A slap, a maverick and some ABBAtars: the 2022 showbiz stories
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[December 05, 2022]
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
LONDON (Reuters) - From a shocking Oscars slap to a virtual ABBA taking
to the stage, this year has seen a range of entertainment stories
dominate headlines.
Below are some of the biggest.
* Will Smith smacked Oscars presenter Chris Rock in the face for making
a joke about his wife's hairstyle in a shocking moment that overshadowed
Hollywood's top awards ceremony. Smith went on to win best actor.
* A tearful Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency the day before the
concerts were due to start, saying half her crew had COVID-19 and the
pandemic had caused delivery delays. She kicked the shows off 10 months
later.
* Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off in a Virginia court after the
actor sued his ex-wife arguing she defamed him when she called herself
"a public figure representing domestic abuse" in a newspaper opinion
piece. Heard countersued, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called
her accusations a "hoax". Depp won more than $10 million in damages. The
jury ruled for Heard on one counterclaim.
* #MeToo cases continued, with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey
Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for sex crimes in
New York, going on trial in Los Angeles on 11 charges of rape and sexual
assault. Four have since been dismissed. He has pleaded not guilty.
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Actor Kevin Spacey defeated a sexual abuse case against him in a
Manhattan civil trial. He appeared in court in Britain to plead not
guilty to accusations of sex offences dating back almost 20 years.
* Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, courted controversy with
outbursts on social media, including anti-Semitic remarks, leading to
the end of some corporate ties - a move has that knocked him off the
Forbes list of the world's billionaires.
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![](../images/120522PIX/ent_b.19.jpg)
Actor Johnny Depp gestures as he leaves
the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse following his defamation trial
against his ex-wife Amber Heard, in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., May 27,
2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png) * Alec Baldwin and producers of
Western movie "Rust" reached a settlement in a wrongful-death
lawsuit brought by the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins,
who the actor shot dead during filming last year. A New Mexico state
prosecutor is deciding whether to press criminal charges.
* Beyonce, Rihanna and Britney Spears made comebacks with new music.
Kate Bush topped charts with "Running Up That Hill" as the 1985 song
enjoyed a resurgence thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things".
Swedish supergroup ABBA returned to the stage, albeit as digital
avatars, or "ABBAtars".
* Tom Cruise premiered his hotly anticipated sequel "Top Gun:
Maverick", returning as the cocky pilot he first played in the 1986
action flick. "Maverick" remains the biggest film of 2022, grossing
$1.48 billion worldwide.
* The world said goodbye to: actors Sidney Poitier, Ray Liotta,
Angela Lansbury, Olivia Newton-John and Robbie Coltrane as well as
music stars Jerry Lee Lewis, Meat Loaf, Coolio, Taylor Hawkins and
Loretta Lynn among others.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alison Williams)
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