The Most Jaw-Dropping And Game-Changing Pop Culture Moments Of 2020

A previously little-known business video calling app soon became as necessary and utilised as banking apps, WhatsApp and Instagram. Rapidly becoming the video call of choice, Zoom was the way we conducted work meetings, caught up with friends and the only way we saw the faces of our family for a good few months.

It wasn't just us common folk that used Zoom (and Microsoft Teams, Hangout and FaceTime and more). As the pandemic showed no sign of slowing down celebrities soon became accustomed to delivering interviews through a screen and even the royals (including The Queen) 'met' their various charities via video call.

As celebrities looked to fundraise for people affected by the virus they also thought up inventive ways to do this in a world where they couldn't stage real life events. Cue, the Zoom reunion. We were treated to on-screen reunions from the cast of Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Parks and Recreation and table reads involving talent like Julia Roberts and a reunion with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

Perhaps it was no surprise that with us all being unable to touch anyone who didn't live in our immediate bubble, we'd become obsessed with a series in which the intimacy and connection between the two main characters radiates from the screen.

Normal People was the on-screen adaptation of Sally Rooney's popular book of the same title about Connell and Marianne - two Irish teenagers from different backgrounds who find that they understand each other more than anyone has ever understood them.

As well as being beautifully shot - with tasteful, realistic and emotional sex scenes thanks to an intimacy co-ordinator - the series made stars of its two leads, Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal. With the latter's character's chain becoming a star in its own right too.

The 67-year-old designer showcased his final couture collection at the start of the year, pulling out all the stops in the process. Models who took to the Paris runway included Gigi and Bella Hadid, Winnie Harlow, Irina Shayk and Karlie Kloss.

The show was a homage to Jean Paul Gaultier's best known work. Shayk walked down the runway in a cone-bra corset reminiscent of Madonna's iconic costume, while Hadid wore a nautical-inspired design, another symbolic tribute to the designer's sartorial legacy.

Even more significantly, the show marked one of the last hurrah's for fashion shows as we know it. Following February's AW20 presentations, designers were forced to think up new ways to present their collections in an era of Covid-19. The alternatives: shows in boxes by JW Anderson and Loewe, books in place of presentations by smaller brands like Bianca Saunders, and digital 'film festivals' hosted by Gucci to showcase their own work as well as that of smaller brands.

Following on from table reads and interviews, celebrities also had to attend award ceremonies virtually.

In September, the Emmy's were held, with some nominated talent there in person and others connected via video link. One such person was Zendaya, who became the youngest person to ever win the Best Actress In A Drama Series Emmy and had a brilliantly meme-able reaction.

As the Euphoria star explained to ELLE (and Timothee Chalamet) in an interview months later, someone delivered her prize to her in a hazmat suit.

'There were these people in hazmat suits that went to the nominees’ houses with awards. So basically, if you won, you’d grab it quickly from them and have it. If you didn’t win, they just take it away with them and leave,' she explained.

Ah, 2020.

In 2018, Meghan Markle officially joined the royal family by marrying Prince Harry, marking a shift in the direction in the British institution. A strong-minded, opinionated, progressive mixed-race woman with a successful career under her belt joined a family associated with tradition, a stiff upper lip and famously remaining silent when it comes to voicing their opinions.

However, this refreshing shift - encouraged by so many at first who were dazzled by Meghan's ease, confidence, grace and charitable ways - came to a crashing halt in January when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would become financially independent from the monarchy and step back in their roles as senior royals.

The couple's decision came months after intense media speculation and criticism, with their every move closely followed and scrutinised, an ongoing lawsuit with a British tabloid and evident signs of awkwardness and rifts between some family members.

Due to Covid-19, the couple have spent the vast majority of the year residing in California with their son Archie and continuing their charity work.

Perhaps it was the escape we all needed from the calamity that was 2020.

Coinciding with the start of a national lockdown in the UK, the docu-series Tiger King was released on Netflix. The bonkers show introduced viewers to feuding big cat fanatics (as the series explains, more tigers live in American backyards than in the wild) Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin leaving viewers astonished, horrified and unable to believe what they just witnessed in equal measure.

It's hard to fathom that the first two months of the year were almost normal, apart from the emerging reports about a threatening new virus which appeared distant and so were overlooked at the time.

But this year started off just like any other, which in Hollywood, meant awards season. One of the consistent events across the big award ceremonies (we're talking Golden Globes, Oscars, BAFTAs and SAG awards) was the victorious reemergence of Brad Pitt.

The actor won the Best Supporting Actor prize at all four ceremonies for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood but ensured we never got bored of seeing him on stage thanks to his headline-dominating speeches and award show moments.

From mocking his own dating history at the SAG awards, to wearing a name tag at the Oscars luncheon to referencing the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' move to the US (in front of Kate Middleton and Prince William at the BAFTAs, might we add) to publicly embracing and congratulating his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston backstage, Pitt was the king of Awards Season 2020.

Beyoncé broke the internet yet again in 2020, this summer.

The singer released feature film, Black Is King - the visual accompaniment to her 2019 Lion King album 'The Gift' - on Disney Plus.

Shot in Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria - as well as New York City and Los Angeles - the film was a love letter to Africa and the Black experience. Despite being a year in the making, the film arrived at a poignant time when the world was calling for further protection, celebration and empowerment of Black people following the death of George Floyd.

The stunning film, which was predominantly made by a crew of African and Black creatives, also featured cameos from Naomi Campbell, Adut Akech, Aweng Ade-Chuol, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Rowland, Jay-Z, African artists Shatta Wale and Burna Boy and the Carter children, Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir.

Just like she did with the Givenchy yellow 'Hold Up' dress, Bey's wardrobe contributed to some of the most iconic fashion moments too. The star made Marine Serre's Crescent Moon Print the Most Popular Print Of 2020 - as verified by Lyst.

In April, the docu-series we didn't know we needed arrived.

The Last Dance told the story of the NBA-league dominating Chicago Bulls 1990s team, and more specifically its three most prolific players: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Featuring in depth interviews, previously unearthed footage and one hell of a 1990s hip-hop soundtrack, the series was riveting, fascinating and gave us all a good healthy dose of nostalgia which was what we really wanted around April time.

Putting out an album in a pandemic is no easy feat but Dua Lipa managed to release a disco-fuelled album (Future Nostalgia) which led us all to get off our sofa and dance to 'Levitating', 'Don't Start Now' and 'Break My Heart' (with the apt lyrics, 'I should've stayed at home' in the chorus) in our jogging bottoms.

Dua has ended the year with six Grammy nominations, a socially distanced concert featuring Sir Elton John which was watched by more than five million viewers, a duet with Miley Cyrus and endlessly reappearing on Spotify Wrapped roundups across the world.

Along with The Weeknd (who released the biggest selling single of the year with 'Blinding Lights'), Harry Styles (more on him below), Taylor Swift (who released two albums during lockdown) and Ariana Grande, the success of these artists prove how much we've needed music during this time.

The hugely-anticipated fourth installment of the royal family-chronicling drama arrived in November, picking up in the late 1970s and consequently introducing Emma Corrin as Princess Diana and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

Watching two of the most high profile women in British history depicted on screen naturally dominated cultural conversations this Autumn. Fans were mesmerised at the character's likeness to their real life counterparts, reminding us of gobsmacking events like an intruder entering the Queen's bedroom at Buckingham Palace and the conversations around the artistic license of the Netflix series were reinvigorated once again.

Both Disney and Pixar made strides towards more inclusive casting this year through new characters.

In October, Onward - starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland - arrived on Disney Plus UK introducing Disney and Pixar's first ever openly LGBTQ+ character the cyclops officer Specter, voiced by Lena Waithe.

In May, Disney's streaming service also introduced a nine-minute -long film, as part of its Spark Shorts series, called Out - which told the emotional story of a man who wants to move in with his boyfriend but is struggling to come out to his parents.

Michaela Coel returned to our screens this year. As if that wasn't a saving grace in itself, she brought with her I May Destroy You - a fearless, unique and bold look at sexual consent. Coel tackled such a huge and poorly understood issue by bravely drawing on her own experiences while simultaneously introducing intersecting themes of race, class, sexuality, friendship and self-reflection. In addition to Coel's standout performance, the show also shone a light on phenomenal actors Weruche Opia (Terry) and Paapa Essiedu.

After months grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic, another devastating global event occurred in the summer. Following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man restrained by a white police officer in Minneapolis (which was caught on camera) there was a global outcry. In addition to the deaths of emergency technician Breonna Taylor and jogger Ahmaud Arbery, people took to the streets in their thousands at the deaths of unarmed Black people. Marches and uprisings grew in the US and across the world too as people defied quarantine regulations to voice their anger, frustration, grief and solidarity. This included people in the public eye too.

John Boyega delivered a powerful speech in Hyde Park on the realities of being Black in the UK. Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Jennifer Lopez, Sophie Turner and Anthony Joshua all took to the streets to march, too. Stormzy announced a donation of £10 million to organisations and causes fighting racial inequality, justice reform and promoting black excellence over a 10 year period while Jennifer Aniston, Leonardo DiCaprio and Blake Lively also made donations.

Memes have existed for a long time now: Rihanna's Met Gala/pizza topping dress, Meryl Streep whooping at the Oscars and Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Great Gatsby raise of a glass' spring to mind. But, arguably, we've never needed memes as much as we have in 2020.

Perhaps it's because the meme-makers had more time to devote to creating memes, or just that people needed regular laughs? Or maybe it was just the utter calamity of 2020 providing enough meme-able content for years to come. Whatever the reason, the memes came in thick and fast. And we, as an internet community, are eternally grateful.

Aside from the global pandemic, one of the most historic moments came towards the end of the year when the American public voted to oust the sitting - and arguably most controversial and divisive in recent memory - president, Donald Trump, and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president, respectively.

In an eventful election, of which the result was not called for several days and even now is being disputed by President Trump, both Biden and Harris made history. While 78-year-old Biden will become the oldest president in history, the cultural significance of former attorney Harris becoming the first woman, the first Black woman and the first Asian-American woman to hold the White House position is monumental.

It also means more Maya Rudolph in Saturday Night Live sketches, which we're not mad about either.

This Canadian sitcom created by Jim's dad in American Pie, Eugene Levy, and his son IRL, Dan Levy, cleaned up at the 2020 Emmy awards for the first time... in its sixth season.

The series - chronicling the fallout after an extremely wealthy New York family who lose all their money and relocate to the fictional Schitt's Creek - was a hidden gem until it was picked up by Netflix with its third season.

With witty writing, hilarious one-liners and Catherine O'Hara's mind-blowing accent (and wigs) the show is finally getting the acclaim it deserves in 2020.

It's been 14 years since Sacha Baron-Cohen introduced his mankini-wearing Kazakhstani-native alter ego, Borat, in a hugely controversial 'mockumentary' which spawned catchphrases ('it's nice') and lawsuits in equal measure.

So, in 2020, when the British actor released the 'subsequent moviefilm' sequel we didn't quite know how it was going to go down. It turns out, that even with the passing of more than a decade, the film's consequences are just as major as the debut film. The movie made a star of its lead female character, previously unknown actress Maria Bakalova (who Baron-Cohen is campaigning for an Oscar) and forced President Donald Trump's lawyer, and former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Guilian, to explain himself after some compromising undercover footage was included in the movie.

After laying the groundwork professing that the summer of 2019 was 'Hot Girl Summer', the 25-year-old Houston-born rapper has cemented her star status in 2020, despite the lack of live performances and red carpet appearances as well as a horrendous personal incident where she was victim of a shooting.

Megan's 2020 involves collaborating with Beyoncé on the song of the year - 'Savage (Remix)' - which has since picked up three Grammy nominations, performing a rousing homage to Black womanhood on Saturday Night Live, releasing her debut album Good News and joining forces with Cardi B on the provocative and record-breaking 'WAP' (it amalgamated the most ever-recorded streams for a new single in its first days with 93 million, reported the LA Times).