Celebrities Who Broke The Internet In 2017

"Breaking the internet" is a relatively new term that got wide use after Kim Kardashian's infamous nude (and very NSFW) Paper Magazine spread. Since then, "breaking the internet" has become a catch-all for any viral moment, particularly those involving celebrities. Thankfully, when these famous folks start trending our internet connections don't actually stop functioning, even if we do as we glue ourselves to our phones scrolling for updates. Let's take a short walk down memory lane to recap 2017's most web-shattering moments so far.

Though she didn't marry into The Royal Family like her sister, Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton's wedding enjoyed the kind of press coverage and internet frenzy normally reserved for the nuptials of a monarch. And even though Kate arguably stole the show in a now classic photo taken as she shushes the children about to enter the church for the ceremony, there were still plenty of internet glow in which Pippa was able to shine.

According to E News' highlights of the day, Pippa stunned in her lace gown by designer Giles Deacon, which she paired with earrings that she previously wore to Kate's wedding to Prince William in 2011. Her royal niece and nephew, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, were absolutely adorable in their roles as flower girl and page boy, and Prince Harry even managed to make headlines by dashing off immediately after the ceremony to chill with his then-low-key girlfriend Meghan Markle, who later attended the reception. Okay fine, it definitely seems like the media focus of this joyous occasion was all about what the Royals did during it, but if you're going to break the internet, you don't get to decide where the pieces fall. Sorry, Pippa.

It's hard to imagine that Kathy Griffin couldn't anticipate the fallout from her ill-advised photo shoot with famed photographer Tyler Shields during which she held up a bust of a bloody, decapitated President Trump. While a few fellow celebs eventually stood by her in the name of artistic expression, the general consensus of the internet was: Not cool, Kathy.

CNN, who employed Griffin for nearly a decade as co-host of their annual New Year's Eve special, terminated their agreement with her. She also lost a sponsorship with Squatty Potty, tons of stand-up comedy gigs, and even her friendship with Anderson Cooper, according to Vanity Fair.

The backlash reached its apex when Trump himself weighed on Twitter (of course), writing, "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!" Griffin responded by staging a dramatic press conference during which she tearfully apologized and declared, "I don't think I will have a career after this. I'm going to be honest, (Trump) broke me," according to Reuters.

Three months later, Griffin retracted the apology, telling the Australian morning show, Sunrise (via The LA Times), "I'm no longer sorry. The whole outrage was B.S. The whole thing got so blown out of proportion, and I lost everybody...I didn't just lose one night on CNN. My entire tour was canceled within 24 hours because every single theater got all these death threats. I mean, these Trump fans, they're hard-core. They have robo-calls, they're annoying." 

Strange how people react to a comedian goofing around about chopping off the head of someone they're fond of, huh?

Marketed as "the cultural experience of the decade," Fyre Festival was the brainchild of rapper Ja Rule and investor Billy McFarland. According to Fyre's pitch deck to potential investors, obtained by Vanity Fair, the event would take place on the remote Bahamian island of Great Exuma, and would "feature music from the greatest talents in the world, immersive experiences through art, theatre, and a weekend long treasure hunt; as well as informative discussions with some of the brightest minds in the world." With the average ticket packages ranging from $1,500 to $12,500 dollars, Fyre Fest was billing itself as a mashup of Coachella, the best TED Talks, and a real-life Pirates of the Caribbean adventure for wealthy millennials.

When guests arrived expecting the luxury experience of their lives, they were instead treated to disaster relief tents for accommodations, limited access to potable water and electricity, and food that looked like it came straight out of a prison cafeteria. Festival-goers began sharing their disastrous experience on social media, and the Fyre organizers quickly cancelled the event. The internet had a field day, and Fyre Fest became the ultimate meme to mock wealthy indulgence.

Ja Rule apologized—sort of—and McFarland was eventually arrested and charged with fraud in connection to his attempts to secure investment for festival and its parent company, Fyre Media. According to event planner Chloe Gordon who worked to prep the event and later wrote about her experience for The Cut, the event seemed doomed from the start due to a lack of physical infrastructure on the island, and failure to secure vendors and other necessary services. Gordon claims that planners even advised the festival be postponed until 2018, but Fyre Fest proceeded, perhaps in the spirit of a marketing team member who said, "Let's just do it and be legends, man." If we're talking legendary fails? Then sure, mission accomplished, man.

Like Winona Ryder, Melania Trump lit the internet ablaze with her own strange facial expression at her husband's presidential inauguration. There were actually a few viral moments from President Trump's coronation, like when he failed to wait for Melania to exit the car at the White House, and their awkward first dance at the Inaugural Ball, but the one that picked up the most steam was when Melania's face "fell" from a sweet smile into an annoyed grimace immediately after Donald turned away from her during Franklin Graham's speech.  

Almost immediately, #freemelania started trending, and Twitter users hilariously speculated as to what Donald could have possibly said to her to evoke such a reaction, according to Mic. Full-blown conspiracy theories even emerged that Donald was actually looking past Melania at his daughter Ivanka, leaving Melania irritated that she'd been ignored.

Snopes even got involved and speculated that when viewed from another angle, it appears as though Donald was actually scolding Barron, possibly for "talking and fidgeting behind him," and that Melania could have been reacting to that interaction. We'll probably never know the real reason Melania's expression changed so drastically that day, but we can feel confident saying it would have been nice if this was the biggest controversy to come out of Donald Trump's presidency.   

Clearly, there's been no shortage of internet-shattering moments to come out of the Trump administration, and when Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, was photographed kneeling on a couch in the Oval Office, she found herself forever etched into the memory of meme-dom.

The takes were fast and fierce as internet-users fired up their photoshops to place the kneeling White House advisor into every conceivable situation, including the movie Forrest Gump, a heavy metal concert, a skyscraper beam, da Vinci's The Last Supper, and many, many more.

In response to being scolded for supposedly "disrespecting the Oval Office," Conway told Lou Dobbs (via NBC), "It is venomous. It bothers my children, to be frank with you. I have 24/7 Secret Service protection because there are people out there who do wish us harm, and people should take that very seriously. I'm not a victim at all, but people should take very seriously the import of their words. Especially when they know I meant no disrespect."

Wait, so the Secret Service could possibly investigate the guy who photoshopped Conway into the 2017 Oscar Best Picture fiasco? We're not security experts over here, but that...seems like a waste of taxpayer money.