From 'Spare' to 'Scandoval,' a look at 20 of the biggest pop culture stories of 2023

As 2023 nearly comes to an end, it’s time to look back at all the pop culture moments that captured our attention.

This year, news about unexpected relationships and breakups, massive global tours, cheating scandals and billion-dollar movies were all over our social media feeds. A new celebrity became the topic of conversation every month and some, like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, had fans enamored all year long.

Before the new year brings more shocking headlines, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit viral moments from the year. Below are TODAY.com’s biggest pop culture stories of 2023.

Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’ memoir

Prince Harry kicked off the year by revealing details about his life as a British royal and his strained relationship with his family in the memoir “Spare.” He opened up about disagreements between wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, not feeling comforted by King Charles III after Princess Diana died, and a fight between him and his brother, William, Prince of Wales. He also revealed how he used drugs and alcohol in the past to ignore his pain. Harry’s book immediately broke records, selling more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in its first week.

Rihanna’s pregnancy announcement and Super Bowl show

Rihanna wowed millions of fans as she performed some of her biggest hits — like “We Found Love” and “Only Girl In the World” —during a height-defying performance at the Super Bowl on Feb. 12. Wearing an iconic all-red ensemble and matching puffer coat, Rihanna patted her stomach before soaring above the field, subtly announcing that she was expecting her second child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky. The impressive performance and her surprise reveal captured social media’s attention.

Ariana DeBose’s viral BAFTAs rap

Ariana DeBose tapped into her theater roots to perform an awards show segment that instantly went viral. DeBose opened the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards in February by shouting out the women nominees in a rap. During the song, she said, “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis, my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate, you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee, you are all of us,” and a meme was born. While some social media users thought the performance was amusing, others left harsh comments and DeBose deactivated her Twitter account.

‘Scandoval’

“Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss became involved in the biggest cheating scandal of the year when reports surfaced in March that Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix, his girlfriend of nine years, with Leviss. Sandoval and Leviss’ infidelity, which fans dubbed “Scandoval,” became the main storyline of the show’s tenth season. Fans watched Madix fiercely confront Sandoval in the season finale and reunion special. In May, she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that she cut off all communication with her ex, confirming that they “do not interact on any level.” Madix went on to make appearances on “Love Island USA” and “Love Island Games” and compete on “Dancing With the Stars,” where she finished in third place.

‘The Eras Tour’

Taylor Swift dominated headlines all year long, partly due to “The Eras Tour,” her most impressive tour so far. Swifties at her March 17 concert in Glendale, Arizona, were the first to witness the pop icon travel through her discography as she sang songs from her 10 albums for over three hours. Along each stop, Swift made each concert special by performing two surprise songs, one on the guitar and another on the piano, during her acoustic set. Swift played her last 2023 show on Nov. 26 in São Paulo, Brazil, and will return to the road next year for more stops around the world.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski lawsuit

Seven years after Gwyneth Paltrow and skier Terry Sanderson collided at a resort in Park City, Utah, in 2016, a trial regarding the accident began. Paltrow denied being at fault while Sanderson alleged he had serious injuries after she “skied out of control” and hit him. He sued her for $300,000. She said he “plowed into” her and countersued for $1. At the end of the public trial, a jury determined the Oscar winner was not at fault and that Sanderson was responsible. As she left the courtroom, she whispered “I wish you well” to Sanderson.

The Hollywood strikes

Hollywood shut down for months when the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA went on strike. The writers took on major studios first, asking for increases in wages and residuals, new rules about writers rooms staffing and protections against artificial intelligence. Actors marched on picket lines a couple months later, similarly demanding increases in residuals and limitations on the use of artificial intelligence. Shows scheduled to return and debut in the fall were paused for months. In September, the WGA agreed to a new contract with studios, and in November SAG-AFTRA did the same. Various broadcast shows were set to resume filming in late November and early December, according to Deadline, and are expected to return in the new year.

King Charles III’s coronation

King Charles III officially ascended the throne in May, marking the United Kingdom’s first coronation in 70 years. The king was crowned at Westminster Abbey, about eight months after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96 in September 2022. He donned the Imperial State Crown next to his wife, Queen Camilla, who wore Queen Mary’s Crown. He took an oath to “solemnly promise and swear to govern” the people of the U.K. and the Commonwealth. He and his wife waved to the crowd from a Buckingham Palace balcony after the ceremony concluded.

The 'Renaissance' tour

More than 20 years into her career, Beyoncé launched what was arguably the most extravagant tour of all time, which earned a whopping $579 million worldwide. Beyoncé performed songs from the Grammy-winning album that gave the tour its name for the first time at the opening show in Sweden in May. Her shows transported sold-out crowds to a chrome dream as the superstar dazzled audiences with “Alien Superstar,” “Cuff” “It,” “Heated” and more tracks in elaborate costumes. She included fan favorites, like “Love on Top,” too. Her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, also joined her onstage and showed off her dancing skills, proving that she inherited the star quality from her mom and dad, Jay-Z.

Ariana Grande’s divorce, Ethan Slater romance

After two years of marriage, Ariana Grande and ex-husband Dalton Gomez separated, it was revealed in July. TODAY.com confirmed their split following rumors that their relationship was on the rocks. Three days later, TODAY.com also reported that Grande was dating her “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, who is separated from his wife. The actor is married to Lilly Jay and the two share a son together. The “Into You” singer supported her new boyfriend by attending the Broadway premiere of his show, “Spamalot,” on Nov. 16.

'Barbenheimer'

“Barbenheimer” became the event of the summer as Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” and Cillian Murphy’s “Oppenheimer” battled at the box office. Movie lovers opted to see the films back-to-back as a double feature, making both films wildly successful. With “Barbie,” directed by Greta Gerwig, audiences watched Barbie journey into the real world and Ryan Gosling belt “I’m Just Ken.” For Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” they learned how physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer developed the atomic bomb. “Barbie” made over $1 billion dollars in global ticket sales, while “Oppenheimer” pulled in over $900 million.

Twitter becomes X

Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in April 2022. Since then, he has made multiple changes to the social media platform, and perhaps the biggest came in July 2023 when he officially rebranded it to X. He also changed the logo and the app version of the platform to a simple black X. Before the switch, Musk explained in a tweet that X would “embody the imperfections in us all that make us unique.” However, many users are still clinging to the platform's previous name. One user wrote Dec. 12, “It will always be Twitter.”

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner announce split

TODAY.com obtained documents in September confirming that Joe Jonas filed for divorce from Sophie Turner after four years of marriage. Jonas’ petition said that the marriage was “irretrievably broken.” The two later released a joint statement on Instagram saying that they “amicably” decided to end their relationship. But weeks later Turner filed a petition alleging that the singer was refusing to allow their two daughters to return to England. Turner and Jonas agreed to a temporary custody agreement in October. They said their daughters will “spend time equally in loving homes in both the U.S. and the UK” in a statement to NBC News. “We look forward to being great co-parents,” they said.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet start dating

Following months of speculation, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet appeared to confirm their romance when they attended one of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour concerts together in September. Justin Sylvester reported on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna that the couple shared more than a few kisses during the concert. “They were just in the moment,” he said, joking that he considered calling the paramedics to give Jenner some oxygen following their passionate makeout.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance

After Travis Kelce shared a story on his “New Heights” podcast in July about trying to give Taylor Swift his number at one of her “Eras Tour” stops, the “Anti-Hero” singer made a surprise appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game on Sept. 24. She cheered for the home team alongside Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce. Swift then attended multiple Chiefs games and the NFL player traveled to Argentina to watch her perform. She changed the lyrics in her song “Karma” to reference the tight end and multiple fans uploaded videos of the two sharing a kiss as she left the stage. In December, she commented on their relationship for the first time in an interview with Time magazine. “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” she gushed.

'Beckham' documentary

David Beckham gave a glimpse into his marriage with Victoria Beckham and his soccer career in the Netflix limited series “Beckham.” The documentary included funny moments like the athlete getting the Spice Girls member to admit that her dad used to drive her to school in a Rolls-Royce. The couple also addressed their marriage struggles in “Beckham,” opening up about rumors in 2004 regarding his alleged affair with personal assistant Rebecca Loos. “Victoria is everything to me. To see her hurt was incredibly difficult, but we’re fighters and at that time we needed to fight for each other. We needed to fight for our family. And what we had was worth fighting for,” he said in the documentary.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s 'Worthy' autobiography

Jada Pinkett Smith stunned the world in October when she revealed in her memoir, “Worthy,” that she has been separated from Will Smith for seven years. She spoke about their separation in an NBC News prime-time special interview with Hoda Kotb. She said that in 2016 the couple were “exhausted with trying” and ended their romantic relationship. However, she said in her book the infamous Oscar slap in 2022 made her realize that she would stick with him in the aftermath “as his wife, no matter what.”

Britney Spears’ ‘The Woman in Me’ memoir

Britney Spears’ fans had been waiting for years to hear the singer open up about her life in the public eye and her 13-year conservatorship. In October, she delivered a shocking memoir, titled “The Woman in Me,” that reflected on her career, from her start on “The Mickey Mouse Club” until today. She shared many intimate details about her past, stating she had an abortion when she was dating Justin Timberlake. Spears also addressed decades-old cheating rumors, writing that she and Timberlake were both unfaithful before he broke up with her via text. In later chapters, she delves into the lack of control she had under her conservatorship.

Celebs getting hit with objects

Multiple celebrities this year made headlines after various objects were thrown at their faces during concerts and other events. Fans tossed objects at or in the vicinity of Pink, Kelsea Ballerini, Drake, Harry Styles, Cardi B and more celebrities. One concertgoer threw a cellphone at Bebe Rexha in June and she was taken to the hospital. She shared videos on social media of her bruised eye. In December, Florence Pugh attended CCXP 2023 in São Paulo, Brazil, for a “Dune: Part Two” panel. A fan posted footage of Pugh getting hit in the face as she posed for pictures with co-stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Austin Butler.

Nepo babies debate

Technically, New York Magazine’s articles about the “year of the nepo baby” were released in 2022. But the subject has continued to be a topic of conversation this year. Multiple celebrities have commented on the nepo baby debate, with some embracing the label and others taking offense. Ethan Hawke, who shares daughter Maya Hawke with ex-wife Uma Thurman, shared his thoughts during an appearance on TODAY Dec. 6. “I feel sorry for this generation that this word has somehow turned into being derisive when it’s the history of mankind. 'The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ is a very old expression,” he said. Meg Ryan had a more passionate reaction to her son, Jack Quaid, whom she shares with ex-husband Dennis Quaid, being referred to as a nepo baby when she addressed the debate with Glamour in November. “Jack is really talented. He’s more of a natural than I’ll ever be. That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege,” she said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com