The Worst of 2022, from Elon Musk taking over Twitter to Kanye West declaring love for Hitler

2022 has been a roller-coaster of a year with all the drama that global media got to witness, from Kanye West professing his love for Hitler to Elon Musk turning Twitter into his new plaything. 

For every major win, there has been a major L. So, while CODA made history as the first movie with deaf actors to win a Best Picture Oscar, Will Smith’s slap took the spotlight. While Messi finally led Argentina to a nail-biting victory, the homophobia and labour deaths associated with the World Cup made it a tragic tournament. The list goes on...

On a global scale too, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Mahsa Amini’s death in Iran, and similar instances of human rights violations made it a particularly tragic year for many.

Here's a look at the biggest 'L moments' of the year.

1. Kanye West being Kanye West

The rapper and entrepreneur who now calls himself just Ye has been the posterchild of controversy for a long time. But he has arguably displayed his worst behaviour this year with anti-Semitic statements, a “White Lives Matter” fashion campaign, and allegations of him bullying Adidas and Yeezy employees by showing them porn and sensitive images of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

2. Qatar hosting the World Cup

Even before the World Cup began, Qatar’s organising committee had been drawing flak for deaths of migrant labourers, bribery and the general homophobia of the Emirati country. Even FIFA’s own president Gianni Infantino conveniently ignored all human rights concerns relating to the tournament.

3. Elon Musk becoming Twitter’s “Chief Twit”

Ever since Elon Musk came to power as Twitter’s CEO, the social media platform has been in sheer chaos with unexpected mass firings and constant new updates like the $8 charge for a blue tick. 

4. Tech world struggles with unemployment

Not just Twitter, the winter months have been bad for Silicon Valley giants like Meta and Amazon, as well as Indian tech-companies like BYJU’s. Mass firings unfortunately became the norm in 2022. 

5. Akshay Kumar drops five (terrible) movies in a year

From the historically exaggerated Samraat Prithviraaj to unintentionally comedic historical fiction like Ram Setu, 2022 has marked a new low for Akshay Kumar's career. Throw in a Bachchan Pandey and a Raksha Bandhan; and the "Khiladi" could still not mint any box-office cold, terrifying audiences and critics alike. Oh, and a random foray into the OTT space with Cuttputtli also added to another disappointment in an already-disappointing year for the Hindi film industry. 

6. Salt Bae annoys Messi and the Argentina team

In a rather embarassing moment for the security at Qatar's Lusail Stadium, celebrity chef Salt Bae also joined in the FIFA final celebrations when Lionel Messi and co were celebrating on the field. Stepping in like an uninvited guest, the Turkish influencer was seen contantly annoying Messi, Angel di Maria, and other footballers; touching the FIFA trophy, biting their medals, and pestering them for a photograph. Widely condemned by armies of Messi fans, he has now been banned from the US Open and the Rolling Loud music festival. 

7. Amber Heard settles in the defamation trial

Amber Heard might have finally settled on the defamation trial but the whole coverage of the verdict (in favour of Johnny Depp) is what proved to be controversial. There is substantial evidence to support both Heard assaulting Depp and vice versa in a former marriage that included violence, emotional abuse, alcoholism, and a lot more. Despite the legions of "meninists" backing up Depp, even Heard began to gain more public support this year with people empathising for her mental health and the social media trolls. Alas, her settlement at the trial has now disappointed her ardent supporters. 

8. FTX goes bankrupt as crypto world struggles

Once hailed as the future of currency, digital currencies have suffered a setback with global dips and the FTX fiasco. The cryptocurrency platform crashed in November when disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed for bankruptcy. He was later arrested. The whole incident has had major ramifications for investors and other crypto-entities. 

9. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis

Severe inflation, daily blackouts, a shortage of fuel became common in Sri Lanka from March onwards following mismanagement of the economy by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led government. Public protests followed and the country entered in a political and financial crisis. 

10. KK’s sudden death

Out of all the Indian celebrity deaths, singer KK’s demise perhaps came as the biggest shocker. The Bollywood playback artist passed away due to a heart attack right after a show in Kolkata in May. Apart from his pre-existing health issues, the singer was complaining about the claustrophobic venue before he died. 

11. China and India clash at Arunachal border

On December 9, Chinese troops orchestrated an incursion across the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector in an attempt to unilaterally change the region’s status. This is the first such incident since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with the Indian defence ministry getting more vigilant. 

12. Adam Levine cheats on his wife

In the movie Begin Again, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine played a douchebag musician who cheats on his girlfriend. That just turned into a reality for him this year as he was found cheating on his wife Behati Prinsloo over another woman after whom he was ready to even name his daughter! It only gets weirder from there. 

13. Overturning of Roe vs Wade

Roe vs Wade was a landmark decision from 1973 that made abortion a constitutional right for American women. This year, the US Supreme Court overturned the decision. This means that abortion is highly likely to be banned in nearly half the states of the USA. 

14- Andrew Tate gets banned but continues spreading his misogynistic agenda

Kickboxer-turned-Internet personality Andrew Tate is the latest man to be worshipped among the 'sigma male dudebro' community, thanks to his outdated and outrightly sexist and homophobic views on gender and everything else. Even though Tate got banned on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, Tate has found a new fanbase (concerningly among teenage boys). In several podcasts and interviews, Tate can be heard comparing women to children or cars, calling them bad drivers and referring to webcam models as investments, and so on. 

15. Mahsa Amini’s death

22-year-old university student and aspiring lawyer Mahsa Amini was arrested in September for not wearing the hijab properly, detained by Iran’s notorious morality police who later allegedly subjected her to such brutal violence that she died in a hospital on September 16. Her death under mysterious circumstances sparked a feminist revolution in the country, with many women taking off their headscarves and chopping their hair off in protest. 

16. Will Smith’s slap 

Chris Rock made a joke on Jada Pinkett-Smith’s medical condition. Will Smith got angry and slapped the comedian. This straightforward incident created ripples in Hollywood with people still divided on who to side with. On the one hand, some people still think Smith’s slap was justified as Rock crossed a certain limit with his jokes. Others are seeing it as a violent way of shushing down humour and free speech. 

17. Third wave of Covid

The third wave of the seemingly never-ending Covid pandemic in India lasted from January till March. Third dose of vaccine was rolled out to priority groups in the beginning of the year with several states announcing temporary lockdowns. The death rate was thankfully not as high as the earlier two waves. 

18. Ezra Miller turns unhinged and DC struggles

This is the year when Ezra Miller got cancelled with several allegations of burglary and holding minor boys and girls hostage and indulging in some cult-like practices (the actor calls himself a worshipper of both God and Satan and believes he's the one to "unite all timelines"). While Miller cites complex mental health issues as a defense against his charges, this has created troubled for DC that has delayed the release of Miller's standalone Flash movie. Otherwise too, DC has had quite a year of boo-worthy decisions such as cancelling the Batgirl movie mid-production and removing Henry Cavill from the role of Superman (right after he was hired again). 

19. IndiGo passenger misbehaves in viral video

Indian passengers hardly have any respect for flight attendants. This stereotype was proven true by the recent video of a scuffle that broke out onboard an IndiGo flight between Istanbul and Delhi. When a passenger started misbehaving with a flight attendant, the latter too began to shout back in retaliation. "I am not your servant," she can be heard saying. Tejasvi Chandela, another passenger on the flight, took to social media to provide more context, "They called them servants and were after their life for food when they know that they are travelling on a low-budget airline."

20. Chetan Bhagat gives unwanted advice on Uorfi Javed's clothes

While this year's edition of Sahitya Aaj Tak had a positive response, author Chetan Bhagat managed to gain backlash yet again for his uncalled-for remarks. This time, he mentioned Uorfi Javed and her outfits, adding how it contributes to distracting the Indian youth. Bhagat was trolled for his outdated analogy, with even Javed hitting back with an Instagram story that read, "Blaming women's clothes for the behaviour of men is so 80s Mr Chetan Bhagat. Who was distracting the youth when you messaged girls half your age?"

21. RIP exotic fish from Berlin 

Berlin's 'AquaDome' - the largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium in the world and home to 1,500 tropical fish - burst open Friday (December 16) morning and flooded the Radisson Blu hotel and nearby streets in the German capital. The Berlin Police reported "incredible maritime damage", and two people were injured by glass shards. Debris from the shattering flooded out onto the streets along with over 100 varieties of marine life. 

22. The Russia-Ukraine war

Even though Russia and Ukraine have engaged in armed conflict since 2014, the war reached a disastrous high point early this year with Putin officially announcing an invasion on Ukrainian territories. The subsequent annexation saw a valiant counter-attack by the army and civilians under Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but the war rages on. Over 6,826 civilian deaths are reported as a result of missile strikes and military violence.