Year in showbiz: The biggest entertainment stories of 2022

By MiNDFOOD

FILE PHOTO: Will Smith (R) hits Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
FILE PHOTO: Will Smith (R) hits Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
From a shocking Oscars slap to a virtual ABBA taking to the stage, this year has seen a range of entertainment stories dominate headlines.

Below are some of the biggest.

The slap

Will Smith smacked Oscars presenter Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife’s hairstyle in a shocking moment that overshadowed Hollywood’s top awards ceremony. Smith went on to win best actor.

‘Hello’ then goodbye

A tearful Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency the day before the concerts were due to start, saying half her crew had COVID-19 and the pandemic had caused delivery delays. She kicked the shows off 10 months later.

FILE PHOTO: Amber Heard leaves Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse after the jury announced split verdicts in favor of both her ex-husband Johnny Depp and Heard on their claim and counter-claim in the Depp v. Heard civil defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., June 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

He said, she heard

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off in a Virginia court after the actor sued his ex-wife arguing she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece.

Heard countersued, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax”. Depp won more than $10 million in damages. The jury ruled for Heard on one counterclaim.

FILE PHOTO: Actor Johnny Depp gestures as he leaves the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse following his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

#MeToo marches on

#MeToo cases continued, with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for sex crimes in New York, going on trial in Los Angeles on 11 charges of rape and sexual assault. Four have since been dismissed. He has pleaded not guilty.

Actor Kevin Spacey defeated a sexual abuse case against him in a Manhattan civil trial. He appeared in court in Britain to plead not guilty to accusations of sex offences dating back almost 20 years.

FILE PHOTO: Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 October 2022. Harvey Weinstein was extradited from New York to Los Angeles to face sex-related charges. Etienne Laurent/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

From Ye to nay

Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, courted controversy with outbursts on social media, including anti-Semitic remarks, leading to the end of some corporate ties – a move has that knocked him off the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires.

Rust settlement reached

Alec Baldwin and producers of Western movie “Rust” reached a settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who the actor shot dead during filming last year. A New Mexico state prosecutor is deciding whether to press criminal charges.

FILE PHOTO: Members of Swedish music band ABBA arrive for the opening performance of the “ABBA Voyage” concert in London, Britain May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

Hill song

Beyonce, Rihanna and Britney Spears made comebacks with new music. Kate Bush topped charts with “Running Up That Hill” as the 1985 song enjoyed a resurgence thanks to Netflix show “Stranger Things”. Swedish supergroup ABBA returned to the stage, albeit as digital avatars, or “ABBAtars”.

FILE PHOTO: Britney Spears poses at the premiere of “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Tom back on top

Tom Cruise premiered his hotly anticipated sequel “Top Gun: Maverick”, returning as the cocky pilot he first played in the 1986 action flick. “Maverick” remains the biggest film of 2022, grossing $1.48 billion worldwide.

FILE PHOTO: The 75th Cannes Film Festival – Screening of the film “Top Gun: Maverick” Out of Competition – Red Carpet Arrivals – Cannes, France, May 18, 2022. Cast member Tom Cruise poses. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

Royal wars

Just a few short months after Queen Elizabeth’s death, Harry and Meghan released a tell-all Netflix documentary about their experience being part of the royal family and stepping back from being senior royals.

Farewells

The world said goodbye to: actors Sidney Poitier, Ray Liotta, Angela Lansbury, Olivia Newton-John and Robbie Coltrane as well as music stars Jerry Lee Lewis, Meat Loaf, Coolio, Taylor Hawkins and Loretta Lynn among others.

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