With so many divas under one roof, someone is always bound to say or do something extremely unexpected. We’ve compiled a list of squirm-in-your-seat uncomfortable moments from past Oscar ceremonies to celebrate what might happen this year.
Because people don’t forget.
1. Jennifer Lawrence Tripping
At the 85th Academy Awards, JLaw ate dirt while accepting her Best Actress award. Luckily she confronted the situation head-on by saying, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you.”
2. Adrien Brody’s Surprise Kiss
It was totally understandable for Adrien Brody to be extremely overwhelmed with emotion when it was announced he won Best Actor for his role in “The Pianist” at the 75th awards. But it was also totally not understandable for him to unexpectedly and passionately kiss Halle Berry after she presented his award. The whole world cringed with her when she looked at the camera after the kiss in complete shock.
3. Bjork Infamous Swan Dress
The Icelandic musician’s 73rd Academy Awards dress is not only one of the most infamous red carpet outfits ever (the ruffled number even has its own Wikipedia page), but it’s also among the most awkward. To make matters worse, on the red carpet Bjork placed her white clutch on the floor and it looked as if she laid a big egg. Surprisingly enough, this infamous dress was honoured by the MOMA in 2015.
4. John Travolta Butchers Name
John was tasked with introducing Idina Menzel when she came on stage to perform the Oscar-nominated (and later Oscar-winning) song “Let It Go” from “Frozen” at the 86th Academy Awards. Unfortunately, he ended up introducing her as “Adele Dazeem”.
5. John Travolta’s Creepy Touching
It appears the Grease star just can’t catch a break. At the 87th awards, after Idina Menzel got Travolta back for butchering her name the year before, he began manhandling her face. To make matters worse, he was caught awkwardly touching Scarlett Johansson on the red carpet prior to the awards.
6. James Franco and Anne Hathaway as Hosts
In an attempt to attract a younger audience, Franco and Hathaway were asked to host the 83rd Academy Awards. At one point Franco walked on stage wearing a weird fuchsia dress, while Hathaway tried her best to overcompensate for her high awkward partner. Sadly, most people agreed the entire show was a flop.
7. South Park Creators Arrive High and in Drag
The trio behind the comedy show thought it would be hilarious to arrive at the 72nd Oscars mimicking some former red carpet looks, most notably Jennifer Lopez’s belly-button-baring gown and Gwyneth Paltrow’s pink 1999 look. The group later told Jimmy Kimmel that they were high on acid at the time.
8. Angelina Jolie Kisses Her Brother…On the Lips
At the 72nd Academy Awards, Jolie brought her older brother James Haven as her date. But even before the awards could start, Jolie made things extremely awkward when she kissed her brother on the lips. If that wasn’t cringe-worthy enough, when Jolie gave her acceptance speech for her lead role in “Girl, Interrupted” she thanked her brother and said, “I’m in shock, and I’m so in love with my brother right now,” she giggled. “He just held me and said he loved me and I know he’s so happy for me.”
9. James Cameron Yelling
Surely it’s understandable that Cameron would be thrilled when “Titanic” won Best Picture at the 1998 Oscars. But it was extremely awkward when he yelled out, “I’m the king of the world!” Most likely setting a world record for the most eye rolls.
10. Neil Patrick Harris in his Underwear
Clearly doing anything to keep the audience’s attention, Harris strutted his stuff across the stage in a pair of tighty-whiteys last year. It was, well, awkward.
11. The Streaker
It was incredibly impressive to see three-time Oscars host David Niven keep his cool when a streaker interrupted the 1974 ceremony. After the audience collected themselves, Niven had the perfect response to the interruption by saying, “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”
12. David Letterman’s Oprah/Uma Joke
It was rather odd that Letterman was asked to host the 67th annual Oscars. But his opening introduction further proved he was a strange choice when he baffled the crowd by making an awkward bit around the names “Uma” and “Oprah.” To make things even more awkward he started doing some weird shuffling thing across the stage as well.
13. Marlon Brando’s Acceptance Speech
Brando boycotted the Oscars in 1973 when he won Best Actor for “The Godfather.” He declined the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans, and had actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather read his pre-written message to the audience. Needless to say, the audience was a little stunned.