From Spitgate to the Oscars Slap, the Most Shocking Celebrity Moments of 2022

Ahead of the premiere of their new Hulu show “The Kardashians,” Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian, and Kris Jenner spoke to Variety about their lives and work. During a video interview, Kim said, “I have the best advice for women and business. Get your f*cking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” The backlash was swift, pointing to all the privileges that Kim has that most women in business don’t share. Kim claimed her words were “taken out of context.” In an October episode of “The Kardashians” that captured the drama, Kim told her mom over the phone, “I’m mortified. I don’t know what to do because I obviously . . . it’s all my fault.” Later in the episode, she did say that the statement captures what she believes but that she was “blindsided” by the anger.

At the Oscars on March 27, Chris Rock made an inappropriate joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head; Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia. Her husband, Will Smith, took to the stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face. As producers scrambled backstage, Smith remained in his seat and accepted the award for best actor for his role in “King Richard.” The internet exploded with opinions, while the Smith family mostly stayed offline. The Academy did ban Smith from attending the ceremony for 10 years, though he can still be nominated for – and win – Oscars.

At the end of 2021, Nick Cannon had seven kids. In 2022, he added four more kids, plus one more on the way with Alyssa Scott, bringing the total to 12 children. In June, he welcomed a son, Legendary Love Cannon, with Bre Tiesi. In September, he and Lanisha Cole welcomed a daughter, Onyx Ice Cole Cannon, and just days later, he and Brittany Bell welcomed their third child together, son Rise Messiah Cannon. Abby De La Rosa gave birth to his 11th child, daughter Beautiful Zeppelin Cannon, in November. De La Rosa and Nick also share twins, born in 2021.

The theme for the 2022 Met Gala was Gilded Glamour; for Kim Kardashian, that meant wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress. There were conflicting reports that she damaged the dress, which she only wore on the carpet because it didn’t fit her correctly (she changed into a replica inside the event). She also repeatedly bragged about her weight loss to fit in the garment. Monroe fans were upset that Kardashian used part of the late star’s legacy for this, historical preservationists were upset that the dress might have been damaged, and critics of diet culture were angry about Kardashian’s harmful dieting tips.

During an episode of “The Kardashians,” Kendall Jenner tried to slice a cucumber for herself to eat as a snack. It did not go well. The clip went viral online, with people wondering if Kendall had ever prepared food for herself. They also noted the way her mom Kris called for “chef” to cut it for her instead of using the person’s name.

After “Stranger Things” season four was released, many online were crushing on Joseph Quinn, who plays Eddie Munson. That apparently includes Doja Cat, who slid into the DMs of Quinn’s costar Noah Schnapp to see if Munson was single and to get a link to his Instagram. Schnapp, 18, sent her the link and then read the DMs aloud for his TikTok fans. Doja Cat was furious and described his actions as “borderline snake sh*t.” Schnapp eventually apologized and deleted the video.

Fans were shocked in 2021 when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who’d been together in the early 2000s, rekindled their romance. They were even more surprised when they got engaged for a second time in April 2022. And in case you thought it was going to be a long engagement, they tied the knot at a chapel in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022. They had a second, bigger wedding in Georgia at the end of August.

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero became a seemingly inseparable duo when they started their podcast “Desus vs. Mero” in 2013, which they followed up with their podcast “The Bodega Boys” two years later. That project eventually turned into a late-night talk show, “Desus & Mero,” where they interviewed celebrities, cracked jokes, and always repped the Bronx. But in July, Showtime confirmed the show was ending, and the pair would pursue separate creative projects. Fans were shocked and worried that their friendship had ended, though the pair have said they remain supportive of each other.

At the end of 2021, the world learned that Tristan Thompson had cheated on Khloe Kardashian again and had a child with another woman. As was later depicted on “The Kardashians,” Khloe apparently didn’t find out about the woman and her child until court documents about the subject went public. When the corresponding episode of “The Kardashians” aired, Khloe was devastated as she talked to her sister about the betrayal. But the world didn’t find out the real reason why Khloe was so upset until July 2022: she and Thompson were about to welcome their second child via surrogate. It turned out that they’d spent the fall getting ready to implant a surrogate with their embryo, even while Thompson knew that he had another child on the way with another woman.

Khloe welcomed her second child, a boy, into the world on July 28 but hasn’t revealed his name. The second season of “The Kardashians” documented her mixed feelings around her son’s birth and the circumstances that preceded his arrival.

Olivia Rodrigo‘s debut album “Sour,” with its lead single “Driver’s License,” was the soundtrack of 2021, and part of its popularity was buoyed by rumors that the cause of her heartbreak was her “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” costar Joshua Bassett. So it was shocking when the duo reunited on the red carpet for season three on July 27 and posed together like they were best buddies.

Rumors of an alleged on-set feud between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh, the star of Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” came to a head at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5. After an awkward Q&A session that Pugh didn’t attend, the cast gathered for the premiere. As they sat in the theater, Harry Styles – who was then dating Wilde – sat next to Chris Pine. One fan thought it looked like Styles spat on Pine as he sat down in his seat. Online sleuths poured over the video, claiming it definitively proved that spit flew, but Styles and Pine both denied it. The cast later joked about it while doing press.

Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle traveled across the pond to honor his late grandmother. However, the Palace announced that only “working” members of the royal family would be allowed to wear their military uniforms to the five public events in honor of the queen. So Harry, despite his 10 years of service in the British Royal Army, would not be allowed to wear his military uniform. He still wore his medals on his morning suit. However, after public backlash, the Palace changed course on Sept. 15, and Harry was allowed to wear his uniform to the remainder of the events.

Harry and Markle were also invited to, then uninvited to, a reception in honor of the Queen during the funeral proceedings.

At the 2022 Emmys, Quinta Brunson won an Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series for her show “Abbott Elementary,” becoming the third Black writer and second Black woman writer to receive the honor. However, some of her shine was taken by Jimmy Kimmel, who, before her win was announced, had done a bit that ended with him lying on the floor. Kimmel remained on the stage floor as Brunson gave her acceptance speech. Viewers were outraged, but Brunson said she wasn’t as bothered by it, though her “Abbott Elementary” costar (and fellow Emmy winner) Sheryl Lee Ralph was more vocal about her dissatisfaction with the moment. Brunson appeared on Kimmel’s late-night show two days later, where he apologized and gave her time to finish her speech.

On Sept. 20, the Internet was ablaze when model Sumner Stroh posted a TikTok video claiming that she and Levine had an affair, alongside screenshots of their conversations as proof. Levine denied the affair, though he wrote in part in his Instagram statement, “I used poor judgement in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life.” The video was posted shortly after Levine and wife Behati Prinsloo announced they were expecting their third child.

On Sept. 22, the Boston Celtics suspended coach Ime Udoka – Nia Long’s longtime fiancé – for “violations of team policies.” ESPN reported that Udoka had a “role in an intimate relationship with a female member of the franchise’s staff,” and the Celtics ended up suspending him for a year. On Dec. 6, the former couple announced they had broken up after 13 years together. They also share a son.

Adding to the storm of cheating scandals, on Sept. 27, the internet content creators known as the Try Guys announced that one of the members, Ned Fulmer, would be leaving the group’s media company following reports of an affair with one of the employees. Ned’s wife Ariel was also employed by the Try Guys company. The three remaining Try Guys – Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang – addressed the matter in a video published Oct. 3.

For literally years, fans have wondered about potential bad blood between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber, all thanks to Gomez’s last relationship with Hailey’s now-husband Justin Bieber. In September, Hailey appeared on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast and said that her relationship with Justin “never” crossed over with Gomez and the pop star’s. She explained, “When him and I ever started, like, hooking up or like anything of that sort, he was not ever in a relationship. Ever, at any point. It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship. I would just never do that. . . . I can say, period, point blank, I was never with him when he was in a relationship with anybody – that’s the end of it. And I had been involved [with Justin] since I was 18.” Shortly after the episode went live, Gomez called for “kindness” on TikTok.

On Oct. 16, the pair ended the rumors of a feud once and for all when they posed together at the Academy Museum Gala. That’s how you end a rumor.

In the most late-breaking scandal of 2022, on Nov. 30, the Daily Mail published photos of “GMA3” anchors TJ Holmes and Amy Robach alongside claims they have been having an affair. Both hosts, who are married to other people, deleted their Instagram accounts and have yet to comment on the reports, but “GMA” pulled them from the air the week of Dec. 5 and is investigating the matter.

That’s ending the year on a high note. Keke Palmer hosted “Saturday Night Live” for the first time on Dec. 3, and she used her monologue to reveal a major secret: She’s pregnant with her first child! She and her boyfriend Darius Jackson met in May 2021.