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CNN Special Reports
"All the Best, All the Worst 2021". Aired 4-5p ET
Aired January 01, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time, a lot of waiting, uncertainty, anxiety, but we are back. It's time to look at the whole year of wild news on hinge politics, music, movies, sports, and more, more, more, with our guest --
FLAME MONROE, COMEDIAN: Welcome back America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comedian, Flame Monroe, CNN John Berman and Donie O'Sullivan, --
RYAN KARNEY RUSSELL, NFL FREE AGENT: Make yourself at home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NFL Free Agent RK Russell, political commentator SE Cupp, and comedian Helen Hong.
HELEN HONG, COMEDIAN: Come on in. We've put chlorine in the pool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a grand reopening for all the best, all the worst 2021.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tom foreman. Welcome. And congratulations. We all survived a tough 12 months packed with upheavals, conflicts, difficulties, and yet also victories, hope, and happiness. Not saying something considering, we were up against a raging pandemic. And the deepest social divides the United States has seen in decades. So how did we make it through? Let's sort that out by starting with the biggest news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sound like a gunshot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst story of the year. The violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol by people angry over Joe Biden winning the last presidential election.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The idea that 2021 was going to be better, I think, probably lasted for about exactly six days.
HONG: The January 6th insurrection was straight up crazy, FOREMAN: The losing candidate, then president Donald Trump stokes the fury with the big lie that he had won.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: They rigged that election. They rigged it like they've never rigged that election before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH ELIZABETH CUPP, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It was really traumatizing and tragic to see the people's house overtaken by American citizens.
FOREMAN: Police were beaten, congress ran, people died, and hundreds would be arrested. The best response, lawmakers came back within hours and certified Joe Biden's victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN: PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Democracy has prevailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The country was still reeling from COVID with the worst new arrive along the way, the more transmissible Delta variants, and now, Omicron too with more than 800,000 fatalities in the U.S. The worst question is how many more?
FLAME MONROE, COMEDIAN: You know, I just had an experience with COVID. And it shook me to the bone because I wasn't sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my child to go to school free and unmasked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The worst response, all those people who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been a good little nazi? Hail Fauci, hail Fauci.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: I love how anti-vaxxers are like, my body is a precious temple. I'm not willing to inject my body with this suspicious COVID vaccine. But horse dewormer, I'll take that.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think you can say objectively that a large part of what happened with the spread of the Delta variant is because of the unvaccinated.
FOREMAN: The best neighbors, the overwhelming majority of Americans who by year's end had received their shots.
RUSSELL: I am all for people making their own choices and making informed decisions. I just want them to be informed decisions from actual scientists, from actual doctors, from medical professionals.
FOREMAN: Healthcare workers and people in the service industry were rightly applauded for their tireless work.
CUPP: It's a sad way to become a hero. But I have immense, immense respect for them.
FOREMAN: The best unsung heroes, no kidding, give it to all the pets that kept us company through the hard months.
MONROE: I used to think that was a joke, Tom. I found out the hard way. I realized now why people have emotional support dogs because dogs are truly loyal to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we don't stand up, it's only going to get worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Still tensions ran high as people try to get back to normal. On airplanes, absurd fights broke out as some passengers raged at restrictions.
HONG: If you're going to punch out a flight attendant, I feel like flight attendants have every right to open the emergency doors and toss you out.
FOREMAN: The pandemic economy was mixed with soaring gas prices, inflation.
O'SULLIVAN: I have noticed in the store, I think sometimes, I'm like, "This seems like a pretty expensive jar of tomato sauce."
[04:05:05] FOREMAN: And some shortages spurred by the worst traffic jam. All those ships parked off shore with goods from overseas.
BERMAN: People are buying stuff, people want stuff. People haven't bought stuff for so long. They want it. They want stuff. And all this pent-up demand is what's creating this supply chain back up.
FOREMAN: But the stock market hit new highs. Most of the jobs lost had been recovered. Sure, some folks don't want to go back to the office.
MONROE: I think people are afraid. And I'm like, "You know what? I'm safer at home than I am going (INAUDIBLE). O'SULLIVAN: I think we're all still on edge. It's probably been
drinking so much whiskey. That's the reason.
FOREMAN: But for all that --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Even after accounting for rising prices, the typical American family has more money in their pockets than they did last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large disruptive tornado on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Once again, a variety of tragic events plagued the nation, from fires, storms, and floods.
RUSSELL: Just random events of catastrophe were happening at the most random time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS SCOTT, SINGER: What the fuck was that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: To man-made horrors, 10 people dead after a crowd surge at a concert in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: This is the type of thing that never needed to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Six rundown and killed it at Christmas parade in Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN THOMPSON, WAUKESHA POLICE CHIEF: We actually had a squad and barricades up and he drove right through the barricades and the officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And almost 100 people killed in that condo collapse in Florida.
CUPP: One minute a building was there. And the next, it was gone. And you just didn't think of America. As being a place where that would happen.
FOREMAN: Beyond the United States, there was tension along the border with Mexico. A coup shook Myanmar. Rare protests erupted in Cuba. Violence broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Russia rattled sabers over Ukraine again. And China tested what could be a game-changing hypersonic missile and denied they were testing hypersonic weapons at all.
O'SULLIVAN: China is, yes, without sounding like Donald Trump, China's something we should be paying our attention to.
FOREMAN: Also, still not getting as much attention as scientists say it should.
RUSSELL: I know the climate crisis is a very real thing and something that we all have a part in helping, and reversing, and addressing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD BURK, FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: You're out here doing drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Drug addiction continued to ruin and take American lives at a staggering rates. And gun violence took a terrible toll. Mass shootings at schools and other locations field the headlines. So did a death on a movie set where Alec Baldwin was holding a gun that went off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ANC NEWS ANCHOR: So you never pull the trigger?
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR & PRODUCER: No, no, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. Never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And gun rights activists kept pushing hard against any new restrictions.
BERMAN: When you don't do anything to fix a problem, you were making a tacit admission that you're OK with the way things are.
MONROE: The Americans want to do what they want to do. And they don't care what nobody think does or says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK RICHARDS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Why were you trying to get to the police?
KYLE RITTENHOUSE, DEFENDANT: Because I didn't do anything wrong. I defended myself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury find the defendant Kyle H. Rittenhouse not guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The (equitable) of a young man who shot three people killing two during a protest in Wisconsin, the conviction of three men charged with chasing, and killing them on Arbury while he was jogging in Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just behind us, you were hearing people saying, "We got justice."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Find the defendant guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And the conviction of the former cop who killed George Floyd.
CUPP: I don't think we got justice and the conviction of Derek Showman, but we got accountability.
FOREMAN: All that along with the tax on Asian-Americans fed concern about the worst social trend, rising racial intolerance and violence.
HONG: I have spent hundreds of dollars on buying pepper spray for my elderly parents. America, we should be embarrassed.
RUSSELL: That's a human problem. That's all of our problems. That's a societal problem. And it's something that was really put on display in 2021.
FOREMAN: There is much more ahead. Coming up, we will check out the worst in politics, the best in sports music, movies. And look up in the sky, is that a bird, a plane, or a billionaire? Giving us some space. All the best, all the worst 2021 roars on.
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[04:10:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOCTOR OCTOPUS: Hello, Peter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: In the whole long year of movies for raw cinematic power, Marvel was in a class of its own with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Eternals, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings battling for best action movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANG-CHI: Is that what you wanted?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I saw one movie in the theater, and it was Sang-Chi, and that was it. And I liked it. FOREMAN: But this was the best year in a while for grand adventures
all over the silver screen, from the latest installment of the Venom Series, to Black Widow, to Godzilla vs. Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEENIE: -- the e-brake for me would you darling?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Fast car chase, F9: The Fast Saga.
HONG: Fast and Furious 9, in three words, Pontiac in space.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAT LOVE: Where is he?
TRUDY SMITH: Where is who?
LOVE Your boss.
SMITH: My boss?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: For old west action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHEROKEE BILL: I don't particularly enjoy violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The best sleeper was The Harder They Fall.
MONROE: That movie was great. It was a movie about black cowboys and a very positive light.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst movie to stay awake through, the beautiful but super long --
O'SULLIVAN: Dune? I want to go see Dune.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUKE LETO ATREIDES: The emperor asks us to bring peace to Arrakis. House Atreides accepts.
SAFIN: James Bond. License to kill. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst goodbye to the guy many considered the best James Bond. Daniel Craig ended his run as 007 with a whopping finale.
HONG: No Time To Die has the longest runtime of any bond movie in history. It was almost three hours long. So there was, like, plenty of time to die. Maybe too much time to die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:15:00] GEORGE BURBANK: Marvelous girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: With a few notable exceptions such as Power of the Dog and Belfast, it seemed a weak year for fewer drama and for animation too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYA: Whose baby -- What? Really?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: Saw that. It's not for me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOUN: Let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Hollywood worst problem coast to coast with the way the pandemic made, it's so hard to pack theater seats once again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZEFFIRELLI: I'm naked, Mrs. Krementz.
LUCINDA KREMENTZ: I can see that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: I went back to the movies for the first time last week to see the newest Anderson movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The French Dispatch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: And I enjoyed the popcorn more than I enjoyed the movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK: I've been looking for this tree longer than anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Still, plenty of new movies connected with their audiences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK: Careful. They could smell fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best unexpected vine.
BERMAN: I thought Jungle Cruise was amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUELLA: I'm Cruella.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Fast reboot dogs and all.
HONG: Emma Stone was fantastic in Cruella. I actually like was rooting for Cruella.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY: Mondays, am I right, Joe?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best way to get away from it all, Free Guy.
MONROE: I love everything about Ryan Reynolds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY: Is that hat recreational drugs feel like?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUY: He's just a good dude. And he's a very handsome white boy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody in there?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MONROE: Best ways to give yourself nightmares.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE STRODE: I'm coming for Michael.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: Halloween Kills, I love Jamie Lee Curtis.
FOREMAN: It was an exceptionally good year for horror films.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAN ON ISLAND: Most people had finally given up hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: I think we were looking to be scared by something other than real life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FINLEY STEPHENS: Candyman.
TROY CARTWRIGHT: Candyman.
Anthony McCoy: Candyman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Thank goodness, even when we could not make it out to our favorite cinema, the music business flooded our homes, headphones, and earbuds with some pretty great tunes to pass the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADELE: Go easy on me, baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: With one song and one unforgettable TV concert, the best moment in music came down to one name.
RUSSELL: Adele is back. Like, that's all we need to say for music.
CUPP: I think it's Adele's world. And we're all just crying in it, right?
FOREMAN: Her fourth studio album shot up the charts, paving the way for her new residency performing in Vegas.
BERMAN: The one thing I'm always struck by is, oh my God, what a voice she has.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADELE: (INAUDIBLE)
JON BATISTE, MUSICIAN AND ACTIVIST: In this world with a lot of problem. All we need is a little loving. Thank you, thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOREMAN: It was a very good year for. New Orleans owned John Batiste dance to the front of the Grammy nominees. While the best song of the summer could have gone to Olivia Rodrigo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVIA RODRIGO, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Well, good for you. you look happy and healthy, not me. If you ever cared to ask.
ED SHEERAN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: My bad habits lead to late nights ending alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Or Ed Sheeran and his Bad Habits.
O'SULLIVAN: I do like Ed Sheeran.
FOREMAN: But we'll give that honor to Doja Cat's Kiss Me More..3.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOJA CAT, SINGER-SONGWRITER: When I bite that lip, come get me too. He want lipstick, lip gloss, hickeys too. Can you kiss me more?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: Doja is amazing. Her visuals are great.
FOREMAN: Best bar sing along that sounds a lot like a jingle goes to Walker Hayes and Kesha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER HAYES, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Yeah, we fancy like Applebee's on a date night.
BRUNO MARS, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I'ma leave the door open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best vintage sound goes to Silk Sonic, the collaboration between Bruno Mars and his one-time opening act, Anderson .Paak.
MONROE: It was calm. It was beautiful. And I don't care what you were doing. When that song came on, you just get in the mellow move.
CUPP: So I love Silk Sonic. And in the same vein as like Black Pumas, which had a great year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK PUMAS, PSYCHEDELIC SOUL BAND: All my favorite colors, yes, ma'am. My sisters and my brothers.
BTS, SOUTH KOREAN BOY BAND: Side step, right-left, to my beat. High like the moon, rock with me, baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Most unstoppable force, BTS the K-pop sound and the army of dedicated fans following their every move.
RUSSELL: The K-pop craze in (INAUDIBLE) is completely beyond me. I was like, "Wait, what's happening?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAWEETIE, RAPPER: -- coming in fast. First place, you coming in last. I'm hitting that --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Also making a big noise this year, Saweetie, laid it down.
HONG: You may not know that Saweetie is half Asian. And I fucking love a potty mouth asian woman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDI CARLILE, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I never held my breath for quite this long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Brandi Carlile worked it out in a hot new album.
CUPP: Everyone is finally realizing the American treasure that is Brandi Carlile.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER-SONGWRITER: I bet you think about me, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:20:01] FOREMAN: Taylor Swift was rerecording two of her original albums with new versions of some hits thrilling the Swifties, but not everyone.
O'SULLIVAN: I don't enjoy the online hype about Swifts. It's, again, too much for me to handle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASKED WOLF, RAPPER: What you know about rollin' down in the deep? When your brain goes numb --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Masked Wolf kept rolling with a hit from late last year.
MONOE: Well, at least there's something that's going to make me angry. I had three keys for that good guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIL NAS X: You was never really rooting for me anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: But our reigning king of cool --
RUSSELL: 2021 was the year of Lil Nas X. He seems really funny and like a really nice guy.
FOREMAN: And he keeps breaking out great tunes like no one else. We are moving along and just a moment. Brace yourself for full contact politics. And a little later, tee it up, drop the puck and play ball. We will be looking at the best in sports, the GOAT that got greater, and the shows that lit up our living rooms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know prayers don't work?
LARRY DAVID: Because I'm bald.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Keep you hair on. All the best, all the worst will be right back.
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[04:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Bitter backstabbing political turmoil flooded into American lives far and wide this year. And while some repeatedly called for cooler heads, the riot at the Capitol underscored how others are not even close to moving on. Defeated in the fall election.
CUPP: The mission Donald Trump was on, to turn Americans against Americans.
FOREMAN: Insisting he was cheated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Make no mistake, this selection was stolen from you, from me, and from the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: Just because you keep repeating something over, and over, and over, it's not going to make it true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Most corrupt election in the history of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Donald Trump spent his last week as president impeached, again, this time over the chaos that engulfed the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Trump is practically and morally responsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Republicans, even some who blamed him blocked conviction. But Trump still refuse to take part in the inauguration of the new President, Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I, Joseph Robinette Biden Junior --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Going further scorn.
MONROE: The first thing that the aliens would come here and say, "Take me to your leader." Well, look at one of the leaders that we have. Good guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We never forget 2020, just in case you have any questions. We're not forgetting 2020.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: But since then --
BERMAN: I think the adherence to the big lie hasn't just lingered. I think in some cases, it's grown.
FOREMAN: Despite ending his term with one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern president, and no evidence to back his claims of election fraud, whole show Republicans remain overwhelmingly on team Trump.
O'SULLIVAN: I think an (unfortunous) new normality is that four millions, possibly tens of millions of Americans don't really have faced in, you know, American democracy because they view the 2020 election as a sham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Accusations and suspicions between right and left invaded school board meetings, drove deep wedges into Congress, and even divided families.
CUPP: You know, both sides believe the other is deranged and delusional. And that's incredibly dangerous.
MONROE: We're not a third world country. We are also not a dictatorship. But this is something else. And it's scary.
FOREMAN: Of course, the new administration, including Kamala Harris, the first female U.S. vice president ever had other issues to tackle. There was the pandemic to manage, the economic fallout, and Democrats vowing to turn things around, which was not so easy.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes. I mean, the Democrats are kind of blowing this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: On this vote, the ayes are 69, the nays are 30. The bill as amended is passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: A rapidly developing rift between progressives and centrists nearly scuttled one of the best wins for the White House, the infrastructure bill.
R.K. RUSSELL, WRITER & FORMER NFL PLAYER: Sometimes, simple decisions are made hard by other baggage that you bring into a situation or what's going on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I was not extending a forever exit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And that came well after the worst stumble by the new White House. The calamitous exit from Afghanistan, following 19 years of war.
BERMAN: People agreed on getting out by and large. But I think they wanted to get out well.
CUPP: Joe Biden is not dumb. And one of the things he promised coming in was that unlike Trump who would listen to experts and his generals. And he didn't. And I think we saw the results.
FOREMAN: Worst numbers for the President in a political sense, his plunging approval in the polls and (mid) what some see as mistakes, economic struggles, and fierce attacks from Republicans. Many calling his presidency illegitimate.
O'SULLIVAN: If you're seeing that on your social media feed everyday, it eventually -- As it continues to wash over you, some of it going to sink in.
FOREMAN: Plenty of elected officials also bought into or refuse to call out even the most outlandish conspiracy theories.
[16:30:00]
HONG: It's one thing when people are popping off with insane theories on Facebook and it's another when those people are now elected officials.
RUSSELL: (INAUDIBLE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Most unsociable behavior. That goes to Facebook for saying it would do more to control the flow of fake stories and hateful postings.
The company changed its name to Meta but left many who wanted more unsatisfied.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Because we heard from the Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, on how the company really knows a lot of the ugly stuff that can happen on its platform.
FOREMAN: Facebook said the whistleblower's claims were misleading.
RUSSELL: Freedom of speech and people don't want to be muted, but hate speech is not free speech.
HONG: I swore off Facebook and I was so proud of myself. Then I learned that they also own Instagram. And I was like (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
FOREMAN: The left-right wars played out over a rapidly changing battlefield as they lean on redistricting plans to favor their parties. Democrats do it, too, but the GOP holds a majority in more states.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": I mean, all things being equal, they will regain control of the House just on redistricting alone. That's the power they have.
FOREMAN: The GOP also pushed a slew of efforts to combat virtually nonexistence election fraud, to sharply curb abortion rights, to resist mask or vaccination mandates, and to punish lifelong Republicans who balked at riding the Trump train.
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The party has completely flipped on things like protectionism and family values and lowering the debt and the deficit.
All the things that used to orient the Republican Party now don't matter at all because of one guy. FOREMAN: Many are watching the Supreme Court closely to see how it
might rule on some of these issues as Democrats in Congress try to force testimony from GOP insiders about how the insurrection came to be.
None of it is making Biden's job easier.
BERMAN: However, once you're president, you're president. And as time passes, you've got to own the situation and the challenges that come up.
FOREMAN: And many political analysts say the next challenge could well be a fresh attempt by Donald Trump to run again to take back the presidency he lost.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will make America great again!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: When we come back, the worst kind of quarterback sneak, the best run into the open, and don't touch that remote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The welcome wagon has arrived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: We will be scanning through comedies, dramas, the best shows on television, I mean, other than ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST, 2021.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm a good guy. I'm better than you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:36:52]
CUPP: Sports.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In the big world of sports, the best news for everyone sick of Tom Brady winning Super Bowls with the New England Patriots came when he took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The best quarterback, now 44, has so many championship rings, he's running out of fingers.
BERMAN: It's honestly insane. It's not normal. There's just no superlatives that can describe what he's done in football.
RUSSELL: He's a living legend. He's an icon. He's doing something that, in my lifetime, will probably never be done again.
FOREMAN: Worst fumble. We could get into those packed college stadiums roaring with COVID denial.
O'SULLIVAN: At some point over the summer, I think a lot of people said, ah, screw it, and the world got back to normal for a lot of folks.
FOREMAN: But the award goes to Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, who was asked if he was vaccinated --
AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS QUARTERBACK: Yes, I'm immunized.
FOREMAN: -- then admitted months later he had not received a COVID shot and lit into his critics.
RODGERS: I realize I'm in the cross hairs of the woke mob right now.
FOREMAN: He sort of apologized, but --
CUPP: Yes, fame and money don't make your smart.
FOREMAN: Raiders Coach John Gruden was rocked by reports of improper e-mails. In a statement, he said, "I never meant to hurt anyone." But he resigned anyway.
HONG: number one, if you're going to be a trash person, don't put it in writing.
FOREMAN: Best irony. Raiders defensive end, Carl Nassib, made history as the first openly guy active player in the league.
RUSSELL: I loved it. Yes, he's a football player. Yes, he's at the highest level. Yes, he's dang good and he's also guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir! Yes, sir!
FOREMAN: In baseball, the best team was the Atlanta Braves hammering the Houston Astros in the World Series.
But the best play at the plate came from Ohio. Give it to the Guardians, who aren't the Cleveland Indians anymore.
HONG: I mean, it's about freaking time.
FOREMAN: In hockey, worst way to miss the net. Canada got a team to the finals for the first time in a decade only to have the Lightening mop the ice with the Canadians, taking the Stanley Cup way down south.
BERMAN: If there's one thing I think we know about Florida, it's hockey.
O'SULLIVAN: Ice hockey's OK because people are beating each other up. Basketball, I think, is the most entertaining of the sports in
America.
FOREMAN: And speaking of the NBA, the Phoenix Suns brought high hopes to the finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. But --
FLAME MONROE, COMEDIAN: I was glad to see the underdog come on out and shake it up.
RUSSELL: And Milwaukee needs a win because I can't think of any other reason I would be talking about Milwaukee right now.
(SHOUTING)
FOREMAN: The Summer Olympics were the best.
O'SULLIVAN: It was nice to have that I think big sporting event.
FOREMAN: And they were the worst, too.
MONROE: I thought the stress they put on those athletes was unbelievable. We were in the middle of a pandemic.
[16:40:03]
CUPP: I didn't watch any of it. It made me anxious.
FOREMAN: The pandemic wreaked havoc on the grand plans.
HONG: I felt so bad for Tokyo. They built all these new venues and arenas and then nobody could go.
It was like, Jake Gyllenhaal not showing up to Taylor Swift's 21st birthday party.
FOREMAN: Best way to strike a balance. Legendary gymnast, Simone Biles, bailed out of the Olympic finals over mental of health concerns.
SIMONE BILES, U.S. OLYMPIC GYMNAST: I didn't want to risk the team a medal for kind of my screw up.
FOREMAN: Echoing a similar move by tennis star, Naomi Osaka, at the French Open.
RUSSELL: I applauded it not only for her but for other athletes. Hey, it's OK to take a step back from the sport you love so much. You are more than just what you do.
FOREMAN: Most disturbing mystery. What's really going on with that Chinese tennis star who accused a former Communist Party official of sexual assault?
And the best athletes still grinding after more than a century, give it to 105-year-old Julia Hawkins, of Louisiana, who ran 100 meters in just over a minute, a new senior world record. (END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: When we weren't watching sports, the pandemic drove many of us to spend more time watching everything else.
It was a very big year on the small screen where TV was getting its game on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst idea for a series in the pandemic which made for some of the best TV -- "Squid Game."
HONG: "Squid Game" was the proudest that I have been to be Korean and that is kind of messed up.
(SCREAMING)
FOREMAN: The creepy survival series had a mixed reception.
RUSSELL: Visually, it was stunning. Not for me.
O'SULLIVAN: Too dark.
FOREMAN: But the show was a hit anyway.
BERMAN: It turns out, a lot of people died in "Squid Game."
It wasn't the feel-good story I was expecting.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The welcome wagon has arrived.
(SHOUTING)
FOREMAN: On the other end of the spectrum, best series of the year -- the wonderful, happy, rollicking Ted Lasso.
HONG: Ted Lasso has done more for soccer in the U.S. than David Beckham Beckham's butt. And that's saying a lot.
O'SULLIVAN: I didn't think someone as nice as him would be tolerated in the world of English football. I'll just say that.
(SHOUTING)
FOREMAN: Best reboot of a long-ago favorite, "The Wonder Years." Kevin and his crew were out. A whole new family was in.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It was 1968. The year I turned 12.
CUPP: I just loved that concept. What was so great about "The Wonder Years," which I grew up on, it was any family. It could have been any family. Clearly, it wasn't.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE). I need you to protect me.
FOREMAN: Best new season about the worst kind of people, "Succession."
BERMAN: I don't watch "Succession." I don't need that.
FOREMAN: Other fan favorites --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: How does it feel to be the other woman?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Watch yourself.
MONROE: I'm a big "Queen Sugar" fan. I like to hear the untold stories of just the common man, and you be like, wow. And then you like so much more alike than we are different.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We're going to go down there and look for clues. You want to come?
O'SULLIVAN: I enjoyed "Only Murders in the Building." It was my kind of show.
FOREMAN: "Curb your Enthusiasm" came back to enthusiastic reviews.
ACTORS: Hello. I see you.
FOREMAN: "You" had a great run. So did "Sweet Tooth."
"Cobra Kai," "I May Destroy You," and "Sex Education."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Are you OK?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Yes, I'm fine.
BERMAN: I do think one of the trends on TV that I love is that being decent can be popular. And being accident decent can be funny. I love that. I need it.
FOREMAN: Reality TV continues to hold its own.
CUPP: I don't know if you know this about me, but I have a PhD in Bravo.
And it was quite a year for "Real Housewives" in many ways.
FOREMAN: Best dramatization of a real-life calamity, "Dope Sick."
O'SULLIVAN: I feel it's now. We're really starting to learn the impact and understand the effect of this drug and how it tore communities apart.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: The Easttown Police Department received a call reporting a dead body.
FOREMAN: The best show about people dealing with the worst news was "Mayor of Easttown."
BERMAN: The characters were so compelling.
FOREMAN: The worst idea which worked out anyway.
DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, FORMER WRESTLER: (INAUDIBLE)
FOREMAN: "Young Rock."
HONG: We're all so obsessed with The Rock that we will watch a fictionalized version of how he became The Rock.
FOREMAN: Best idea that turned out even better.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: This is our home now. I want us to fit in.
RUSSELL: Oh, my god. I have to talk about "WandaVision." Gave you moments of old-time sitcom, mixed with Marvel. This sort of fantasy spin. Oh, my god. It's amazing.
[16:45:07]
FOREMAN: And best pandemic project of them all, Bo Burham's wildly inventive, "Inside."
(SINGING)
FOREMAN: That alone may have been enough to justify the best or worst trend, depending on how you see it, the wild proliferation of streaming services taking over the TV universe.
RUSSELL: Right now, I have Hulu, Disney Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, Peacock, HBO Max, Apple. I pretty much have all of them.
MONROE: But, you know, I think that's the wave of the future. We have to adapt to the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Our future still holds plenty. Stay with us and hang on tight for what's coming up.
We'll be taking a trip far, far away. Checking in on Britney's great escape.
And what's this ship?
It's ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (VO): The billionaire space race tops our look at big moments in science, technology, and culture. With SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin all carrying private passengers up, up, and back.
It was the best for some.
CUPP: I cried every time. And I had my 6-year-old watch with me to see just how amazing this is.
FOREMAN: For others --
RUSSELL: I have no feelings on billionaires whatsoever.
BERMAN: Space is undeniably cool, but sometimes I wonder if we're making more of it than we should.
[16:50:08]
O'SULLIVAN: Welcome back to the world, Jeff Bezos. We missed you for those 19 seconds you were gone.
FOREMAN: Meanwhile, a NASA rover landed on Mars. And another robotic probe prepared to ram an asteroid. Take that, humans.
(APPLAUSE)
FOREMAN: Back on earth, the worst failure to launch was "Jeopardy!'s" search to replace the late, great, Alex Trebek.
After a lot of guest hosts, the executive producer chose himself to host the syndicated version. Then stepped aside in the uproar after offensive comments of his resurfaced.
HONG: What is a dumpster fire, for 300?
(BUZZER)
FOREMAN: Also stepping aside from each other, Kimye. Although, their celebrity divorce seems uncertain at this point.
MONROE: The only thing I can say about that is, girl, what took you so long? Good god.
FOREMAN: Best escape from the worst situation. After 13 years, a court freed Britney Spears from the oversight of her father.
CUPP: I think the Free Britney movement, which has ended well, at least in terms of ending that conservatorship, was also important in making us reconsider how we treat our, especially female, celebrities.
FOREMAN: Oprah takes the prize for best Q&A for her sit-down with the former royals, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
PRINCE HARRY: I'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side.
MONROE: I admire Harry, taking the reins and controlling his family and controlling his destiny. That lets you know that black-girl magic is real.
FOREMAN: Worst hashtag -- Hot Back Summer. CUPP: A, I'm married. And, B, I still don't want anyone to touch me or
be near me. So, no, no. Hot Back Summer for me, it was still, stay the hell away from me.
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: Best way to stay away from others -- the booming video game industry, which was expected to generate between $175 billion and $180 billion in revenue this year. That's much more than movies or music.
RUSSELL: I think technology was very much geared to what we could at our homes that we normally went outside for.
HONG: Video games was like the only way we could socialize, right?
FOREMAN: Worst joke. Dave Chappelle's comments about trans people, which sparked an outcry, even as some came to his defense, especially after he agreed to meet his critics.
DAVE CHAPELLE, COMEDIAN: People will make mistakes. We're human. You will make a mistake.
FOREMAN: Worst club meeting. The QAnon crowd that gathered in Texas expecting the return of John Kennedy and John Kennedy Jr.
O'SULLIVAN: A lot of this stuff boils down to loneliness. And there's a really warm feeling if you think you understand something and have insight into something that nobody else understands.
FOREMAN: Most popular baby names, Olivia and Liam.
BERMAN: I'm sure Olivia it's after Olivia de Havilland. As far as Liam goes, I guess Liam Neeson.
I guess people forget how bad -- (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Here is the path of the dark side.
FOREMAN: Merriam Webster's word of the year was "vaccine." Our number of the year is 332 million. That's about the U.S. population. And it's growing with a death every 11 seconds, but a birth every nine seconds.
The worst eight, the eight hours an average American kid now spends in front of a screen each day. That's double what it was before the pandemic.
And worst number for many Americans trying to stay fit? Thirty-nine. That's the percentage who gained weight amid all the COVID limitations and irritations, too.
MONROE: Angry. Frustrated. Stuck in the house. Mad. Disgruntled. Can't find your way. It was a lot. Then all these crazy Karens coming out.
FOREMAN: The worst and best thing to combat all of that this year, TikTok.
CUPP: People have created entire new careers off of TikTok. And I am here for it.
FOREMAN: And the best worst parking job of the whole year, that ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal backing up global trade.
HONG: Everybody jumped in with a suggestion. Like, have you tried baby oil? How about prune juice? That stuff really gets things moving.
O'SULLIVAN: Look, the guy had one job. He had one job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:54:36]
FOREMAN: Our job here, like 2021, is about done. But stick around as we go over one last important item -- our wishes for next year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: As difficult as it's been, so many of us have held on to hope that the pandemic will fad, our differences will ease, our future will brighten.
So to close it out, we've asked our guests their wishes for the coming year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HONG: My wish for next year is that it's nothing like the last two years. Please. We can't take it anymore.
O'SULLIVAN: I wish for 2022 maybe just people calm down. Maybe calm down a little bit.
RUSSELL: My wish for America is to end racism.
CUPP: I wish for less politics. I don't think politics infusing everything is making us smarter, happier, healthier, or better people.
BERMAN: My wish for 2022 is an end to the exhaustion. That we just wake up refreshed from the ridiculous chaos that we've now been through for basically two years.
MONROE: Acceptance and understanding will make this America the greatest country that it has ever been. Those are the two things that are needed right now. So accept me and understand me because I accept and understand you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: That is, indeed, at least something to strive for.
Thanks to all of our guests.
[16:59:58]
And thanks to all of you for watching. For the entire team at "ANDERSON COOPER 360" and CNN worldwide, I'm
Tom Foreman, wishing you all of the best and none of the worst in 2022.
