Jump Scare Alert: The Spookiest Pop Culture Moments Of 2025
It’s officially spooky season now, but TBH, hasn’t all of 2025 been one long, unrelenting spooky season? (At least for those of us who are chronically online?) Between the cursed weddings, frightening TikTok series, distressing new celeb couples, and jarring cosmetic procedures, I know I’ve been frightened numerous times this year. A gal can’t casually scroll X or Instagram anymore without risking a serious jump scare. You just never know what spooky pop culture update is lurking around the corner…
In order to celebrate the most important, deeply religious holiday on the calendar, I re-traumatized myself by reflecting on the most ghastly celeb (and fictional character) moments of this year. That’s how dedicated I am to my work. Ready for a good scare? Here’s my official list of the spookiest pop culture moments of 2025. Happy Halloween!
The Spookiest Pop Culture Moments Of The Year
The JoJo Siwa And Chris Hughes Saga
JoJo and Chris win the award for spookiest pop culture moment of the year. Congratulations… ? From the aggressive canoodling on Big Brother UK (while JoJo was still in a relationship!) to the intimate IG dumps to JoJo singing “Chris Hughes’ eyes” on tour, this union really chills me to the bone.
The Love Is Blind Chicken Smoothie
I wouldn’t give a blended chicken drink to my worst enemy. Okay, fine, maybe I would. But only because I’m a Scorpio with a lot of rage. Jordan managed to terrify the entire nation with this ~imaginative~ concoction.
Jeremiah’s Cake Demands
It was a brutal season of The Summer I Turned Pretty and creepy edits of Jeremiah saying “two-tier dark chocolate cake with a raspberry coulis filling and mirror glaze on top” only made the show experience more excruciating. This is one of the most sinister phone calls I’ve ever seen on television.
The Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sánchez Wedding
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This grotesquely expensive ($50K per guest) Italian nuptials situation was haunted by the ghost of late-stage capitalism. Spooky AF! Plenty of ghouls, including Ivanka Trump and Scooter Braun, were in attendance.
The Never-Ending Woman In Love With Psychiatrist Series
Kendra, Kendra, Kendra. This diva scares me, but I do appreciate her dedication to dramatic storytelling. If you missed it, the creator shared countless videos about her experience falling for her psychiatrist, and the series definitely has a horror movie vibe.
Sydney Sweeney And Scooter Braun Becoming A Thing
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In a way, it’s beautiful when two villains find each other. But mostly, it’s scary. These two have been linked for four months now, and they’re still going strong… hooray.
Kris Jenner’s New Face
Listen, I applaud Kris’ new face, but it’s somewhat spooky that the Kardashian matriarch suddenly looks A. nothing like herself and B. the exact same age as Kim. That plastic surgeon may or may not be a witch…
The Cursed Blue Origin Space Flight
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Objectively spooky. Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez just barely grazing space — as an ad for Jeff Bezos’ company — still gives me nightmares. And them pretending like it was some big achievement for science and feminism only made it more disturbing, I fear.
Ilana Frost