From Labubu mayhem to the Diddy trial: These are the cultural moments that defined 2025

The year 2025 has been filled with cultural absurdities. He's not like us: Kendrick Lamar didn't hold back this year.Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Labubus were a viral sensation and fashion must-have accessory this year.Edward Berthelot / Getty Images Sydney Sweeney recently addressed the viral American Eagle ad and its subsequent backlash, telling People magazine that she's "against hate."XNY / Star Max / GC Images / Getty Images Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, called out a couple who hid their faces after being caught on a kiss camera during a show in July.TikTok From left to right: host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel; the Louvre heist depicting as a Halloween costume; Taylor Swift on the cover of her latest album, "The Life of a Showgirl."Getty Images David Ellison, who runs the newly merged Paramount Skydance, launched a hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images Toothy plush dolls became one of the hottest and most elusive collectibles. A fiery feud between two rappers boiled over at the Super Bowl. And a viral cheating scandal between a boss and his employee became the biggest meme of the year. Here’s a full look at NBC News’ list of the biggest cultural moments of 2025. Winter The TikTok ban that never actually happened After months of anticipation for the day U.S. users would lose access to TikTok, a nationwide ban of the app - which was supposed to take effect in January - puttered out as neither President Joe Biden nor President Donald Trump expressed interest in enforcing the new law. U.S. users anxiously rushed to join other platforms , including the Chinese-owned RedNote , in protest, but Trump repeatedly delayed the ban until he finally struck a deal in September to transfer majority ownership of TikTok to Americans. Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show turns heads Fresh off of winning five Grammy Awards for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” Lamar rapper headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in a performance that averaged 133.5 million views (the most-watched Super Bowl halftime ever recorded). Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, narrated the show, which featured a cameo from Serena Williams and appearances from SZA and DJ Mustard. Lamar’s Super Bowl rendition of “Not Like Us,” performed to a loudly singing crowd, escalated Drake’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group for its promotion of the song. But in October, a federal judge dismissed Drake’s defamation suit against the record label, marking the legal culmination of a prolific feud between the two that spanned much of 2024 and part of 2025. Spring Labubu craze takes the world by storm A toothy plush doll that many have described as creepy, or even slightly ugly, ignited the biggest collectible craze of the year . Labubus, which come in blind boxes sold by Pop Mart, were so quickly sold out that a lucrative market for resold Labubus - and even fakes, known as Lafufus - thrived this year. A life-size Labubu...

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