The 20 Biggest Stories of 2017

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The 20 Biggest Stories of 2017

Hot off the press! This year was one for the books in the world of celebrity news. Scroll down to see Us Weekly’s list of the 20 biggest stories of 2017!

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Oscars Best Picture Flub

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway erroneously presented the Best Picture trophy at the 89th Academy Awards on February 26 to La La Land rather than the actual winner, Moonlight. The auditing firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers later explained that the mistake was due to an envelope mix-up.

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Ariana Grande’s Manchester Concert

A suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured more than 500 others at the pop star’s concert at Manchester Arena on May 22. Thirteen days later, Grande returned to the stage for a televised benefit concert entitled One Love Manchester, which raised $2.6 million in donations.

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Twins, Twins, Twins!

Madonna surprised fans in February when she announced that she adopted daughters Estere and Stella from Malawi. Then George and Amal Clooney welcomed son Alexander and daughter Ella on June 6. And Beyoncé gave birth to daughter Rumi and son Sir with Jay-Z on June 13.

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Sexual Misconduct Scandals

Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by more than 80 women since The New York Times and The New Yorker published back-to-back exposés in October. He denied all accusations of non-consensual sex. The scandal led to countless other women coming forward in the weeks that followed with similar allegations against powerful men in Hollywood, including Kevin Spacey and Matt Lauer.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Engagement

The prince and the Suits alum announced on November 27 that they were engaged after more than a year of dating. They later appeared for a photo call and sat down for a BBC interview, in which Markle called Harry’s proposal an “amazing surprise.”

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Prince William and Duchess Kate’s Third Pregnancy

Kensington Palace confirmed on September 4 that the duchess was expecting her third child with the royal, with whom she already shares son Prince George and daughter Princess Charlotte.

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Deaths in Music

The music world lost several legends in 2017. Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell died by suicide at age 52 on May 18. Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, who was friends with Cornell, also died by suicide at age 41 on July 20. Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest at age 66 on October 2.

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Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Performance

The superstar didn’t need any special guests to rock her Super Bowl LI halftime performance at Houston’s NRG Stadium on February 5. She delivered a medley of hits such as “Bad Romance” and “Telephone.” 

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Kathy Griffin’s Donald Trump Photo

The stand-up comedian posted a picture of herself holding a fake, bloody, decapitated head that resembled the president. Trump condemned the photo shoot, tweeting that it disturbed his young son Barron. Griffin apologized but faced major backlash as she was fired from CNN’s New Year’s Eve special and investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Chris Soules’ Arrest

The Bachelor alum was arrested near Aurora, Iowa, on April 24 after his pickup truck rear-ended a tractor trailer driven by local farmer Kenneth Mosher. The 66-year-old was pronounced dead soon after the crash. Soules pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene and argue that he fulfilled his legal requirements by calling 911 and waiting for paramedics to arrive. He has a trial date scheduled for January 2018.

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Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus’ Romance

Us Weekly confirmed in July that the Oscar winner was dating the Saturday Night Live producer amid his divorce from Jennifer Garner, his wife of 10 years. A source told Us that Affleck and Shookus began dating in April, but another insider claimed the relationship started in 2014 while he was still together with Garner and Shookus was married to SNL colleague Kevin Miller.

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Babies for the Kardashian-Jenners

Us Weekly broke the news in July that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were expecting their third child, a girl, via surrogate. It was revealed in late September that Kylie Jenner was pregnant with her first child, a girl, with boyfriend Travis Scott. Then, Us exclusively revealed that Khloé Kardashian and beau Tristan Thompson were expecting their first bundle of joy, a boy. (Pictured above in 2015.)

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Taylor Swift’s New Album

The Grammy winner released her highly anticipated sixth disc, Reputation, on November 10. The record included the singles “Look What You Made Me Do” and “…Ready for It?” as well as collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Future. Swift announced three days after the album’s release that she will embark on a stadium tour in 2018.

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Selena Gomez’s Kidney Transplant

The Disney alum announced on Instagram on September 14 that she quietly underwent a kidney transplant over the summer. Her friend Francia Raisa was the donor. “I am incredibly blessed,” Gomez captioned a headline-making image of her and Raisa holding hands in their hospital beds.

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Chris Pratt and Anna Faris’ Split

The Jurassic World actor and Mom star announced on August 6 that they were legally separating after eight years of marriage. “We tried really hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” they said in a joint statement. The parents of son Jack officially filed for divorce in December 1 as she began dating cinematographer Michael Barrett.

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Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna’s Feud

The model was granted a temporary restraining order against the reality star after he posted her nude photos and accused her of infidelity in an explosive social media rant on July 5. “I was devastated, of course,” she later told Nightline. “The moral of the story is that he doesn’t respect me, so if you can’t respect me, you have to respect the law.”

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Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez Reunite

Just days after it was revealed that the “Wolves” songstress and The Weeknd called it quits in October after 10 months of dating, Us Weekly exclusively confirmed that she rekindled her romance with the “Love Yourself” crooner. “I cherish people who have really impacted my life. So maybe [when I was younger], it could have been forcing something that wasn’t right. But that doesn’t mean caring for someone ever goes away,” she told Billboard in November of her reunion with Bieber.

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Donald Trump’s Inauguration

The real estate magnate officially took the oath of office and became president on January 20 alongside his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence. The following day, several protests were held across the country in support of women’s rights, health care reform, LGBTQ rights and other issues. Millions of people, including countless celebrities, participated in the women’s marches.

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Bachelor in Paradise Scandal

Production was suspended on the ABC summer reality series on June 11 after a producer filed a complaint about an alleged incident of sexual misconduct between cast members DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios. Nine days later, Warner Bros. said its internal investigation had been completed and no evidence of misconduct was found. Neither Jackson nor Olympios returned to Mexico after the scandal, but they did appear on the reunion specials. The costars put the past behind them and were spotted partying together and kissing in Los Angeles in August.

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Serena Williams’ Wedding and Baby

The tennis champ had a big year. She married Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian in a star-studded ceremony in New Orleans on November 16, one month after the couple welcomed their daughter, Alexis Jr.