Infamous celebrity events piqued the public’s interest in 2022, with Johnny Depp, Amber Heard and Will Smith becoming some of the year’s most searched for people.
Google’s annual Year in Search statistics showed that in the entertainment world Diana Ross and Boy George were some of the most searched-for musicians, while Encanto and Stranger Things topped the lists for film and TV.
Depp came 10th in the overall top searches in UK as well as featuring in the lists for both trending people and actors, alongside his former wife Amber Heard.
The pair were locked into a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit earlier this year, which resulted in a victory for Depp being announced in June.
The Pirate’s of the Caribbean actor sued his former partner over a 2018 article she wrote for the Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, which his lawyers said falsely accused him of being an abuser.
Following a six week trial, a jury at Fairfax County Court returned a verdict in his favour and he was awarded 10.3 million dollars (£8.43 million) for damage to his reputation.
Around the same time Smith earned his own place as one of the most trending actors of the year, after his controversial moment at the 94th Academy Awards in March.
During the ceremony he stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock after comments the comedian made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, returning to the stage moments later to collect the best actor Oscar.
The two separate incidents resulted in Depp, Smith, Heard, Rock and Pinkett-Smith becoming the top five most-searched for actors of the year, according to Google.
It was also a big year in music, with Diana Ross topping the list of most-Googled musicians in the UK and taking the number nine slot of most-searched for people.
The veteran singer reeled off hit after hit when she took to the stage for her Glastonbury debut in June for the festival’s Sunday teatime legends slot.
New musical faces also rocketed to stardom, with Sam Ryder becoming famous seemingly overnight after the Eurovision Song Contest.
The singer broke the British Eurovision curse, placing second to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra in the popular singing competition.
Ryder’s success meant that the 2023 competition will now be held in Liverpool, after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided it would not be possible for Ukraine to host, due to the ongoing war with Russia.
Veteran souls singer Diana Ross topped the list of most-searched for musicians (Yui Mok/PA)
He finished as the number four most-searched musician, placing behind Ross, Boy George and Kate Bush.
The public found a newfound love for 80s pop star Bush who ranked third on the musicians list, after to her song Running Up That Hill featured on Netflix hit show Stranger Things.
The spooky sci-fi drama topped the list of most searched for TV shows, and propelled its series four star Joseph Quinn, who played Eddie Munson, to the number six spot in most popular actors.
Netflix’s Dahmer also placed number nine on the TV list, though its success prompted the infamous US serial killer himself to also place number nine on the UK overall most searched for list.
New musical faces also rocketed to stardom, with Sam Ryder becoming famous seemingly overnight after the Eurovision Song Contest (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Elsewhere, the return of the cinema made it a hit year for movies, with possibly one of the catchiest theme tunes ever (We Don’t Talk About Bruno) giving Encanto a well-deserved number one spot on the film list.
Superhero blockbusters claimed several of the other most searched for films, with Robert Pattinson’s The Batman at number two, Thor Love And Thunder at number four and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam at number five.
Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, placed at number three.
