Sexting Scandals & Wardrobe Malfunctions: What Were the US Pop Culture Events That Shocked in 2022?

Perhaps one of the biggest stories for 2022 was celebrity star Kim Kardashian’s decision to wear Marilyn Monroe’s signature golden 1962 dress. While some viewed it as a spot-on choice for the 2022 Met Gala theme of Gilded Glamour - inspired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2022 Costume Institute exhibit, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” others were more critical of the star.

Drama unfolded as costume historians and even the original designer who sketched the dress, Bob Mackie, criticized Kardashian’s decision to wear the nude, sequin-covered dress in which Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to former US President John F. Kennedy, calling the decision to do so “a big mistake.” He also voiced concerns alongside conservationists that Kardashian’s choice to wear the dress would damage its preservation and structural integrity.

But TCM host Alicia Malone, who wished Kardashian had worn a “replica instead of the real thing” to preserve the dress, said she couldn’t help but see the similarities between the 42-year-old pop culture icon and the “Some Like It Hot” actress, including their “publicity savvy” and inspiration for women’s beauty and their effect on the “ideal body shape” for women.

Kardashian had to follow a strict diet and workout regimine in order to fit into Monroe’s dress, and spent 14 hours dying her hair platinum blonde.

Despite criticism that she had damaged the dress, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, which loaned the dress to Kardashian, did have a conservationist present at the event who helped the reality star in and out of the gown.

It’s worth noting that Kardashian only wore the dress for a matter of minutes before ultimately changing into a replica for the rest of the evening’s events.

Maybe Kardashian should stick around for this next bit of drama, she is studying to be a lawyer after all, and this pop culture event took place in a courtroom: the John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard trial.

In early April, actor Johnny Depp, 59, sued his ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, for defamation in the Fairfax County Circuit Court after she made public claims in an opinion piece that she was a victim of domestic abuse. The trial lasted until June 1 and was streamed publicly after Depp fought to allow cameras into the courtroom; the judge did not object to the request.

For six weeks, the trial divulged scandalous details of the couple’s relationship, which began in 2012 and ended in 2017 after 15 months of marriage. Those details, some of them gruesome, included Depp allegedly getting his fingertip severed by Heard after she threw a vodka bottle at him because she was upset about having to sign a postnuptial agreement.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star said multiple times under oath that he has never assaulted Heard or any other woman, and was pursuing a lawsuit because he wanted to clear his name. Depp claimed Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse were “heinous and disturbing.”

The jury found Heard liable in all three matters of defamation raised by Depp and awarded him $10 million of his $50 million claim in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which was reduced to $350,000 in adherence to Virginia state law. The jury also awarded $2 million to Heard finding Depp liable in just one of three matters of defamation brought by Heard in her countersuit.

Sadly, this year the relationship between Depp and Heard was not the only incident which publicly aired an act of violence.

The infamous Oscars slap happened during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony when American actor Will Smith walked onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face after he made a brief joke about the shaved hairstyle that Jada Pinkett Smith was sporting at the event.

“Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?” Rock had said at the time. Amid a momentary spell of chuckles from the crowd, Smith got onstage and struck a stunned Rock across the face before walking back to his seat and shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”

An audience of stars shared mixed reactions, with most shocked at the incident and others questioning whether it was all part of the show.

Smith, who received an award at the event for his role in “King Richard,” publicly apologized to Rock for the incident. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith wrote at the time. Jada has openly battled with the hair loss condition Alopecia since 2018.

The fallout was swift for Smith, who later resigned from the Academy and had his Oscar privileges revoked for a 10-year period.

While some of Hollywood’s famed men have been able to rebound regarding their public image, including Smith and Depp, rapper Kanye West (now Ye) flushed his career down the toilet. West’s controversy first began when he unveiled a new t-shirt design for Paris Fashion Week that sported the phrase “White Lives Matter,” and said after his Yeezy fashion show: “Everyone knows Black Lives Matter was a scam. Now it’s over. You’re welcome.”

After that incident, and the subsequent backlash, West’s career spiraled with cringeworthy interviews he did while doubling down on his right-wing views. While West has always been outspoken about his political views and openly supported former US President Donald Trump, his actions created a public firestorm after he posted an antisemitic tweet calling for “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

West did not back down from the tweet; In fact he proceeded to attend interviews in which he rambled about antisemitic conspiracy theories with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and then appeared on Alex Jones’ Infowars where he stated: “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis,” before adding that there are a “lot of things that [he] loves about Hitler.”

West’s December 1 interview with Jones followed his November 23 dinner with Trump and Nick Fuentes, who is an outspoken white nationalist. Fuentes appeared alongside West for the Infowars episode. That same evening West was banned from Twitter once again after posting an image of the Star of David inside of a Swastika.

Comments made by West on the show were also condemned by the Republican Jewish Coalition, which urged “all political leaders to reject these messengers of hate” coming from the musician, Fuentes and Jones. “Conservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make clear that he is a pariah. Enough is enough.”

And then there was the September sexting scandal involving Maroon 5 vocalist Adam Levine, which came complete with cringeworthy texts and the birth of hilarious memes.

In September, a 23-year-old Instagram* model claimed on TikTok that she had been having an affair with the "And She Will Be Loved" singer, who was married to Victoria Secret model Behati Prinsloo at the time.

The Instagram model, Summer Stroh, said she was coming forward about the texts because one of her friends was trying to “sell” screenshots of the conversion she had shared. More women came forward claiming Levine had sent them. The messages sent by Levine were… interesting, to say the least.

“I may need to see the booty,” another message read.

Although Levine did publicly apologize for the sexts, he denied he ever had an affair.

However, his embarrassing messages did give netizens plenty of material to work with:

* Instagram is banned as an extremist organization in Russia.

Thanks to the latest installment of the "Stranger Things" series, fans around the world learned of the wonders of singer-songwriter Kate Bush and more specifically of her hit song "Running Up That Hill." Streams of the song reached so high that it wound up breaking several Guinness World Records!

But that wasn't the only 80's bop the show introduced to new audiences. Due in part to the musical interests of headbanger and Hellfire Club chief Eddie Munson, who was portrayed by actor Joseph Quinn, the masses were also given the gift of Metallica's 1986 release "Master of the Puppets."

Munson's rendition of the classic hit ran up the very same record-smashing hill that Bush's single skyrocketed on; however, it also wound up getting a nod from the band itself during their set at Lollapalooza.

Whether fans were thirsting over Munson or series villain Vecna, it's safe to say "Stranger Things" made a solid argument on the more light-hearted aspects of the 1980s to Gen-Z.

And yet, just when you thought Netflix wouldn't be able to conjure that same taste of nostalgia again, it did.

The streaming platform delivered one more time with the release of the "Wednesday" series, which featured The Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck" during the since-viral scene where Wednesday Addams, portrayed by actress Jenna Ortega, taps into her inner Siouxsie Sioux.

Before we say so long to the chaos and insanity that defined 2022, let's take a brief look back on some honorable mentions.

While many swayed to the tunes of the 1980s, others sang along to the viral "Jiggle Jiggle" song that took the internet by storm thanks to documentarian Louis Theroux.

Then, there was the so-called 'Spitgate' incident at Venice Film Festival that involved actors Harry Styles and Chris Pine, both of whom were sitting next to each other during the premiere of "Don't Worry Darling." Pine ultimately went on to deny that Styles spat on him but some stans weren't entirely convinced footage of the incident was all to blame on video angles and such.

In 2020, admirers of the British royal family were left a little stunned when Prince Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down as senior working royals, but in 2022, the pair were dealt fresh doses of criticism after the release of their Netflix documentary, "Harry and Meghan."

Aside from giving new insight on the couple's life stateside, the docuseries was quick to prompt reports on Harry and Meghan's strained relationship with their UK-based family members, with one source previously stating "there is a lot of anger" between Harry and Prince William.

Elsewhere, "Saturday Night Live" alum Pete Davidson stole headlines as the entertainment industry chased down any detail giving insight into the comedian's dating history, which included girlfriends Olivia O'Brien, Kim Kardashian and more recently Emily Ratajkowski.

What else stunned readers in 2022? There was also the ouster of Ned Fulmer from "Try Guys" comedy group, the breakdown of Tom Brady's marriage with Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen and the reunion between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck to name a few more.