Michael Jackson was always a little out-there, but apparently, he was living in his own universe when it came to the 2002 MTV Music Video Awards, where Britney Spears wished him a “Happy Birthday.” Spears noted that she considered Jackson to be the “artist of the millennium” and in response to this, he took it quite literally.
Believing “Artist of the Millennium” to be an award that he had actually won, he began performing an acceptance speech, saying, “When I was a little boy in Indiana if someone had told me I’d be getting the ‘Artist of the Millennium award,’ I wouldn’t have believed it.” Awkward, but in all fairness, he was handed a treble clef-shaped award with a bright-red bow as his gift, so we can see where the confusion came from.
Jennifer Lawrence is America’s Sweetheart, and it’s not just because she's beautiful and perfect in every way; it’s because she’s like us. While many actresses tend to remain reserved and statuesque at times, Jennifer Lawrence isn’t one to put on a fake persona. She says what’s on her mind and when she flubs, she feels it like the rest of us. At the 2013 Academy Awards, at her highest point during the ceremony, Jennifer Lawrence reached her lowest point (more literally) when she had a tumble as she climbed the steps of the Oscars stage to accept her award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
On the fall, she had this to say to W Magazine: “I kept thinking, ‘Cakewalk, cakewalk, cakewalk.’…I realized my stylist had told me, ‘Kick, walk, kick, walk.’ You are supposed to kick the dress out while you walk, and I totally forgot.” And the best part? She fell again the next year, this time on the red carpet instead of the big stage.
Jennifer Lawrence certainly did patent falling down on stage, and Joe Jonas is proof of that. Jonas had his own incident back in 2007 at the American Music Awards. Before giving a performance at the ceremony, the Jonas Brothers were introduced behind three glass panels that then shattered in front of them.
This entrance, while dramatic, ultimately did not work out well at all, because Joe Jonas tripped over the panel threshold and then fell onto the stage with his hands making contact with the broken glass. He sliced his hands open on the ground but continued playing like nothing had happened. The show must go on after all!
As a presenter of the 2014 Academy Awards, John Travolta literally had one job. When presenting an award, getting the person’s name right is about half of the job—but on this crazy night in 2014, Travolta blatantly mispronounced the name of one Idina Menzel, the voice behind Elsa in Disney’s Frozen.
When introducing the singer and actress, Travolta referred to her as “Adele Dazeem,” whoever on earth that is. While an awkward moment for audiences, the flub was handled with grace by Idina Menzel, who did not even mention it and carried on with her monologue. But after the backlash, we bet Travolta knows her name now!
A drunken and disorderly Aubrey Plaza had her own moment of trying to bring the laughs, but ultimately just brought the cringe while standing on stage next to Will Ferrell in a suit decorated with fake money. (At least we think it was fake, but who knows when it comes to Hollywood..!)
Anyway, upon accepting an award at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, Will Ferrell was getting ready to deliver his speech when Aubrey Plaza attempted to walk up to him and wrestle the award away from him. Ferrell tried to make a joke of it, but she kept on going at it until she was escorted off stage!
Most people just walk up the stage to accept their award—but not everyone. Jon Hamm has his own way of doing things, and there was likely some drinking involved in this moment, but that’s a separate issue. Anyway, Jon Hamm climbed on the stage and crawled for a bit until he could muster the strength to get himself up.
This awkward moment at the 2015 Emmys will not be forgotten, least of all by Hamm, who won the award. Drunk or just nervous, he accepted the award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for the show Mad Men. It’s also possible he was just trying to be funny, but if so, the joke really fell flat.
Easily one of the most uncomfortable moments in television history, Miley Cyrus twerking at the 2013 MTV VMAs was truly disturbing. The young Disney star may have been trying to trash her image as a Disney star when she performed with Robin Thicke, but most of us at the time weren’t even aware of what twerking was until that moment.
The “dance” combined with the risqué outfit, foam finger, and exposed tongue was just about the most horrific thing that could have happened that night, even if she intended for it to be sexy. Thankfully she never did it again, but it matters not because we can never erase it from our memory.
You couldn’t have a list of the most unhinged moments in award show history without talking about Lady Gaga’s meat dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The talented singer may know where it's at when it comes to writing and performing music, but her sense of fashion leaves much to be desired.
Most people wear couture designed by a top designer when they come to an award show, but Gaga decided to decorate her body with raw meat. While the dress is just beef jerky sitting in a museum somewhere now, originally it was meant as a statement about fighting for your rights so you are more than just meat on your bones.
Adrien Brody was basically unknown when he won the award for Best Actor at the 2003 Academy Awards for the film The Pianist. It was a moment that propelled his career and made him a household name. It even got him a role in the major blockbuster King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson.
Upon accepting his award, this actor really made his moment memorable by grabbing actress Halle Berry, who presented his award, and kissing her without her consent. People may have let it go then, but it certainly wouldn’t fly now. While many wondered if the event was staged, Berry has insisted she had no idea what even was happening.
The unexpected moments are always the best moments when it comes to the Oscars. At the 1974 Academy Awards, cohost David Niven was about to introduce Elizabeth Taylor when suddenly a streaker ran on stage. The naked man sported a mustache and threw up a peace sign on stage—and the audience members just burst into laughter.
David Niven joked about the streaker, 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?” The identity of the streaker was Robert Opel, a gay rights activist, artist, and photographer, and this moment brought much attention to his name and work.
Nicki Minaj could not hold the beef back when it came to the 2013 MTV VMAs. It was at that ceremony that Minaj called out the singer and actress over a remark to The New York Times in which Cyrus said that Minaj was “not too kind,” among other things.
In response to this, upon accepting her award for Best Hip-Hop Video at the VMAs, Minaj fired back at Cyrus, saying, “And now back to this b**ch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press — Miley, what’s good?” Whether the beef is still there, we cannot say.
If you love a good roast, then Ricky Gervais is just about one of the best award show presenters there are. While the celebrities are usually not laughing, it’s another story for audiences. This time at the 2020 Golden Globes, the British comedian and actor delivered some scathing commentary about the attendees that was arguably not a joke at all.
He told the celebrity elites, “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god, and f--- off.”
Angelina Jolie has certainly had her moments of eccentricity, particularly when she was married to Billy Bob Thorton, but the dynamic she has with her brother could be a little off-putting to watch as it appears from the sidelines to be a little incestuous.
And no, we aren’t talking about a kiss on the cheek or forehead – something innocent like that – we are talking about kissing your brother smack on the lips as Angelina Jolie did at the 2000 Academy Awards. And this wasn’t even an isolated incident. There are many more cases to show this is how they display affection as siblings. Yikes.
Kanye West is not a stranger to awkward (or downright disrespectful) behavior, and in fact, other than his music and his enormous ego, his unhinged behavior is basically his trademark. But it’s one thing to watch it and another thing to be on the receiving end of it, as Taylor Swift learned the hard way at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
Upon accepting her award for her music video for “You Belong With Me,” Kanye brought the cringe when he jumped up on the stage to denounce her win, saying “Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” It was an awkward moment for most involved, except Kanye, who seems to be immune to embarrassment, as years later he continues to harass young female stars, such as Billie Eilish (as well as his ex-wife and kids).
While presenting the award for Best Documentary, comedian Chris Rock made a quip about Jada Pinkett Smith looking like GI Jane due to the fact that she was sporting a shaved head. Jada, who suffers from alopecia, did not find the joke funny in the least, and Will Smith took to the stage unexpectedly to defend his wife’s honor. (Seemingly to make up for the fact that he was laughing until he saw she was visibly upset.)
Smith walked right up to Chris Rock, and before Rock even realized what was happening, Smith slapped him hard across the face and strolled back to his seat. The audience was dead silent, but you could feel the shock on their faces. Smith then twice yelled to Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out your [explicit] mouth!” But Chris Rock carried on presenting and remarked that “Will Smith just smacked the [explicit] out of me,” and joked how it was “the greatest night in the history of television.” Rock declined to press any charges over the incident.
