15 2022 Best Pop Culture Moments

2022 Best Pop Culture Moments

By: Valerie Reyes Editor-in-Chief

The Slap that Rocked the Internet

During the 2022 Oscars, comedian Chris Rock was presenting the award for best documentary when he made a joke towards Jada Pinkett Smith saying, “Can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2.” When the cameras panned over to Jada and Will Smith, we could see that Jada wasn’t too happy about the joke because she has a condition that causes hair loss called Alopecia; however, it seemed that Will thought the joke was funny. However, for no apparent reason, Will changed his mind and decided to slap Chris across the face. Everyone in attendance and watching on television or social media was shocked and weren't sure if it was an act. Will Smith created an apology video to Chris Rock and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences but was then banned from its events for 10 years.

March

April

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Defamation Trial

Everyone was keeping up with the six-week defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Depp sued Heard for defamation because of an op-ed, a newspaper page dedicated to feature story and commentary, that she posted in 2018 in the Washington Post implying she was abused by Depp. During the trial, both Depp and Heard argued they abused each other. When the trial came to an end in June, a seven-person jury unanimously ruled in favor of Depp. The jury determined that Heard acted with actual malice when writing her op-ed. www.nbcnews.com stated, “The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in his defamation suit.”

2022 Best Pop Culture Moments

‘Don’t Worry Darling’ We’ve got Drama

Olivia Wilde’s "Don’t Worry Darling" stirred up some drama and rumors all over the internet. There was speculation that Olivia and Florence Pugh (Alice) were not getting along on set and were having many disagreements. Not only were there disagreements but people say Pugh was unhappy with the relationship between Harry Styles (Jack) and Olivia, while Olivia was still with her spouse, Jason Sudeikis. In August, Olivia claimed she fired Shia LaBeouf to “create a safe, trusting environment,” which Shia responded to by providing email and video proof saying Wilde was lying and that he made the decision to quit Don’t Worry Darling. Last but not least, Florence Pugh skipped the Venice Film Festival press event. My personal favorite that shocked everyone was the Harry Styles and Chris Pine spit gate, a video showing what looks like Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine. However, Pine later made a statement denying that Styles spit on him.

September

October

Companies Cut Ties with Ye

Rapper Ye made some antisemitic and anti-black comments among other outrageous behavior like “his previous antiBlack statements about Lizzo, family planning and George Floyd, along with a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt worn at his Paris fashion show…” says www.vulture.com. These actions led Adidas, Gap and Balenciaga, who have worked with Ye and many others, to cut tie with him for not wanting to be associated to his behavior. Athletes such as Los Angeles Rams Aaron Donald and Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown, who were signed with Ye’s sport-marketing agency named Donda Sports, have also decided to drop Ye and end their contract.