Instagram was buzzing about Hiddleswift, the Olympics and Jupiter this week
After the tragic acts of violence that took place over the course of the week, Instagram served as an outlet for people to celebrate the power of togetherness.
In addition to moving tributes for Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the victims of the Dallas Police shooting, a bunch of our favorite celebrities had reunions and spread the love.
Friends like Taylor Swift and her squad and teammates like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps reconnected, a former Bachelor star welcomed a new addition to the family and President Obama shared a touching tribute to an inspirational survivor who recently passed away.
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Here are eleven Instagram highlights from the past week that really resonated with us:
1. Dallas Police Shooting
Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured after a shooting took place during a protest of police violence in Dallas, Texas late Thursday.
The act of violence followed the recent deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Minnesota who were both shot and killed by police.
The White House posted a photograph to Instagram of President Obama addressing the tragedies and offering his condolences while in Warsaw, Poland.
The post is captioned, "I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events, and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas...Let's be clear: There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement.”
To see President Obama's full statement on the attack on law enforcement, visit www.whitehouse.gov.
2. NASA
On July 4, NASA announced that their Juno spacecraft would finally be arriving in orbit around Jupiter.
After five years of traveling through space to reach its destination, Juno made history as the first spacecraft to orbit the poles of Jupiter since the end of the Galileo mission in 2003. NASA posted several photographs and videos to Instagram that gave us a glimpse of the planet from the spacecraft.
The probe will take the highest-resolution images of the plane to date, and possibly help discover new moons in orbit which is a huge achievement for the scientific world.
Way to go, NASA.
3. Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps
On Saturday, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte posted a collage in honor of his teammate, Michael Phelps.
Since Phelps ended his retirement back in April of 2014, the swimmer has been training for the 2016 Rio Olympics and after the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials, he announced he would be going to Rio to participate in his fifth and final Olympic Games.
Lochte posted photos of the two teammates from the ‘04, ‘08, ‘12 Olympics, along with the ‘16 trials, captioned, “Last night was the last time @m_phelps00 and I competed against each other on U.S. soil! It's been an amazing journey so far swimming with and against you, but our journey isn't over yet! #roadtorio #usa🇺🇸 #04 #08 #12 #16”
We can’t wait to see what the Rio Games have in store for these two athletes.
4. Taylor Swift
This Fourth of July confirmed that Taylor Swift is the fearless leader of the squad that keeps on growing.
Last weekend, Swift hosted her exclusive annual Fourth of July bash in Rhode Island, with many die-hard squad members and several fresh new faces like Taylor’s new beau, Tom Hiddleston.
The fact that some BFFs like Selena Gomez (gasp) were not in attendance did not stop TSwift and Co. from documenting their festivities and giving all of Instagram some major FOMO.
Taylor shared this shot of her and 11 of her closest gal pals -- Ruby Rose, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne and Blake Lively included -- frolicking in the ocean.
5. Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera
A mini Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants reunion took place on Monday, and it was just as phenomenal as we’d hoped.
Sisterhood co-stars and friends IRL, Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera got together to celebrate the Fourth of July and the greatness that is Beyoncé.
The Instagram video, captioned, “Making America Great Again” features the two BFFs goofing around by the pool, lip syncing to Beyoncé’s “Formation” and waving an American flag.
Here’s hoping Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel will be present at the next shindig.
6. John Stamos
One of our favorite (fictional) couples has graced Instagram with a stunning Snapchat photo.
Full House favorites, John Stamos, who played the dreamy Uncle Jesse, and Lori Loughlin, who played Aunt Becky, took a selfie while on the Fuller House stage featuring the beloved Flower Crown Snapchat filter...have mercy.
If this is what Snapchat means when it says they are attracting an older demographic, then we’re totally okay with that.
Look out Jay Z and Beyoncé, there’s another flawless J + B in town.
7. Sean Lowe
Chris Harrison must be thrilled because a new little addition to Bachelor Nation has arrived.
The star of Season 17’s The Bachelor, Sean Lowe, and wife Catherine Giudici Lowe welcomed their first child, Samuel Thomas on July 2.
Since the couple learned they were expecting, they have not been shy to social media — both tweeted from the hospital pre-delivery and posted celebratory "welcome to the world” Instagram posts.
Sean shared this precious photo of himself cradling his newborn son on Instagram, with the caption, “My boy and me.“
Looks as though he and Catherine are loving life as parents.
8. Elie Wiesel
Last Saturday, it was announced that Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel had passed away.
The 87 year old, known for sharing the story of his teenage years at Auschwitz in the memoir Night, had a significant impact in the world.
President Obama shared a touching Instagram post about his passing, calling him “one of the great moral voices of our time.” Obama shared that he and Michelle would be joining “people across the United States, Israel and around the globe in mourning.”
Obama ended his tribute with a powerful statement about the importance of love, empathy and compassion, urging us all to live a little more like Elie.
9. Kaley Cuoco
The Big Bang Theory actress, Kaley Cuoco, caused quite the commotion on Instagram after she posted a photo of her three dogs on the Fourth of July.
The picture featured her three puppies in patriotic apparel, but appeared to show one of her dogs laying on top of the American flag.
Fans on Instagram began negatively commenting on the post, explaining that Cuoco was disrespecting the flag.
The actress has since deleted the original photo and shared this image of a heart-shaped American flag along with a formal apology. Cuoco expressed that she has the “utmost respect” for America and “made a mistake.”
She even spoke a bit on the pressures of being in the public eye, sharing, “Every mistake and every imperfection is amplified. I am not perfect. I am a proud American, today, tomorrow, always.”
10. Lady Gaga
Grammy Award-winning singer, Lady Gaga has a new achievement to celebrate.
The 30-year-old artist brought a much-needed burst of life to the DMV after finally receiving her driver’s license.
Gaga, who has been driving with her learner's permit and an adult present for years, was so proud of herself for finally getting that glorious piece of plastic that she decided to celebrate with several hilarious (and very relatable) Instagram pictures.
This amazing picture of the singer alone in her classroom at the DMV was followed by one of herself on her knees outside of a vehicle, so thankful to have passed the test.
Congrats, Lady Gaga, and happy driving!
11. Daisy Ridley
On Monday, the Star Wars actress blessed Instagram with an exciting picture that showed Star Wars: Episode VIII filming.
Ridley, who is well-known in the Instagram world for sharing glimpses of her intense workouts, decided not to let her role as Rey stop her from sharing a video of herself on her workout grind.
To cover her secretive Star Wars hairstyle and shield us from spoilers, Ridley decided to wrap her head in a pillowcase.
She captioned the video of herself working out in her unique headwear, “Ran to the gym between different set ups so wore a pillowcase on my head to protect my Rey hairstyle from Instagram's gaze.”
A+ for impressive dedication and style, Daisy.
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Topics Instagram
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
