The most shocking, unusual and WTF moments of 2025

In a year full of serious news, there were some stories that you may have had to look at twice in disbelief.

Some were light, some were funny, others were just strange, but they certainly would have made you stop and think: WTF?

Coldplay's kiss cam

There are arguably few bands more wholesome than seven-time Grammy winners Coldplay, with frontman Chris Martin often talking up the importance of love.

With that in mind, the introduction of a "kiss cam" on their tour was perfectly on-brand.

Little did they know it would cause a viral moment for all the wrong reasons when it caught two people having a cuddle during a concert in Boston in July.

A little composure might have gone a long way… but once both of them realised, the man quickly ducked out of view, while the woman plunged her head into her hands and turned her back to the screen.

Martin poked fun at the couple at the time - quipping: "Either they're having an affair or they're very shy."

It did not take the internet long to intervene.

The cuddler was soon identified as chief executive of tech firm Astronomer, Andy Byron, and the person being embraced was the company's chief people officer, Kristin Cabot.

After Astronomer launched a formal review, Mr Byron and Ms Cabot resigned from the company, which later released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media featuring Chris Martin's ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow as a "temporary spokesperson".

'The heist of the century'

Cue the Pink Panther theme tune…

In October, on a mild morning in Paris, thieves disguised as construction workers used a crane that was mounted on the back of a small truck to smash an upstairs window and enter the Galerie d'Apollon, an enormous room on the upper floor of the Petite Galerie.

It was from here that they stole nine pieces of French Crown jewellery, including a diamond and emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels linked to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense, and Empress Eugenie's pearl and diamond tiara.

They did drop one item - the crown of Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie - during their escape on scooters.

Overall, the heist, committed in broad daylight while the iconic museum was open to the public, took no more than seven minutes from start to escape.

The jewellery is said to hold "inestimable" historical value, though it is said to be worth about £76m.

Four people have been charged in connection with the heist, and several others arrested, but the loot has yet to be found.

'Dead' Thai woman sent to crematorium wakes up in coffin

It was a normal day at Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok, when Mongkol Sakulkoo brought the body of his sister in a coffin to be cremated.

He said he had found Chonthirat Sakulkoo, 65, unresponsive and appearing to have stopped breathing in bed two days earlier. She had been bedridden for two years, he said.

According to Thai newspaper Thairath, he placed her in a coffin himself and drove her 300 miles from their home in Phitsanulok province to the temple, which offers free cremations.

Moments before the service began, temple manager Pairat Soodthoop said he heard a faint knock coming from inside the coffin.

"I was a bit surprised," Mr Soodthoop said. If we were doing an 'Understatements of the Year' list, that one would have been up there.

He said "everyone was startled" when they opened the coffin, as there lay a still-alive Ms Sakulkoo, eyes slightly open, who had been knocking on the side of the coffin.

Perhaps even more shocking than the nick-of-time discovery was the quote from the woman's brother, who reportedly told Thairath he was "indifferent" to finding out she was still alive.

Trump's bizarre AI vision of Gaza

In February, as the Israel-Gaza war raged on, Donald Trump shared AI-generated footage of what appeared to be his ideal vision of the territory's future.

It showed the area transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying.

A "Trump Gaza" tower featured along with a gigantic, golden statue of the US president - with miniature versions on sale in a souvenir gift shop.

Even more fever-dream-esque was the world leader shown vibing with a scantily clad belly dancer in a bar - and sunbathing and sipping cocktails by a hotel resort pool with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Elon Musk appears in the footage several times - sitting on a beach eating houmous with flatbreads as bearded belly dancers perform on the sand.

In case it was not strange enough, a dance track plays in the background with lyrics like: "Feast and dance the deal is done, Trump Gaza number one."

Jimmy Kimmel (no longer) Live

Jimmy Kimmel's talk show was suspended "indefinitely" by Disney-owned broadcaster ABC in September after he criticised Donald Trump and his "MAGA gang" over their handling of Charlie Kirk's death.

He was pulled off the air immediately after the comments, in which he suggested Republicans were "working very hard to capitalise on the murder" and Mr Trump was mourning right-wing commentator Kirk "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".

Mr Trump, rarely one to hold back, said Kimmel is "not a talented person", and was "fired for lack of talent," adding "they should have fired him a long time ago".

But celebrities, fans and free speech advocates all backed Kimmel, declaring ABC's decision a form of censorship.

"Indefinitely," in this case, meant roughly a week, as ABC reversed its decision and Kimmel was back on air.

In a tearful monologue, he said he understood why the remarks "felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both".

'Chuck E Cheese arrested' in front of children

Children watched in horror as an employee dressed as Chuck E Cheese was cuffed and taken away by police at one of the franchise's restaurants in Tallahassee.

It turned out the force was not after the iconic rodent, but rather the mascot under the mask, who had been accused of using a stolen credit card.

The witnessing kids clearly were not aware, as they could be heard screaming "Chuck E, no!' and "Why are they taking him away?"

One of the arresting officers, perhaps in two minds about whether or not to spoil the illusion for them, wrote in his report that he continued to use the mascot's fake name as he arrested him.

"I grabbed his right arm while giving the verbal instruction, 'Chuck E, come with me Chuck E," he wrote.

Katy Perry gets launched into space

Pop star Katy Perry blasted off the planet along with five other women in the first all-female space crew in over sixty years.

The Firework singer lifted off from West Texas on a Blue Origin rocket on 14 April before becoming the first artist to sing in space.

Flying alongside Perry were author Lauren Sanchez, the fiancee of Blue Origin owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, journalist and TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

Dressed in designer flight suits, Perry promised they would "put the ass into astronauts," whatever that means.

The crew were weightless for just four minutes after passing the Karman line, a 62-mile-high boundary that is internationally recognised as the boundary of space.

After landing back down on Earth, Perry kissed the ground - and she liked it.

Pricey M&S beef wellington sells out

Some consumers voiced their disbelief after M&S started selling a near-£200 beef wellington in the lead-up to Christmas.

The Collection Fillet of British Beef Wellington, which serves six people, cost £195 and was part of a festive catalogue put together in partnership with esteemed chef Tom Kerridge.

"It's not just overspending on Christmas, it's M&S overspending on Christmas" is what one person said about it online.

Another said: "I think it would be justifiable if it included Tom Kerridge to do the cooking and cleaning up."

Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the price is the fact that it sold out.

Sydney Sweeney's great jeans

In July, American Eagle partnered up with actress Sydney Sweeney for what was one of the biggest marketing successes of the year.

The campaign was simple enough - a series of videos and photos of the Euphoria and White Lotus star wearing American Eagles' signature denim clothing, with the tagline: "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."

The phrasing sparked a worldwide debate over race and Western beauty standards, particularly the play on the word "genes" instead of "jeans".

Critics argued this potentially promoted eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.

Even Mr Trump weighed in. Hailing Sweeney as a "registered Republican", he said the jeans were "flying off the shelves", adding: "Go get 'em Sydney!"

It was a great example of the "no bad publicity" trope, with shares of the company up almost 60% since September as of December.

Sweeney went viral yet again when she was asked in a GQ interview how she felt about the controversy, giving the interviewer a deadpan look and responding bluntly: "I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear."

'Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday'

We know you read that in the voice.

The virality of this ad campaign by Jet2holidays was seemingly less contrived than the American Eagle one. It was recorded in 2024, but this was the year it really took off (pun intended).

The actual series of adverts by the British package holiday provider features a voiceover from British actor Zoë Lister and the hit Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne, with visuals showing wholesome families going to idyllic destinations abroad.

Then the internet got hold of it.

Content creators started putting the voiceover and song on top of stressful footage of things going wrong on trips; from airplane arrests, to drunken boating accidents, to views of catastrophic weather.

Thanks to the trend, Hold My Hand was named as the UK's TikTok song of the year, some 10 years after its initial release.

Ariana Grande rushed by a fan

Singer and actress Ariana Grande was accosted by a fan in Singapore while on the red carpet for the debut of Wicked: For Good.

A video captured the moment the fan scaled the barricade and pushed past photographers towards Grande.

He then threw his arms around her, before co-star Cynthia Erivo intervened and security swooped in to stop him.

The man, now identified as Johnson Wen, 26, is reportedly a notorious red carpet crasher.

Wen, who has since been charged with being a public nuisance, goes by the nickname Pyjama Man, and gloated as he shared footage of the intrusion online.

"Dear Ariana Grande, Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You," he wrote on Instagram.

Ozzy Osbourne's epic bow-out

Rockstar biopics are often criticised for rewriting history and changing timelines to make the protagonist's story more dramatic or emotional.

Whoever writes Ozzy Osbourne's will have no need to embellish, because he truly gave one of the performances of a lifetime mere weeks before his death.

The heavy metal king reunited with Black Sabbath for the first time in 20 years to perform his final gig in front of 42,000 fans at Villa Park on 5 July.

Sitting on a black throne throughout the performance, the 76-year-old recited favourites including Mr Crowley and Crazy Train, and Iron Man and Paranoid with Black Sabbath, regularly conducting the crowd to sing "louder, louder", and "go f****** crazy".

It was billed as his "final bow" and it did not disappoint, with the eccentric rocker joined by a supporting line-up of hard rock luminaries including, Slayer, Halestorm, Metallica and Guns 'n' Roses.

In late July, after several years of health problems, including Parkinson's disease, his family announced the metal legend's death.

"He was with his family and surrounded by love," they wrote in their statement.

Celebrities, friends and fans flooded social media with tributes, with many expressing their gratitude for that incredible final show.

The 6-7 meme

You know the number six. You know the number seven. But do you know what happens when you add them together?

The answer used to be, "You get 13."

Now it's: "You make a child or young teen do a strange dance."

The 6-7 viral trend has taken young people by storm, often seeing them react to others saying the numbers together in passing by shouting "6-7!" and doing a gesture with their hands.

Internet scholars have debated its origins and meaning all year.

While it can be traced back to the 2024 song Doot Doot (6 7) by American rapper Skrilla, and social media edits of 6ft 7in tall basketball player LaMelo Ball which feature the song - its meaning is impossible to pin down.

Samantha Eardley, director of UK Sales at Collins Dictionary, perfectly summed it up when she told Sky News: "It doesn't mean anything."

Even Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had to apologise to the head teacher of a school he was visiting, when he led pupils in a version of the viral gesture.

Labubus conquer the world

These little troll-like dolls from China's Pop Mart have become a worldwide sensation after rising to TikTok fame.

The furry monsters caused a frenzy this year on multiple fronts. They have been so sought after that the company was forced to stop selling them at its 16 UK locations to avoid fighting among customers.

Read more: What are Labubus and how did they get so popular?

But Pop Mart can afford to take them off the shelves for a bit, because their profits were up nearly 400% in the first half of the year, driven by Labubu sales.

With the surge in sales has come a surge in counterfeit Labubus. In September, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said more than £3.5m worth of fake toys had been seized at the border in 2025 - and 90% of them were Labubus.

These ones do not just look dangerous; they actually are, because they often fail critical safety checks.

So 2025 was a strange one. Did it have more WTF moments than 2024 or 2023? Take a look back.

(c) Sky News 2025: The most shocking, unusual and WTF moments of 2025