As this year draws to a close, it’s tempting to catalog the best and the worst. The greatest movie? I didn’t see them all, but “One Battle After Another” has my vote. The most heinous song? Surely the awful one from Taylor Swift about her fiancé’s dick.

But there were simply too many albums, too many trends, too many TV shows, and too many celebrity faux pas to choose just one winner and loser. So instead, I’ve selected a few cultural shifts that sum up 2025.

The celebrity apology died this year. And the death was quick and seemingly painless, almost as if no one ever cared for the performative ass-covering in the first place?

In August, there was uproar after Sabrina Carpenter put out the art for her new album Man’s Best Friend. The cover photo showed the former Disney star on her hands and knees, in a skimpy dress, while an anonymous suited man roughly gripped a handful of her hair, holding it almost like a leash.