From the Coldplay kiss-cam to AI Jake Paul, The Hollywood Reporter is rounding up the most memorable viral videos and memes this year.
If you’re chronically online, then you likely witnessed in real time several unforgettable moments and trends that caused quite a stir on social media this year.
From Joe Jonas struggling to parallel park in New York City and the Coldplay kiss-cam scandal to Justin Bieber proving he’s “standing on business” and AI videos of Jake Paul flooding the internet, there were plenty of moments that made headlines and had seemingly everyone online talking.
Below, The Hollywood Reporter has rounded up some of the best and worst viral moments on social media in 2025.
Joe Jonas Parallel Parking
A moment that sparked comedic discourse toward the end of the year was Joe Jonas’ parallel parking abilities.
After a TikTok user posted a video they captured of the singer trying to parallel park in New York City, the internet went crazy. “I love New York because I’ve been watching Joe Jonas parallel park for the last 7 minutes,” the clip’s caption read.
The video, which has more than 20 million views, received thousands of comments not only from fans teasing Jonas, but some notable companies and brands also jumped into the conversation.
“He completed this parking job in the year 3000,” the official account for Mercedes-Benz USA wrote, while Slim Jim added, “First rule of parallel parking in NYC: park somewhere else.”
Jonas, who is definitely chronically online, clearly found the video funny as he initially commented, “And I saw you watch and not help once.” The singer later made his own video of himself being thrown out of a store with the caption, “How the city been treating me today since the parallel parking video.”
AI Jake Paul
While Jake Paul is no stranger to the internet, social media feeds got flooded with triple the amount of content of the content creator-turned-boxer earlier this year, except it wasn’t actually him. It was AI videos of Paul.
Following the release of Sora 2 at the beginning of October, an app that allows users to generate hyperrealistic clips of not only themselves but also other permitted users, it was quite difficult to scroll on social media, especially TikTok, and not see an AI video of Paul — from him causing a scene on an airplane to being confronted by police over a hit-and-run. But the most common video theme has been videos of the boxer if he were a gay man who loves fashion and makeup (the real Paul is straight and currently engaged to Olympic speed skater Jutta Leerdam).
The youngest of the Paul brothers (Logan Paul is Jake’s older brother) was seemingly amused by it all and even played into the fake videos.
At one point, he posted a TikTok, saying in a serious tone, “I’ve had it with the AI stuff. It’s affecting my relationship, businesses. People are hitting me up saying, ‘Yo, did you say this? What did you do this for? I can’t believe you did this?’ It’s really affecting things, and honestly, it’s like people need to get a life, so it’s kind of pissing me off. I’m gonna be suing everybody that is continuing to spread these false narratives of me doing shit that I would literally never, ever do. So be ready for lawsuits.” However, as he’s saying all of this, he’s actually putting on makeup, just like in some of the AI videos.
Louvre Jewelry Heist
The 2025 jewelry heist from the Louvre Museum in Paris captured the world’s attention, but it was the social media reactions on social media that really had people talking … and laughing. On Oct. 19, men disguised as construction workers broke into the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon through a second-floor window and shattered display cases, grabbing pieces of the French Crown Jewels, including tiaras, necklaces and other jewelry valued at more than $100 million. The men then escaped on electric scooters. So far, at least eight people have been arrested in connection with the jewelry heist.
As authorities investigated and public curiosity continued to rise, some people on social media started circulating mugshot photos of the alleged suspects, with many pointing out how attractive they were. However, they weren’t the real suspects. One mugshot was of Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford from a 2010 arrest, and another was of a man named Stefan Dolbashian, who works as a dance professor and a freelance choreographer, from a 2010 arrest.
Also, when a museum employee claimed the password to the iconic Paris museum’s video surveillance system was just “Louvre,” that also had the internet laughing.
Labubu Craze
At one point this year, it was hard to scroll on social media or make a quick trip to the grocery store and not see a fuzzy, plush, cute-ugly monster dangling from someone’s bag or them posing with it online. The collectible toy, designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese retailer Pop Mart, went so viral that it was selling out at stores, with people fighting to get their hands on one.
Throughout the year, celebrities were also spotted with Labubus, including Blackpink’s Lisa, Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa and others. Also, a giant Labubu also made an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in November. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively revealed last month that Song Pictures, via its animation division, has even picked up the screen rights to the Chinese doll brand with the goal of making a movie.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Engagement
The post that broke the internet this year was when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement after two years of dating.
The couple revealed the news on Instagram in August, with a photo of the NFL star down on one knee in a flower garden, where he asked the pop star to marry him. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” they captioned the joint post.
The exciting announcement undoubtedly surprised the world and even broke Instagram records. Just six hours after it was shared, Meta revealed that their photos surpassed 1 million reposts on Instagram. The engagement on the post is more than any other post has received on the social media website, according to data obtained by Billboard.
Justin Bieber’s “Standing on Business”
A tense moment caught on camera between Justin Bieber and the paparazzi also became one of the most unforgettable moments this year, once social media got hold of it.
In June, a confrontation between Bieber and a member of the paparazzi outside of Soho House in Malibu took on its own life, specifically the “Yukon” singer’s line, “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business.”
The comment came as Bieber was expressing his frustration with a photographer following him and not giving him privacy. “I’m a dad, I’m a husband,” he said. “You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” After, the clip quickly went viral on social media.
The following month, Bieber also included it in the 16th track, titled “STANDING ON BUSINESS,” of his 2025 album Swag.
