had to offer ever since (sorry, MGK and Megan Fox).
13. Kim Kardashian hosting ‘SNL‘
She came for her sisters, she came for Kanye, she came for herself, and she absolutely killed her opening monologue. Also, she kissed Pete Davidson on live TV, which, help.
14. Adele dropping a new album
It’s the only thing that got us through Thanksgiving with our extended families, and, no, we’re not taking questions at this time re: how many boxes of tissues we went through.
15. Addison Rae and Kourtney Kardashian’s friendship
A coupling so random, the entire internet was convinced it was an epic PR stunt to boost Addison’s relevancy from TikTok Celeb to Regular Celeb. Like, even Kourtney’s own family was confused.
16. Everyone…not loving the james corden cinderella flashmob
Just gonna leave this here.
17. The Weeknd’s super bowl performance
The Weeknd paid millions of his own money to make his Super Bowl show epic, and the memes absolutely paid off. (Not to mention the record sales.)
18. Zendaya’s entire ‘Dune‘ press tour wardrobe
Wish I could go back in time and re-write my college thesis on Zendaya’s impeccable 2021 fashion, because she looked amazing every. single. time. she stepped out on the red carpet.
19. Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview
Probably the single biggest moment in 2021, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah for a lengthy interview chronicling the bullying, racism, and poor treatment they experienced during their time living with the royal family in England. Were they silent, or were they silenced?
20. Kim Kardashian’s MET gala look
A look so instantly iconic and confusing that Yandy’s immediately made a Halloween costume out of it. Kim Kardashian chose to go to the Met dressed as my Sleep Paralysis Demon. Chic!
21. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s breakup
They were giving Cher, and then they were giving nothing. Shawn and Camila split in November—and he’s already managed to release a breakup song less than a month later.
22. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson getting together
Like, was Kim and Pete going official on Flavor Flav’s Insta on my 2021 bingo? No. But here we are. And by “here we are,” I mean she’s started hanging out in Staten Island.
24. The phenomenon of ‘Bridgerton‘
Kay, Bridgerton technically came out in December 2020, but it was at its most buzzy in 2021. By which I mean that’s when the internet reached peak obsession for the Duke of Hastings.
24. Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s engagement
Kourtney morphed into THE most interesting Kardashian to look at when she and Travis got together, but their super-public engagement took things to another level of cute and horny. Can’t wait for them to get married at a local Hot Topic next year.