While the availability of the COVID-19 vaccinations (thanks, science!) made it possible to be out of the house more than we were in 2020, most of us still enjoyed a lot of at-home, on-the-couch time this year. That means we had plenty of opportunities to soak up all the best that pop culture had to offer. It turns out that 2021 was actually a pretty great year for unforgettable moments in TV, movies, social media, and other pop culture genres.
Now that the year is almost over, it’s the perfect time to relive the pop culture moments that we were so obsessed with, amazed by, and couldn't stop talking about. We've gathered 16 moments that set Twitter on fire (yes, Oprah was involved), changed the game, made fans and critics alike totally freak out, introduced us to brand-new stars who hit it really big for the first time (hey there, Olivia Rodrigo!), and made us smile, laugh, and cry.
This list is also a great way to catch up on any pop culture goodies that you might have been missed along the way. Consider this the essential list of moments that everyone should know about to have some basic cultural literacy for 2021!
Olivia Rodrigo Hits It Big
Olivia Rodrigo started 2021 as a little-known Disney Channel star. At the end of 2021, she's got a sold-out concert tour, her debut album Sour was named one of the best of the year by Rolling Stone, and her song "Driver's License" was the ultimate heartbroken sing-along hit of the summer. At only 18 years old, she is a major pop culture force at the moment.
Taylor Swift's Epic Song
Taylor Swift fans have speculated for years about the rumored extended version of one her biggest songs, "All Too Well." When she announced that the release of her Red (Taylor's Version) album would include the 10-minute version of the song that chronicled the rise and fall of her brief relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal, fans lost their minds. And when she performed all 10 minutes on Saturday Night Live? Epic!
Bennifer 2.0
Jennifer Lopez basically hasn't aged since 2004, so it makes a certain kind of sense that she and Ben Affleck reunited this year. When the couple got back together in May and went Instagram official in a July post celebrating J.Lo's birthday, it was a major moment of pop culture romance nostalgia. Those crazy kids seem pretty happy so far, so is engagement 2.0 in the cards? Maybe that will be a memorable pop culture moment for 2022!
The Return of 'Ted Lasso'
Season one of Ted Lasso was the exact TV show we all needed during the first phase of the pandemic — kind, gentle, hilariously funny, and filled with characters we all came to love and root for. Few TV shows were anticipated as highly or discussed as much as season two, which premiered in July. While season two was darker and more complicated, it did give us lots of super satisfying moments of Roy Kent growling at people. We're always here for that!
The Oprah Interview
There was literally no celebrity interview in 2021 that generated more buzz, more online conversation, or more coverage than the March 2021 interview with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and talk queen Oprah Winfrey. Tea was spilled, rumors were confronted, and it left casual fans and ardent royal watchers alike filled with a real sense that some shady stuff had happened across the pond.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Kardashian Relationship Drama
Love them or hate them, it's hard not to pay attention to the ever-present Kardashian sisters. This year, there was plenty of relationship drama to keep fans and critics tuning into their lives, the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and their social media. Topping the most obsessable moments are Kim Kardashian and Kanye West calling it quits in February and Khloé Kardashian's on-again/off-again relationship with serial cheater Tristan Thompson.
Pete Davidson's Love Life
Pete Davidson continued his long streak of dating ridiculously beautiful women in 2021. He split up with model Kaia Gerber (daughter of Cindy Crawford) in 2020 but rebounded with a short relationship with Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor in the spring of 2021 before landing in a rumored relationship with Kim Kardashian in late fall. While there are those who find him hot, there are also enough folks who wonder how exactly he keeps landing such gorgeous girlfriends to make for some fun pop culture conversations.
Peloton's Popularity
Peloton was once a brand associated with a cringy holiday commercial and a hefty price tag. But since the pandemic, it suddenly seems like everyone is getting a Peloton and Peloton instructors are newly famous off the bike. Cody Rigsby was on Dancing With the Stars and has nearly a million followers on Instagram, Ally Love shared five days of wedding festivities with more than 800,000 of her closest social media fans, and even Beyoncé got in on the action, selecting several instructors to model her fashion line collab with the brand.
JoJo Siwa Comes Out
Making the transition from child star to adult can be tricky but 18-year-old JoJo Siwa did it with grace and poise this year. When she announced that she was part of the LGBT+ community in spring 2021, she was applauded for her openness and for trusting her young fans to support her, which they (and many famous celebs) did in droves on social media. She went on to make history in the fall by being the first celebrity on Dancing With the Stars to have a same-sex partner. Their amazing dance moves made having to sit through Tyra Banks' terrible hosting seem worth it!
Judgment for Josh Duggar
Maybe it seems weird to say that the thought of someone spending the next 20 years in prison is giving us life, but that's the truth. The moment that former 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar was arrested for child pornography charges was treated as a moment for celebration for critics of the problematic family, especially given that Josh was already alleged to have committed crimes against children. He was convicted in December 2021, and we are cheering the fact that someone who has caused harm to kids is going to spend time behind bars.
Kourtney & Travis Fall in Love
There are some celebrity couples who try to play it coy and proclaim that they want to keep their relationship private. Then there is Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker, who spent most of 2021 engaging in loved-up PDA all over the country. Honestly, it was kind of fun to see two middle-aged parents go from friends to deeply-horny-for-each-other lovers, especially compared to Kourtney's ex Scott Disick, who got dumped by his most recent teenage girlfriend. Yay for age-appropriate love!
'Bridgerton' Made Us All Fans of Regé-Jean Page
Whew. The steamy, romantic, gorgeously costumed TV series Bridgerton came out right after Christmas 2020 and by New Year's Day, many of us had major crushes on breakout star Regé-Jean Page. He went from being a little-known actor to hosting Saturday Night Live based almost entirely on his ability to smolder.
Bernie Becomes a Meme
The internet has never been more unified than it was in its effort to turn this picture of Senator Bernie Sanders from the presidential inauguration into every possible version of a meme. For a solid week, there was a new cold Bernie meme for every circumstance, much to the delight of everyone on social media (except for a certain former president, we suspect).
Free Britney
We're living for the fact that Britney Spears is finally able to live life on her own terms. She was freed from her father's legal control, she's engaged to her long-term cutie boyfriend, and she's even thinking about having another baby. We wish her all the health and happiness in 2022!
A 'Friends' Reunion
Everyone who came of age in the 1990s got a major dose of nostalgia this year when the iconic cast of Friends reunited for a televised special. It was hard to believe that it had been more than 17 years since the show left the air when we all got to see how much chemistry the cast still has together. Could we be any more obsessed with this reunion?
'And Just Like That' Premieres
Warning: spoilers ahead!
Sex and the City fans were so excited when HBO Max announced that a spin-off series, And Just Like That, would launch in 2021. But the first two episodes have proved to be controversial for how the show dealt with the absence of the Samantha character and for having the nerve to kill off Big (with a Peloton, no less!). We're living for the conversation about whether this reboot can possibly get better and fill SATC's fabulous shoes.
