Celebs

Stars both local and non-native were all the rage on Boston.com this past year.

Newton native John Krasinski hosted "Saturday Night Live" in January, appearing in one sketch as former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on a talk show hosted by Kate McKinnon about “things in America that still work." NBC

It may not exactly be Hollywood — or even Hollywood-East — but Boston’s got more than its share of celebrities, both native and traveling through. That would explain why some of the top stories on Boston.com are about the entertainment industry, and those who imbue it with a certain Boston flair.

That would include some usual suspects like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and John Krasinski; reports on the cast and crew of Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up,” which spent a chunk of the year filming here; kerfuffles and fusses over several famous singers; and multiple stories about a former Patriots star (do we have to say his name?) who is apparently still a local favorite. 

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Here are the top 10 celebrity and entertainment stories from Boston.com in 2021, in order of views by readers:

1) “Kiss 108 host Matt Siegel storms off show claiming censorship over Demi Lovato comments” After 40 years on the air in Boston, you can forgive Matty Siegel for being a little cranky. But it appeared that his station’s concerns after Siegel — interviewed here by Boston.com’s Kevin Slane — joked about singer Demi Lovato’s coming out as non-binary last May might have pushed him over the edge. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and Matty returned — although the show’s co-host/executive producer Rebekah “Bex” Maroun did wind up announcing her own departure the following month.

2) “Bill Burr fires back at Star Wars fans who say they’ve ‘never heard a Boston accent in outer space’” Readers were apparently eager to line up behind Burr when the Canton native went on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in January to discuss his role on Disney+’s “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” and its viewers’ concerns about his Boston accent. “Eff those nerdy, nitpicking nerds,” Burr said, succinctly. 

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3) “Watch John Krasinski impersonate Tom Brady on ‘Saturday Night Live’” It must have been a dream come true for the Newton native to appear as New England’s favorite adopted son last January, even if he insinuated that Brady might be a “weird Trump guy.”

4) “Here’s the T-Mobile ad starring Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski you won’t see on Super Bowl Sunday” Speaking of Tom Brady, we’re still not entirely sure why this ad was “banned” from the Super Bowl — but it clearly got plenty of exposure anyway, given we’ve all seen it many times since. 

5) “Ben Affleck shares story from playing catch with Tom Brady that he believes is the reason for his greatness” Affleck’s story from the “Bill Simmons Podcast” earlier this month proves once and for all that Brady > Batman, apparently. 

6) “‘SNL’ welcomes ‘Drunk Tom Brady’ to ‘Weekend Update’” With this item from February being the fourth Tom Brady story in a row to turn up on this list, it’s probably a good time for a reminder: Dude does not play here anymore, people.

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7) “Leonardo DiCaprio and girlfriend Camila Morrone loaded up on Italian food in the North End on New Year’s Eve” The dining habits of the rich and famous remain a source of fascination for many, as evidenced by the interest evinced by Leo’s New Year’s Eve Italian repast. DiCaprio was of course in town filming “Don’t Look Up,” which finally showed up on Netflix last week.

8) “This picture of 4 Mass. teens leaving the Phoebe Bridgers concert got the attention of the artist herself” Boston.com co-op Mia McCarthy took a deep dive into what happened when Bridgers quote-tweeted a picture of four local teens taken after her October show at Leader Bank Pavilion: “y’all would’ve bullied me in high school,” the singer declared.

9) “Downtown Boston is transformed into New York City as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence film ‘Don’t Look Up’” It didn’t warrant the same attention as Leo’s eating habits, but Boston.com readers were still taken by news of the star-studded “Don’t Look Up” shoot, in this case of a startling transformation on Devonshire Street.

10) “Matt Damon moved to tears during 5-minute standing ovation for new movie at Cannes” It wouldn’t be a list of Boston.com stories without a reference to Cambridge’s own Matt Damon, and you can’t help but be happy for him getting some recognition at France’s most prominent film fest last July — he’s a good guy, no matter what Jimmy Kimmel says.