Nicki Minaj

Both of Nicki Minaj's most outspoken moments this year happened to surround one very controversial event: the MTV Video Music Awards. Nicki first tweeted about the evident bias in the nominations, and proceeded to put Taylor Swift in her place [2] after Taylor assumed the tweets were targeting her.

Even better, Nicki called Miley Cyrus [3] out during her acceptance speech at the show in August. The confrontation came after Miley called Nicki "not too nice" in an interview [4]. "Miley, what's good?" was instantly iconic, even going so far as to inspire a ton of hilarious memes [5].

Khloé Kardashian

It seems Khloé has been handling a lot of haters in the past few months. After Amy Schumer poked fun at the Kardashians in her SNL monologue [6], Khloé addressed the jokes on Twitter [7], saying "No need 2 tear down others just 2 make urself feel bigger."

Khloé also faced plenty of scrutiny in the wake of Lamar Odom's tragic hospitalization [8]. When criticized for participating in an interview for her new book during such a sensitive time, Khloé fired off a series of tweets [9] shutting everyone down and setting the record straight.

Viola Davis

To some, the fact that Viola Davis quoted Harriet Tubman during her Emmys acceptance speech [10] was a bold move. Take for instance soap opera actress Nancy Lee Grahn, who ranted about the speech in a series of angry tweets [11]. Viola addressed Nancy directly in an interview with The New York Times [12] after the fact. She said, "If there has been any backlash, it’s that all people want to feel included in a speech. I know there has been some backlash with an actress who didn’t feel she was included."

Taylor Swift

Taylor hasn't been afraid to speak out when she feels victimized by other celebrities — see her ongoing feud with Katy Perry [13] and her situation with Nicki Minaj and the VMAs above — but we're more excited about something else. This year, more than ever, Taylor took the media head-on [14], tackling rumors about marriage, huge fights with Lorde [15], and her allegedly insured legs.

Selena Gomez

No, we're not just talking about her post-Victoria's Secret Fashion Show comment [16], in which she said, "Yes, I f*cking sing live." While that was amazing, to be sure, we were more impressed by the way Selena put her body shamers on blast [17]. First, she posted that empowering Instagram [18] declaring her love for herself, then she later talked about it with Ryan Seacrest [19]: "I did gain weight, but I don't care."

Zendaya

Zendaya [20] is the undisputed queen of classy, eloquent comebacks on Twitter [21]. We're still over the moon about her well-thought, beautiful response to Giuliana Rancic [22] after those dreadlocks comments, to be sure. What we might have loved even more, though, was the way she defended her parents against a group of Twitter trolls [23] who were making fun of their appearance.

Calvin Harris

Maybe Calvin Harris and Taylor are meant to be, because Taylor wasn't the only one firing back at the media this year. Amid reports that the couple was on the outs because of a "happy ending" encounter at a massage parlor, Calvin threatened legal action [24] in pun-filled tweet. Also, let's not forget Calvin's insane Twitter feud with Zayn Malik [25] this past Summer.

Chrissy Teigen

Most recently, Chrissy Teigen bit back at the haters [26] who criticized her pregnant cravings for sugary cereal. It's far from the first time she's had to push back, though. Chrissy consistently toes the line — like the time she joked about never hiring a hot nanny — and she'll always take on the trolls who call her out.

Demi Lovato

Demi consistently tries to empower and inspire her fans with her positivity, confidence, and love, but we're going to focus more on the way she refused to take Pink's criticism lying down. When Pink made negative comments about the performances at this year's VMAs, Demi was quick to fire back [27].

Gigi Hadid

Gigi Hadid has been on fire this year, but that doesn't mean she hasn't faced demons of her own. It seems the model has been under a ton of scrutiny in the fashion industry this year, but she shut all of it down [28] in a body-positive post on Instagram.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence [29] surprised everyone when she penned a thoughtful essay on the gender wage gap [30] and how prevalent it is in Hollywood. It placed her in the ranks with a ton of other empowering feminist celebrities and made us love her that much more. She even talked about how her Hunger Games character inspired her to speak up [31].

Amandla Stenberg

We already knew Amandla Stenberg was one of the handful of smart, thoughtful celebrity teenagers [32] in Hollywood, but she really made us think when she challenged Kylie Jenner's cultural appropriation [33]. While Amandla received a pointed comeback from Kylie, the fact that she made her feelings known speaks volumes.

Cara Delevingne

Not only did Cara Delevingne take on Vogue for suggesting her bisexuality could be a phase, but she also refused to apologize for her cringeworthy interview with Good Day Sacramento [34]. She said, "Some people just don't understand sarcasm or the British sense of humour."

Shonda Rhimes

As you might know, Grey's Anatomy [35] fans were devastated when Derek Shepherd died [36] last season. Completely unbothered by the controversy, Shonda explained why it was her only option [37]. She's also fought back much more fiercely in the past [38], including against The New York Times when they called her an "angry black woman." Tell 'em, Shonda!