Wednesday, 28 December 2022

The Best of Pop Culture 2022

December 28, 2022 | VIEW IN BROWSER

Your day starts here. The latest in news, pop culture, wellness and more.

Whether it's exciting new projects, weddings, splits, or buzzy viral moments, TODAY has always been the place for the latest in celebrity news. This year certainly had its share of celeb drama, nuptials and more, plus we mourned the loss of legends from Hollywood to the music world. Take a look back at all the top celebrity news from 2022.

THE LATEST

But first, the news...

The death toll from the historic blizzard across the country climbed to 65 yesterday, including 32 in New York's Erie County amid a storm the Buffalo mayor called the worst the city has seen in at least 50 years. Pope Francis is asking for prayers for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 95, as the former pope's health has "worsened due to age." Holiday travelers are reeling after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly two-thirds of its flights yesterday.

The House Ways and Means Committee plans to publicly release six years of former President Donald Trump's tax returns on Friday after years of court fights.

The moments that had everyone buzzing over the celebrity drama in 2022.

Our ears are still ringing and Will Smith is still apologizing for his stunning slap of host Chris Rock in the middle of the Academy Awards ceremony after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. That was just one of the moments that ratcheted up the celebrity drama this year. We also had the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial that divided the internet, the behind-the-scenes stories from the Olivia Wilde movie "Don't Worry Darling," late night host James Corden getting called out by a restaurant owner, and the number of Nick Cannon's children seemingly growing by the month.

Christina Aguilera and JC Chasez had fans reminiscing about the early 2000s.

Are we sure it was 2022 and not 2002? Fans couldn't get enough of Christina Aguilera, 41, re-creating her signature "Dirrty" look for the 20th anniversary of her hit album "Stripped." She shared a TikTok video complete with black-streaked platinum locks and thigh-high boots that had fans seeing her in a whole new light two decades ago. Meanwhile, 'N Sync member JC Chasez, 46, revealed that he's gone from a teen heartthrob to a silver fox these days when he showed off his gray mane on TikTok.

Finally! Ben and J. Lo lead the list of celebrities who tied the knot in 2022.

After a couple sluggish years for celebrity weddings due to the pandemic, we had a bonanza of big-name nuptials this year. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez finally said "I do," 20 years after initially getting engaged. A newly-emancipated Britney Spears made it official with husband No. 3 when she married Sam Asghari, and Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker got married in Italy after an unofficial wedding in Las Vegas. See all the top celebrity weddings from this year here.

Remembering Sidney Poitier, Bob Saget, Naomi Judd and more stars we lost this year.

The entertainment world mourned the loss of Hollywood legends, rock superstars and comedy greats this year. Ground-breaking Oscar winner Sidney Poitier, "Murder, She Wrote" star Angela Lansbury, "Grease" icon Olivia Newton-John and "Goodfellas" legend Ray Liotta were among the actors who passed away. The comedy world lost "Full House" star Bob Saget and most recently "Cheers" great Kirstie Alley. In music, country music legend Naomi Judd, Fleetwood Mac mainstay Christine McVie, rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and Grammy-winning artist Meatloaf were among the luminaries we said goodbye to this year. See all the notable celebrity deaths from 2022 here.