The stories. The sources.
The bigger picture.
Preserved draft research. Source checks in the original pack were often headline-only. Read these notes as material to verify, not a published account.
Prepared in the supplied September 2026 research pack. No site publication date. Claims and outcomes below remain the original draft’s wording.
In 2020 the pandemic shut down film sets, theaters and red carpets, but celebrity news kept coming. The year brought a sudden death that stopped the sports world, a royal exit, landmark court rulings and a string of business bets that reshaped Hollywood. Here are the 15 stories that defined the year, with where each one landed.
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, including pilot Ara Zobayan, died when their helicopter crashed into a hillside. The loss set off tributes around the world. In February 2021 the National Transportation Safety Board said the probable cause was the pilot's decision to keep flying in bad weather, which led to spatial disorientation and loss of control. The board also cited the pilot's likely "self-induced pressure" and gaps in the operator's safety oversight.
How it ended: The NTSB's final findings came on February 9, 2021.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would "step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family" and work toward financial independence, splitting their time between the UK and North America. According to NPR, Buckingham Palace had not been told in advance. Within a week, Queen Elizabeth II agreed to the couple's exit from their senior roles.
How it ended: The couple told their side of the story in a televised Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021.
Date: February 24, 2020 (verdict); March 11, 2020 (sentence)
A Manhattan jury found the former producer guilty of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. It acquitted him of the two most serious charges, both counts of predatory sexual assault. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. That conviction was overturned on appeal in 2024. In a June 2025 retrial, a jury returned a split verdict, and a third trial on the remaining rape count ended in a mistrial in May 2026.
Status: In June 2026, Deadline reported that prosecutors would not try the rape count a fourth time.
In the first days of lockdown, Gal Gadot posted a video of celebrities taking turns singing John Lennon's "Imagine." It drew widespread backlash online.
How it ended: Gadot later said, as NBC News reported, that the video was in "poor taste."
Netflix's docuseries about big-cat owner Joe Exotic became a quarantine obsession. Nielsen estimated that 34 million U.S. viewers watched it in its first 10 days, a bigger audience than "Stranger Things 2" drew over the same stretch, according to Deadline.
How it ended: It became one of Netflix's defining hits of the pandemic era.
Quibi, a mobile-only service built around short episodes, launched in April 2020 with major Hollywood backing. Six months later it announced it was shutting down. Yahoo Finance described it as a "$1.75 billion" failure.
How it ended: The service went offline, and Variety reported that its content could no longer be streamed.
BuzzFeed News published former staffers' accounts of a toxic workplace at "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Further allegations followed, including claims of sexual misconduct against producers, which NPR covered on July 31.
How it ended: On August 17, three top producers left the show. DeGeneres addressed the controversy on air in her first show back.
Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the feet after leaving a party at Kylie Jenner's home. Rapper Tory Lanez was charged, and in December 2022 a jury convicted him on all three felony counts: assault with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm and negligent discharge of a gun.
How it ended: On August 8, 2023, Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Fan activism around Britney Spears's conservatorship, in place since 2008, turned into a court fight. Her attorney said she strongly opposed her father Jamie Spears's role and would not perform while he controlled her career. The court fight led to a request to add Bessemer Trust as co-conservator of her estate, which the judge approved in February 2021 over her father's objection.
How it ended: A judge terminated the conservatorship on November 12, 2021.
Boseman, star of "Black Panther" and Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods," died after a four-year battle with colon cancer that he had kept private. His death drew public attention to the rise of colon cancer in younger adults.
How it ended: Tributes poured in from across Hollywood, including from the Academy.
Ye, then known as Kanye West, launched a late independent presidential campaign and made the ballot in only some states. According to Deadline, he received about 60,000 votes across 12 states.
How it ended: Variety reported that he conceded, and he later posted "Kanye 2024."
Depp sued the publisher of The Sun over an article that called him a "wife beater." Justice Andrew Nicol ruled that the article was "substantially true" and found that the "great majority" of the assaults Amber Heard alleged had been proven.
How it ended: Depp sought to appeal the ruling. The fight moved to a U.S. courtroom in 2022 (see our 2022 list).
WarnerMedia said its entire 2021 film slate, including "Dune" and "The Matrix Resurrections," would open in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. Christopher Nolan called HBO Max the "worst streaming service" and told NPR the move was "a great danger."
How it ended: The same-day plan applied to the 2021 slate and became a flashpoint in the debate over theatrical windows.
In one of the year's most-discussed snubs, The Weeknd received zero Grammy nominations and publicly called the Grammys "corrupt."
How it ended: In March 2021 he pledged to boycott the awards, and the Recording Academy later changed its nomination process.
The "Full House" actor served a two-month prison sentence for her role in the college admissions scandal, one of the highest-profile defendants in that case.
How it ended: She was released on December 28, 2020.
NTSB Says Pilot Had 'Spatial Disorientation' In Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash — NPR, February 9, 2021
Meghan And Prince Harry To 'Step Back' As Senior Royals — NPR, January 8, 2020
Queen agrees Harry, Meghan can exit senior royal role — The Guardian (Charlottetown) via PressReader, January 15, 2020
Oprah With Meghan And Harry Watched By Over 17 Million Viewers On CBS — CBS New York, March 2021
Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison after addressing his accusers — CNN, March 11, 2020
Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault and rape convictions marked a major #MeToo moment — CNN, February 24, 2020
Jury finds Harvey Weinstein guilty in sex crimes case — NPR, June 11, 2025
Harvey Weinstein's third sex crimes trial in New York ends in mistrial — NPR, May 15, 2026
Harvey Weinstein Won't Face NY Rape Retrial, But DA Hints At Long Prison Stretch — Deadline, June 2026
Gal Gadot admits her 'Imagine' cover video was in 'poor taste' — NBC News
'Tiger King' Draws 34 Million Viewers In First 10 Days On Netflix, Eclipsing 'Stranger Things 2' — Deadline, April 2020
Quibi officially announces it's shutting down — CNBC, October 21, 2020
Quibi Officially Shuts Down, Content No Longer Available to Stream — Variety, 2020
'Ellen' Producers Face Another Round Of Allegations, Including Sexual Misconduct — NPR, July 31, 2020
3 'Ellen DeGeneres' Producers Out After Misconduct Accusations — NPR, August 17, 2020
Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for Megan Thee Stallion shooting — NPR, August 8, 2023
Hollywood mourns death of "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman — CBS Los Angeles, August 2020
Kanye West Gets 60,000 Votes In U.S. Presidential Race — Deadline, November 2020
Johnny Depp Case Verdict: Actor Loses "Wife Beater" Libel To The Sun — Deadline, November 2, 2020
Warner Bros. Smashes Box Office Windows, Will Send Entire 2021 Slate to HBO Max and Theaters — The Hollywood Reporter, December 3, 2020
Christopher Nolan: Warner Move To Stream New Movies On HBO Max 'A Great Danger' — NPR, December 11, 2020
The Weeknd Accuses Grammys of 'Corruption' Over Nomination Shutout — Variety, November 2020
Grammys change award nomination process after The Weeknd called it "corrupt" — CBS News, 2021
The Weeknd pledges permanent Grammys boycott — The Guardian US via PressReader, March 13, 2021
Kanye West Concedes Presidential Campaign — Variety, November 2020
Harvey Weinstein faces New York retrial after 2020 rape conviction overturned — The Guardian US via PressReader, May 2, 2024
Harvey Weinstein convicted in Manhattan sexual assault retrial in split verdict — Yahoo News (wire), June 2025
South Carolina-born star's death highlights rise of colon cancer in younger adults — MUSC, September 1, 2020
Quibi shuts down: Why the $1.75 billion streaming app failed — Yahoo Finance, 202025. Lori Loughlin released from prison after 2-month sentence for college admissions scam — CNN, December 28, 2020
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