The 2022 year is coming to an end and will take with it quite a few top news stories that happened throughout the year. Many of them were directly related to what people were looking for on Google, the search engine giant owned by Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL.
The top 10 most-searched-for-people in 2022 on Google included some surprising names thanks to events — several being controversial.
Below is the list, plus a quick reason why they may have been top of people’s minds.
1. Johnny Depp: A defamation trial between Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard was one of the most-talked-about events of 2022. Depp won the lawsuit against Heard, but it came after he had already lost roles in movie franchises from Walt Disney Co. DIS and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc WBD.
2. Will Smith: The 94th Academy Awards aired on ABC on March 27 and saw Smith nominated for Best Actor for his role in the sisters Venus and Serena Williams’ “King Richard” biopic. At the awards ceremony, Smith slapped host Chris Rock over a comment made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The fallout has been huge for Smith with a suspension from the awards show and future movies up the air.
3. Amber Heard: Like Depp, Heard was among the most-searched-for-people in 2022 due to the defamation lawsuit.
4. Antonio Brown: NFL wide receiver Brown retired in early 2022 with a meltdown on the sidelines leading to an early exit while a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
5. Kari Lake: Republican Lake ran for governor of Arizona and lost narrowly to Katie Hobbs. Lake has claimed fraud in the election and is challenging the November 2022 results.
6. Anna Sorokin (Delvey): The Netflix Inc NFLX series “Inventing Anna” dove into the true story of Delvey, who convinced New York’s elite that she was a German heiress. The show was a hit for Netflix with nearly 200 minutes watched during its first full week on the streaming platform.
7. Chris Rock: The other man in the Smith item listed above is Rock who was slapped in front of an in-person audience and millions of viewers watching on ABC. Rock has since addressed the slap and saw huge demand for his stand-up shows and has a live special coming to Netflix.
8. Andrew Tate: Internet personality and kickboxer Tate made headlines for alleged misogynistic comments and advice on being alpha males. The comments got him banned from social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
9. Adam Levine: Maroon 5 singer Levine found himself in the middle of cheating allegations in 2022 with several people coming forwards saying they had relationships with the singer. Leaked DMs from Levine on Twitter saying “Holy F***, Holy F***ing F***, That body of yours is absurd” also got the meme treatment on social media.
10. Serena Williams: Tennis legend Williams announced her retirement in August 2022 and played in what was expected to be her last professional match at the 2022 US Open.
Google also shared the most searched people in 2022 across several categories.
Related Link: Whole World Looking Up One Thing, Sundar Pichai Says Google Search Recorded Highest Ever Traffic In 25 Years During This Event
Top 10 Most-Searched Athletes:
1. Antonio Brown
2. Serena Williams
3. Joe Burrow
4. Aaron Judge
5. Manti Te’o
6. Brittney Griner
7. Shaun White
8. Eileen Gun
9. Baker Mayfield
10. Kamila Valieva
The most searched athletes included Judge with his record-setting home run season for the New York Yankees and Burrow appearing in the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals. Griner made headlines due to her arrest in Russia for possession of hash oil. A documentary released on Netflix put former Notre Dame football star Te’o, who was famously catfished, back into the spotlight. White, Gun and Valieva all saw increased searches due to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Top 10 Most-Searched Deaths:
1. Betty White
2. Queen Elizabeth
3. Bob Saget
4. Anne Heche
5. Aaron Carter
6. Olivia Newton-John
7. Ray Liotta
8. Leslie Jordan
9. Takeoff
10. Taylor Hawkins
The death of Queen Elizabeth was not only one of the most-searched deaths of 2022 but ranked among the top stories. The same Google year-in-review data showed Queen Elizabeth as the fourth most-searched overall term and her death as the second most searched news item.
Top 10 Most-Searched Musicians:
1. Adam Levine
2. Mary J. Blige
3. Lil Tjay
4. Kendrick Lamar
5. Migos
6. Tommy Lee
7. Kate Bush
8. Ricky Martin
9. Young Thug
10. Foo Fighters
Lee found himself on the list thanks to the “Pam & Tommy” series on Hulu. Bush saw a rise in interest and song streams thanks to “Stranger Things” on Netflix.
Read Next: Johnny Depp Hollywood Comeback Could Be 'Beetlejuice 2'
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