- - Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle campaign and Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance were among the 10 biggest pop-culture moments of 2025

Neia BalaoDecember 30, 2025 at 12:22 AM

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Somehow, we made it. 2025 has felt like an eternity packed into 12 short months — and that’s especially true when it comes to the sheer amount of headline-making pop culture moments we’ve witnessed.

Who could forget about the engagement of “your English teacher and your gym teacher” that broke the internet? Or the fictional love triangle involving siblings that consumed our summer nights? What about the Euphoria star who was accused of promoting eugenics? And the “Espresso”-drinking pop star who was accused of being anti-feminist?

Below, Yahoo is rounding up the 10 biggest pop culture moments of 2025. Settle in, we’ve got a ton of ground to cover.

Sydney Sweeney is accused of promoting eugenics with her American Eagle campaign

Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle. (American Eagle/YouTube) (American Eagle/Youtube)

If it feels like Sydney Sweeney has been inescapable this year, it’s because she has been. Sweeney — whose new film, The Housemaid, dropped on Dec. 19 — was embroiled in controversy after the release of her American Eagle jeans campaign. The series of ads, which dropped in July, was built around the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” — a play on words seemingly referring to her genetic makeup as a white woman with blue eyes and a voluptuous figure.

Criticism immediately rolled in, with people accusing Sweeney of promoting eugenics and white supremacist rhetoric. But the Euphoria star had political figures in her corner — President Trump called Sweeney’s campaign the “HOTTEST” ad out there, and Vice President JD Vance came to her defense too.

Sweeney has remained seemingly unbothered by it all, telling GQ for its November cover story, “I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life. … I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans; it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”

Bad Bunny faces backlash after being named as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performer

Bad Bunny performs during the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images) (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

It was a milestone year for Bad Bunny, who was unveiled as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performer in late September. While the Puerto Rican rapper-singer’s fans were ecstatic to learn he’d be headlining the massive event, not everyone was impressed with the NFL’s decision to have a Spanish-language performer take the coveted stage.

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has drawn criticism from members of the public for performing exclusively in Spanish and advocating for the rights of immigrants. Among his most high-profile critics is Trump, who has apparently “never heard” of the Un Verano Ti Sin singer.

“I don't know who he is," Trump said of Bad Bunny during an appearance on Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports in October. "I don't know why they're doing it. It's like crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment — I think it's absolutely ridiculous.”

But the Grammy-winning performer is here to stay, according to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

"He's one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world," Goodell said during the NFL’s fall meeting. "That's what we try to achieve. It's an important stage for us. It's an important element to the entertainment value. It's carefully thought through.”

Sabrina Carpenter is called anti-feminist over Man’s Best Friend album cover

The album cover for Sabrina Carpenter's "Man's Best Friend." (Island Records) (Island Records)

Sabrina Carpenter isn’t one to let outside opinions influence her decisions. And that’s a good thing — depending on who you ask.

Carpenter announced and then released her latest album, Man’s Best Friend, this summer, less than a year after her Grammy-winning LP, Short n’ Sweet, came out. But excitement quickly gave way to criticism once the “Manchild” singer unveiled the album’s cover: a photo of Carpenter on her knees, in a little black dress and heels, looking at the camera as an unidentifiable man, who’s standing, tugs at her hair. Carpenter was heavily criticized for the image online, with several fans calling it degrading and anti-feminist. Her cover for Rolling Stone’s July/August issue also drew similar backlash.

“I do feel like submission is both dominant and submissive,” Carpenter told Interview magazine of the album cover controversy. “It really depends on what your intentions are and what you want, and what you crave, and what you need. The image, the way I see it, is a metaphor, but I’m sure that other people are like, ‘Dang, she’s a sub.’”

KPop Demon Hunters takes over the world

Huntrix in "KPop Demon Hunters." (Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection) (Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection)

When KPop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix in June, it quickly broke records on the streamer. The animated musical, which follows Huntrix, a K-pop girl group that must protect their fans from a soul-stealing, rival demon boy band, has become Netflix’s most-watched original title ever.

The film’s hit song “Golden” was also a massive success. In addition to receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, the track also received five Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce their engagement

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. (Taylor Swift/Instagram) (Taylor Swift/Instagram)

What happens when the world’s biggest pop star announces she’s getting married? The internet breaks. Swift and her NFL superstar fiancé, Travis Kelce, announced their engagement in late August via a joint Instagram post, which has since garnered over 37 million likes.

The singer captioned the celebratory carousel of images “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” alongside a firecracker emoji. Swift also soundtracked the loved-up post to “So High School,” her Tortured Poets Department track that many believe to be about her relationship with Kelce.

2025 marked another milestone for the Eras Tour star: it was the year she finally got her master recordings back.

“That’s a good year!” she said during a December episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Like those two things that you just mentioned, right? Like getting engaged to the love of my life, getting all my music back. Those were two things that just never could have happened. They could’ve just never happened. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, it’s just a matter of time.’ Like, both those things could have just never arrived in my life. And I’m so grateful for both of those things happening.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty (sort of) comes to an end

Gavin Casalegno as Jeremiah, Lola Tung as Belly and Christopher Briney as Conrad in "The Summer I Turned Pretty." (Erika Doss/Prime) (Erika Doss/Prime)

It’s hard to imagine getting through 2025 without The Summer I Turned Pretty. This year marked the return of the highly anticipated teen series — and it truly did not disappoint. The third and final season of the show was a topic of constant conversation, spawning fan-made edits on TikTok, a slew of theories on how it would end and dedicated watch parties at neighborhood bars.

We gushed, we cried, and we swooned all summer long. And the party isn’t over, either: Following the series finale in September, creator Jenny Han announced that a Summer I Turned Pretty movie is in the works.

“There is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey, and I thought only a movie could give it iits proper due,” Han, who previously cautioned fans against online bullying of the show’s stars, said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to Prime Video for continuing to support my vision for this story and for making it possible to share this final chapter with the fans.”

Nicole Kidman files for divorce from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman attend the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. (Taylor Hill/WireImage via Getty Images) (Taylor Hill/WireImage via Getty Images)

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban called it quits this year. The Babygirl star filed for divorce from the country crooner in September after 19 years of marriage. The couple has two children, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.

While chatting with Vogue for its November issue, Kidman seemingly hinted at their separation before it was announced to the public. The Academy Award-winning actress didn’t divulge specifics, though she did talk about how the complexities of her personal life inform her work as an actress.

“I put it in my work. That’s the beauty of what I do. There’s a place for some of this to explode, implode, process, discover,” she said. Kidman also hinted at the possibility of writing professionally as an outlet, given the “wealth of things” she’s “compiling in my little psyche.”

Stranger Things ends after five seasons — and 9 years

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in "Stranger Things" Season 5. (Netflix) (Netflix)

Nine years, five Olympics, three presidential elections and one pandemic later, Stranger Things is officially coming to an end. The Netflix sci-fi sensation, created by the Duffer Brothers, premiered in 2016 and charmed audiences worldwide with its endearing cast of talented young actors, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin.

The fifth and final season has been divided into three volumes: Volume 1, which comprises episodes 1 through 4, Volume 2, which encompasses episodes 5 through 7, and Volume 3, which consists of a single, eighth episode.

Stranger Things will conclude with its widely anticipated series finale, “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up,” which will be released both on the streamer and in theaters on New Year’s Eve.

“It felt like we were genuinely grieving something, which we were because it’s a huge chapter of our lives,” Sink told Glamour UK of her final day on set of Stranger Things. “It’s bigger than even high school or college or the friends that you make there. It’s bigger than that because nothing else is like this. We’re so connected on so many levels, and then also have this really singular experience. I still have these people and everything, but we have to say goodbye to what brought us together. It was like saying goodbye to your childhood.”

Selena Gomez marries Benny Blanco

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco attend the 5th Annual Academy Museum Gala. (Frazer Harrison/WireImage) (Frazer Harrison via Getty Images)

Selena Gomez is in her wife era! The singer married music producer Benny Blanco, with whom she collaborated on her latest album, I Said I Love You First, after two years of dating. The star-studded nuptials took place in late September at a private ceremony in Montecito, Calif., attended by A-listers, including Gomez’s bestie, Taylor Swift.

While Gomez intentionally kept the wedding itself private, she still wanted to celebrate the “joyous moment” with her fans in her own special way: by releasing a Rare Beauty makeup kit inspired by her big day.

“As I step into one of the most special seasons of my life, I can’t help but think of you, my incredible friends who have been with me through every twist, turn, and chapter,” Gomez wrote on Instagram to unveil the bridal kit. “This bridal makeup kit is my way of sharing a little piece of this joyful moment with you.”

Kendrick Lamar gives the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show performance ever

Kendrick Lamar performs during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. (Michael Owens/Getty Images) (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

2025 was Kendrick Lamar’s year, and we were lucky enough to witness it. The Compton, Calif.-born rapper famously took the stage for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, where he performed an explosive medley of his greatest hits, including his famed Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” The subversive halftime show performance, rife with artistic and political commentary, was the most-watched in history with 133.5 million views, according to Roc Nation, the Jay-Z-owned company that curates the Super Bowl halftime show.

The rapper’s halftime show came after a milestone run at the 2025 Grammys: “Not Like Us” track swept all five categories it was nominated for, becoming the first-ever diss track to win a Grammy.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”