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It’s hard to believe (and it makes us feel almost as old as our last two presidents), but we’ve been bringing you the latest hot takes, wild rumors, and embarrassing DUI photos over the past two decades.
Yes, 20 years ago today, THG went live with an article about the latest drama in Lindsay Lohan’s life.
And like Lilo, so are we also He performed surprisingly well in the 26 major tournament, Thank you very much!
The momentous anniversary has inspired us to take a look back at the year it all began — a time when Dubya was in the White House, Tony Soprano still ruled New Jersey with an iron fist, and the average American could watch the evening news without experiencing a minor coronavirus event.
Those were simpler days, when celebrities still called themselves “paparazzi,” Kanye West was the most beloved hip-hop artist, and your biggest worry was whether your top 8 on MySpace would spark a friendship-ending dispute.
Nearly two decades later, 2006 seems like a strange cultural fever dream. But we still miss him!
Join us as we look at the celebrities, scandals, and obsessions that defined this year:
(Oh, and if you want to celebrate our birthday by giving yourself the gift of gossip, feel free to download the new THG app!)
These days, Kim Kardashian is a multi-hyphenate billionaire.
But in 2006, she became famous as Paris Hilton’s permanent subordinate.
By March of 2007, of course, Kim had become a household name on the strength of her sex tape with Ray J.
Her mother may have teased her about it, but now that Kris and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan are famous in their own right, they’ve probably stopped giving Kim a hard time (insert your Ray J joke here).
Taylor Swift has dropped her debut album
Taylor Swift is also making wedding plans and preparing to become a… Mrs. You’ll never be as good as Gronk (fight for that in the comments!), so let’s take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come.
Back in 2006, Taylor dropped the album Taylor Swiftforeshadows the way in which singer Taylor Swift would later be dropped by Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, Matty Healy… Look, we’ll give you the full list of her exes, but we want to get this thing out before the inevitable heat death of the universe.
anywayThe album contained hit songs such as “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Our Song,” cementing Taylor’s position as a talent to watch in the world of country music.
After years in the pop world, Taylor made somewhat of a return to the country music world recently, by contributing a single to… Toy Story 5 Soundtrack and By being engaged to a man who may have purchased at least one set of Truck Nutz.
Britney Spears was still the tabloids’ favorite blonde
But although Taylor looms like a White Walker, no celebrity dominated 2006 headlines like Britney Spears…for better or worse.
Whether she was partying with Paris, battling paparazzi, or trying to remember why she married Kevin Federline, Britney has been the subject of relentless media attention.
Looking back, it’s impossible not to realize how unfairly I was treated by so much of the media.
And although we did roast Ty a little there (all in good fun!)
In other words, as one of the wise men of that era put it, we did our best to make it happen Leave Britney alone!!! (For the most part).
Before Instagram, TikTok, and even Facebook took over, there was MySpace.
Millennials spent hours customizing profile pages with grainy graphics, autoplay music, and enough HTML code to crash the family computer.
Your social status can literally be measured by how you rank in someone’s top eight.
Friendships were made. Friendships were destroyed. Our concept of socialization has been destroyed forever.
But wait, while Zack and Elon continue to fight for control of the world, MySpace’s Tom watches society burn from a private island somewhere. We have a Generation X slacker king.
Snakes on a Plane changed the way movies were marketed
Long before movies became popular on TikTok, Snakes on board He became an internet sensation.
The premise was exactly what the title promised: snakes. They were on a plane.
The movie turned out to be largely forgettable. But the marketing campaign proved the power of memes.
The filmmakers even edited the film’s final cut in response to online demand, adding a scene where Samuel L. Jackson’s character quips, “I’ve had enough of these mother-snakes on this mother-king plane!”
You had to be there to understand how much the Internet had won.
Celebrity gossip was a national sport
Folks, these were the heyday of tabloid culture.
Lindsay. Paris. Britney. Brangelina (RIP).
Entire magazines are devoted to tracking celebrities as they go into restaurants, out of clubs, and out in public.
The paparazzi industry has never been bigger — which, we’re willing to admit, has never been a good thing.
Yes, so-called “tabloid culture” has changed quite a bit in the decades since, which is why we’re so proud to be here — and so grateful to our loyal readers.
Folks, two decades is about three or four thousand years in Internet years, and we couldn’t have done it without your support.
Thank you so much for spending time with us over the past two decades. Here’s to many more years of spilling tea.
