The year had everything: billionaire feuds, careers destroyed by kiss cams, and a debate about fighting a gorilla that somehow became a White House talking point. Here are the 10 pop culture moments that divided the internet, ended jobs, and reminded us that 2025 was absolutely unserious.
#1: The Kennedy Center Became Trump’s Stage
It started with a board takeover in February. By December, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had Trump’s name physically bolted to the building, artists fleeing like it was on fire, and a lawsuit threat against a jazz musician who canceled his Christmas Eve concert.
Hamilton pulled out. So did Issa Rae, Ben Folds, Renée Fleming, and Rhiannon Giddens. Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell called the cancellations “a form of derangement syndrome.” The Kennedy family called the renaming illegal. A congresswoman sued. The nation’s cultural center became its loudest culture war.
#2: Kendrick Lamar Won the Super Bowl and the Entire Feud
The halftime show wasn’t a performance. It was a public execution.
Fresh off five Grammy wins for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar headlined the most-watched halftime show in history. 133.5 million viewers. Samuel L. Jackson narrated as Uncle Sam. Serena Williams crip-walked. And when Lamar performed “Not Like Us” to a stadium singing every word, Drake’s defamation lawsuit aged like milk left in the sun.
A judge dismissed it in October. Somewhere, Drake is still processing.
#3: Trump and Musk Tried to Destroy Each Other
For a moment, they were allies. Then came the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Elon Musk erupted on X in June, accusing Trump of being part of the “Epstein Files.” Trump responded by suggesting Musk should “head back home to South Africa.” Tesla’s stock dropped 14%. Musk lost an estimated $34 billion. The two later hugged it out at Charlie Kirk’s memorial, because of course they did.
#4: Jimmy Kimmel Got Pulled Off the Air
In September, ABC yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live! after comments suggesting Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer was aligned with MAGA. FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened action against ABC and Disney within hours.
A late-night host. Silenced. Over a monologue.
Kimmel returned about a week later. The incident passed, but the precedent lingered.
#5: A Kiss Cam Ended Two Careers
At a Coldplay concert in Foxborough in July, Chris Martin pointed the jumbotron at a couple in the crowd. They were cuddling. They looked happy.
Then they saw themselves on screen.
The man covered his face. The woman ducked. The internet did the rest. Within hours, they were identified: Andy Byron, CEO of data company Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the firm’s HR chief. Both resigned within days.
“Coldplay concert” is now a verb. Use it wisely.
#6: Katy Perry Went to Space and No One Was Happy About It
In April, Katy Perry boarded a Blue Origin flight and immediately became a symbol of everything wrong with celebrity culture. Critics called it a vanity project during an economic crisis. Perry called herself an “astronaut.” The internet called her delusional.
The image of her holding a daisy and singing “What a Wonderful World” in zero gravity launched a thousand memes. None of them were kind.
She went to space. She came back to earth. Her reputation stayed in orbit.
#7: Emilia Pérez Won Oscars and Lost the Room
The film was a critical darling. Then the Oscars happened.
Emilia Pérez took home Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña) and Best Original Song. Neither winner mentioned trans rights. For a movie about a trans woman, the silence was loud enough to hear from space (where Katy Perry was, presumably, still holding a daisy).
Then came the resurfaced tweets: lead actor Karla Sofía Gascón’s old posts calling George Floyd a “drug addicted swindler,” attacking Muslims, and criticizing LGBTQ activism. She apologized. The discourse spiraled.
#8: Sydney Sweeney’s Jeans Started a Philosophy Debate
It was an American Eagle ad. Sydney Sweeney wore jeans. The tagline was “great jeans.”
And somehow, the internet turned it into a referendum on body image, race, and eugenics. Eugenics! For a denim ad!
Think pieces multiplied. Parodies followed. The brand got more publicity than money could buy.
#9: Bezos Got Married and Venice Will Never Recover
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez held a three-day wedding in Venice in June. Locals protested under banners reading “No Space for Bezos.” Critics pointed out the couple’s affair-origin story. And the celebrity reactions were brutal.
Katie Couric called Lauren’s wedding look “tacky.” Charlize Theron said she didn’t get an invite but “that’s okay because they suck and we’re cool.” And Mariah Carey? When asked about the wedding, she delivered three words that became instantly iconic: “I wasn’t there.”
#10: The Gorilla Debate Became Federal Policy (Sort Of)
It started as a joke on Reddit: who would win in a fight, 100 men or a silverback gorilla?
In 2025, the White House referenced it to promote deportation numbers. MrBeast joked about staging a real version. Elon Musk expressed interest. PETA issued a statement. A hypothetical became a press cycle.
Did we learn anything? Of course not. But at least we know where the government stands on gorilla combat.
That was 2025. A year where nothing was too small to fight about, and no one was too powerful to embarrass themselves.
See you in 2026. Bring a helmet.
