Remembering The Times Celebrities Were Awkward on the Red Carpet

For many adoring fans, celebrities are assumed to be perfect. They’re always stunningly dressed, they are always suave in public conversations, and they always move with elegance and poise. Although that might be true some of the time, it’s certainly not true all of the time. It turns out that celebrities, just like regular folks, make a surprising amount of mistakes.

The singer Noah Cyrus and the rapper Lil Xan were having a young love moment at the VMA’s. Although that might sound cute in theory, for those who were watching, it was a bit too much – get a room.

The red carpet is full of embarrassing faux pas by both the interviewing press and the celebrities who get interviewed. For example, at the 2015 Grammys, Entertainment Tonight’s Nancy O’Dell told Taylor Swift that plenty of men would walk away with her that night.

On the red carpet during the 2008 Oscars, Ryan Seacrest was interviewing actor Jennifer Garner. During that interview, however, they kept getting interrupted by Gary Busey. Eventually, Busey came over and uncomfortably kissed Garner on the neck. 

At the 2001 Academy Awards, Icelandic singer Bjork – who is well-known for being a bit “out there” – showed up in a Swan dress. It didn’t exactly wow everyone as she assumed. Instead, it confused most of them. 

For most people, their ex is the last person they want to see at a social gathering. Even if they’re on good terms, it’s a bit awkward. This is especially true if that social gathering involves having the paparazzi photograph every move you make. 

Although self-promotion is often looked down upon, if you’re at a major celebrity event with millions of viewers (and potential fans) watching from home, then why not opt for a bit of self-promotion? That seems to be the practical reasoning behind Macy Gray’s dress at the 2001 Video Music Awards. 

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld and singer Kesha were both at “A Night of Laughter and Song” hosted by the David Lynch Foundation. Kesha was in a friendly move, so she walked over to Seinfeld and asked for a hug. He declined. 

Entertainment Tonight reporter Giuliana Rancic interviewed the Game of Thrones actor Emilia Clarke at the 2016 Emmys. Halfway through that interview, however, she saw model Heidi Klum coming her way. She ended Clarke’s interview on the spot. “You can go,” Rancic said.

At the 2018 Golden Globes, actress Debra Messing was being interviewed by Entertainment Tonight reporter Giuliana Rancic (the same one from above). During that time, Messing castigated the E! Network for unfair labor practices. It turns out they weren’t paying their female co-hosts as much as their male co-hosts. 

Step one in journalism is to do the research. For entertainment reporters that means knowing who all the celebrities are and what they’ve done. If you forget to do that, it might lead to an awkward encounter – like the one between reporter Giuliana Rancic and actor and writer Issa Rae at the 2018 Golden Globes.

Like the post above, this awkward moment can also be filed under the category “do the research”. When a journalist was interviewing The Big Bang Theory actor Mayim Bialik at the 2014 SAG Awards, he asked her how many people thought she could “solve calculus at the drop of a hat?”

When actor Melanie Griffith was asked if she had seen Fifty Shades of Grey, she answered (repeatedly) that she didn’t need to. For those who don’t know Griffith well, her daughter, actor Dakota Johnson, was the star in the infamous erotic film that took the world by storm.

When you hit the level of A-List Hollywood Elite, people get a little crazy when they see you in public. To be honest, “a little crazy” is an understatement – they yell, scream, and crowd around. Although it might be annoying at times, for most A-list celebs, it’s in the job description.

In 2007 while at the premiere of Music and Lyrics, actor Hugh Grant found out the lengths that adoring fans would go to be close to him. He found that out thanks to Cielke Sijben, who handcuffed herself to him.

When you think of “comfortable shoes”, the word “heels” rarely (if ever) comes to mind. That’s because, in fact, they’re one of the most uncomfortable kinds of footwear out there. Beverly Hills, 90210 star Annalynne McCord found that out the hard way. 

Photobombs are a tried and true method for ruining photos and interviews. Some people find them entertaining, others just plain annoying. Photobombs can be done by your nerdy cousin, a passing stranger, or even a famous celebrity. 

In the 2014 film Selma, actor David Oyelowo courageously played civil-rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. It was a stellar performance that brought him to the Academy Awards in 2015. While on the red carpet, fans learned that he took fashion just as seriously as he took acting. 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are on top of the comedy world in large part for their mastery of public mockery. Often that’s directed to other public figures (politicians, actors, etc.) but other times it’s directed towards themselves.

Virginie Efira, the stunningly attractive Belgian actress and TV host, was at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival when she knew that something was wrong. She felt a buckle from one of her heels come loose, so she whispered to her partner Niels Schneider, who bent down to secure it in place. Catastrophe avoided. 

Alysia Reiner of Orange Is the New Black and How to Get Away With Murder fame wore a gorgeous red gown at the SAG Awards in 2015. Unfortunately, it fell pretty to a classic fashion faux-pas – too much style, not enough practicality. 

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the legendary and hilarious South Park, were invited to the Oscars in 2000. During the few years before, they developed a loyal fanbase that skyrocketed them to stardom. 

At the Cannes Film Festival a few years ago, Czech model Petra Nemcova wore a long dress. How long? Well, long enough that she ended up getting caught up in it and tumbling onto the floor. Luckily, she didn’t hurt herself and handled the fall with grace.

At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, the singer Taylor Swift won an award for having the best music video of the year. Swift walked up on stage, held her trophy, and began her acceptance speech. That didn’t last long.

Fresh from the set of The Wolf of Wall Street, actors John Hill and Margot Robbie were invited to the 2014 Golden Globes. They were to present an award together. However, the teleprompter broke just as they were about to do it. 

The Chinese actress Liang Jingke wore a stunning dress to the 2016 Venice Film Festival. However, just like Alysia Reiner from above, the dress was far too tight and it restricted her ability to walk. That led to a tumble right on the red carpet. 

Actress Jessica Alba has proven that she’s a multi-talented star – alongside acting, she’s a successful business owner and mom. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t make mistakes, though. For example at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards, she took a fall on the red carpet. 

While chatting away with Michael Pena and Mandy Patinkin at the 2014 SAG Awards, Bradley Cooper felt something odd on his lower leg. When he looked down, he saw Ukrainian journalist Vitalii Sediuk grabbing it. 

At the 2018 Oscars, actress Jennifer Lawrence finally came to terms with the fact that she doesn’t like aisles. They’re far too inconvenient and far away. So, instead of walking down them to get to the back of the theater, she decided to walk straight over the seats. 

Although John Travolta has been a Hollywood star for a long time – since his iconic roles in Saturday Night Fever and Grease at least – he doesn’t always have the smoothest public appearances. This was made apparent at the 2015 Oscars. 

As we’ve seen from a variety of the posts above, stylish dresses that don’t take into account practical issues like, you know, the ability to safely walk across the floor often end in trouble. The picture below is another example, this time from model Karolina Kurkova.

Actor Michael Cera is not only awkward and funny on screen, he’s also awkward and funny in real life. At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, he bore that out by very slowly falling to the ground. 

Sacha Baron Cohen is well-known for courting controversy and making people uncomfortable. So, when he showed up to the 2012 Oscars dressed as the dictator from his film The Dictator, it was kind of assumed he’d cause some trouble. 

When the cast of Alejandro G. Iñarritu’s Birdman won an Outstanding Performance award at the 2015 SAG Awards, the entire cast walked on stage to accept it. Everyone made it to the stage one step at a time – everyone but Naomi Watts that is. 

At the 2011 Oscars, the actress Melissa Leo was being honored for her role in the 2010 film The Fighter. For her performance as boxer Micky Ward’s mother, she won the Best Supporting Actress award. Kirk Douglas presented the award to her. 

Emma Stone has been a fan favorite since her role as Jules in the 2007 hit Superbad. Since then, she’s gone on to other iconic roles like Mia in 2016’s La La Land. Her off-screen quirky, awkward persona has also been a fan favorite. 

Although you might assume that walking on stage to present or accept an award is a relatively straightforward process, you’d be surprised at how many people mess it up – Naomi Watts missed a step, Melissa Leo dropped the f-bomb, and Jennifer Garner almost fell.

At the 2010 Las Vegas ShoWest convention, actress Katherine Heigl had a major wardrobe malfunction. While standing at the podium to accept her award for Female Star of the Year, the snap on her dress snapped right off. 

As we saw from his uncomfortable red carpet kiss with Scarlett Johansson, John Travolta isn’t very suave when it comes to public appearances – this despite being a Hollywood star since the 1970s! This was further emphasized to anyone who saw the 2015 Oscars. 

Jon Hamm’s performance as Don Draper in the hit TV series Mad Men has won him a lot of love. So much so that his role as Draper won him the Best Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2015 Emmys.