It’s by no means an overstatement to say 2022 has been another big year for world news.
With the Omicron variant spreading like wildfire, war breaking out between Russia and Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, and the UK going through Prime Ministers at rapid speed, there’s been a hell of a lot to take in.
But world news isn’t the only thing that got the masses talking this year.
It was another 12 months of Tweets, TikToks and Telegrams right around the world, with many reaching viral status.
Let’s take a look back at some of the biggest trending moments of 2022.
Will Smith hits Chris Rock on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 27th, 2022. Picture by: REUTERS / Alamy Stock PhotoWill Smith Slap
At the Academy Awards in March, Chris Rock got hit with a hefty surprise as Will Smith slapped him across the face over his joke about Jada – and honestly, the internet loved every second of it.
People were divided about whether Smith was in the right, but there is one thing everyone agreed on. This was a meme-able moment.
Chris rock made the joke but Will Smith delivered the punchline pic.twitter.com/w8yF94zohd
— prapti (@prap_tits) March 28, 2022
Will Smith’s marriage open to everything except jokes pic.twitter.com/LEfBURn9Hg
— DanKatz (@StrawHatmac) March 28, 2022
Will Smith’s publicist showing up to work the morning after the Oscars pic.twitter.com/rfVZbA9gIG
— Hayley (@somecallmehay) March 28, 2022
Lettucegate
As the shelf life of then Prime Minister Liz Truss was nearing its end, The Daily Star set up a webcam to see if a wilting head of lettuce would last longer than Liz in office.
On October 20th, the lettuce was crowned winner and the internet went wild.
flatmate has just asked me whether i think the lettuce voted leaf or romaine in the brexit referendum and im frankly furious at how funny i found it
— Ben Smoke (@bencsmoke) October 20, 2022
Lettuce at 58p – a good buy
Liz Truss at Number 10 – a goodbye
— @LidlGB (@LidlGB) October 20, 2022
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Try guys try adultery
When you google the Try Guys, ‘drag,’ ‘stand up’ and ‘acupuncture’ are some of the videos that appear – but it took Try Guy Ned trying adultery for the internet to blow up, and for the foursome to become a viral talking point.
The Try Guys editor having to edit that one guy out of all their shit: pic.twitter.com/eNc36oopb6
— Joshua (@1stOr3rdPlace) October 4, 2022
ned fulmer from the try guys opening twitter pic.twitter.com/wHTiUUx2Lc
— star / avi (@lesbiannestor) September 27, 2022
Don’t Worry Darling
Never has there been a movie where the hype around the production is bigger than the film itself – until now.
Between Harry, Olivia, Shia and Florence, the drama with the cast and crew caused more of a stir on social media than any marketing strategy could.
the don’t worry darling drama is getting more and more absurd like what do you mean harry styles [spins wheel] spit on [spins wheel] chris pine
— izzy (@spidermannwh) September 6, 2022
What is @POTUS doing to protect our Americans abroad (Chris Pine) from foreign threats (Harry Styles) ??????
— whitney (@ItsWhitneyLeann) September 6, 2022
My Money Don’t Jiggle Jiggle
In early 2022, Louis Theorux joined Amelia Dimoldenberg on Chicken Shop Date and showed off his rapping skills, serenading her with a rap he wrote a few years previous entitled, My Money Don’t Jiggle Jiggle.
Not only did the rap go viral, a dance to the beat also began to trend.
end.
@stunteditz My money don’t jiggle | #weirdweekends #stunteditz #bangersquad ♬ original sound -
@jessqualtermy money don’t jiggle jiggle.♬ Jiggle Jiggle - Duke & Jones & Louis Theroux
Running up that hill
Almost four decades after its original release, Kate Bush’s Running up that Hill soared to number one after it featured heavily in Stranger Things.
Like any pop culture moment, social media took hold, and the song became a big hit across socials this summer.
@wcstviews her fit tho xx | #strangerthings #strangerthingsedit #strangerthings4 #st4 #st #max #maxmayfield #runningupthathill #fyp #foryou #fypp #viral #xyz ♬ Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush
Corn
When an interview with a kid about his love of corn went viral, TikTok user @schmoyoho remixed the audio into a song and well, the rest is history.
The corn song has gained over 85 million views on the original video and has been used extensively to showcase different things that people love.
@schmoyoho intro song for any meal/snack with corn - from iconic interview on @doingthings ♬ It's Corn - Tariq & The Gregory Brothers & Recess Therapy
@dittawiggles My sweet corn #cornkid #itscorn #corn #cornsong #foryou #fyp #viral #trending #petsoftiktok #dog #dogsoftiktok #dogtok #rescue ♬ It's Corn - Tariq & The Gregory Brothers & Recess Therapy
Negroni Sbagliato
During an interview with HBO, House of Dragon stars Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke discuss their favourite drinks.
Emma’s description of their drink of choice, a negroni sbagliato with prosecco in it, sent the internet into a frenzy.
The phrase got so popular it was remixed into a song, celebrities started saying it and bars noticed an increase in orders of this unusual drink.
@hbomax I'll take one of each. #houseofthedragon ♬ a negroni sbagliato w prosecco l hbo max - hbomax
@gemmalemonade ♬ Prosecco Wukileak - wüki
