Even though it's not quite3⁄4 over, it's safe to say that 2014 will go down as a year of war, mass murder, plane crashes and terrible diseases. While certainly paying it some heed, it's not surprising that Wikipedia viewers tried this week to find any alternative to that litany of tragedy and pain, and their chosen method of escape was, as usual, celebrity. The death of comedianJoan Rivers led to much attention to both her and her family, while theleaks of the private photographs of dozens of celebrities led to much condemnation, as it is the kind of atrocity most people can get their heads around.
For the full top 25 list, seeWP:TOP25. Seethis section for an explanation of any exclusions.
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joan Rivers |  | 2,024,356 |  | The brassy, pioneering comedian died this week at 81. Many people in this profession are lazily described as "shocking"; Joan Rivers actually was. Her acerbic barbs at her fellow celebrities, most recently displayed on her cable TV showFashion Police, were witty, caustic and often downright cruel – to the point when some threatened to sue her for defamation. A lifelong plastic surgery fan, she tended to view physical imperfections as optional and would mercilessly dig celebrities about excess hair, ageing, and weight gain. "If Kate Winslet would've just lost five pounds, Leo would've been able to fit on the raft," she said of theTitanic star, or, onCate Blanchett: "Her movie is about Middle Earth, which is exactly where Cate's boobs have settled." But for all that, you can't deny her indomitability; after achieving fame on the talk show circuit in the 80s, she faced ruin when a failed attempt to launch her own show led to a irreparable break from her mentorJohnny Carson and, she said, her husband's suicide. But she rebounded, reinventing herself as a red carpet commentator and fashion maven, and was still working until the day she died. |
| 2 | 2014 celebrity pictures hack |  | 895,417* |  | An event so controversial that Wikipedia can't even decide what to name it; both its most popular titles this week are now redirects. The hack into dozens of personal files that celebrities (includingJennifer Lawrence, pictured) unwittingly stored onApple'siCloud, which led to the mass publication of their private nudeselfies, has acted as a sharp reminder of the fragility of personal privacy in the age of Web 2.0. A handy warning to any and all contemplating a bout of private exhibitionism: if you want to take a nude selfie, use a normal camera, not a phone; or, if you must use a phone, remember, just because you delete a picture, that doesn't mean it's gone. *Number includes views for its monumentally insensitive nickname, "The Fappening", based on thesubreddit where all of the pictures were collected. |
| 3 | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |  | 635,031 |  | Numbers are up again for this almost absurdly brutaljihadist group, which proudly posts mass executions it carries out onTwitter and has been disowned even byal-Qaeda. The surge is likely due to the fallout fromBarack Obama's decision to take US troops into Iraq, (despite having campaigned on the promise of troop withdrawal from the country) including the execution of journalistsJames Foley andSteven Sotloff. |
| 4 | Jennifer Lawrence | | 560,678 | | Wikipedia's favorite actress returns to the list for the first timesince March as the most notable victim of the celebrity photo leak scandal. |
| 5 | Ariana Grande | | 546,039 |  | The singer and onetimeNickelodeon actress may have released her most recent albumMy Everything on August 25, but she's most likely on this list as another victim of the photo leak scandal. |
| 6 | Harry Houdini | | 488,448 |  | A performer from the age of nine, the Hungarian-Jewish immigrant with the intense eyes and the bodybuilder's physique worked his way to becoming the most successfulescape artist and magician in the world, and, along withCharlie Chaplin, one of the first moderncelebrities. Aware of the power of illusion, he used his fame to debunk fraudulentmediums and other bogus psychics, a tradition his fellow magicians continue to this day. Interest in his story was piqued bya two-part miniseries based on his life written byNicholas Meyer and starringAdrian Brody in the title role. |
| 7 | Melissa Rivers | | 444,539 | The actress daughter of Joan Rivers (see #1), who took her mother's stage name and eventually followed her into red carpet reportage, gained interest in the wake of her mother's death. | |
| 8 | Deaths in 2014 |  | 431,671 |  | The list of deaths in the current year is always a popular article. |
| 9 | 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup | | 428,295 |  | The only world sport that the US can truly claim as its own, basketball, asCarl Sagan noted, is younger than the cinema. But in its relatively short life, the game has risen to become the third most popular in the world (aftersoccer andcricket) and to see its world cup garner a global audience of over 800 million. |
| 10 | Radamel Falcao | | 424,441 |  | TheColombianstriker, currently on loan toManchester United fromAS Monaco scored a record-breaking 17 goals in a single season in 2011. Interest was raised this week due to concerns over a past injury and controversial claims that he lied about his age. |
