Embarrassing Red Carpet Mistakes: Memorable Fails That Made Us Cringe

The glitz and glamor of the red carpet are meant for the best of fashion, style, and grace. However, sometimes things don’t go as planned, and even the most prominent stars can experience embarrassing moments that leave them red-faced. 

In 2015, the Met Gala witnessed a man have a spectacular fall, and the internet went wild. Everyone thought it was Jason Derulo who took a tumble down the stairs, but as it turns out, it wasn’t him.  

Imagine a performance so out-of-the-box that it involves diving into a giant, human-sized cake! That’s exactly what Katy Perry did at the 2008 MTV Latin America Music Awards. 

In 2009, Kristen Stewart was on top of the world after winning the Golden Popcorn for Best Female Performance at the MTV Music Awards. Just as she was leaving the stage, disaster struck!

Lights, camera, makeup mishap? Melissa Joan Hart may be a seasoned actress, but even she can’t escape the dreaded red-carpet faux pas. At the Frozen premiere, Hart’s makeup artist missed a crucial step, leaving the star with an unblended foundation glare that could blind the paparazzi. 

At the 2013 MTV EMAs, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea showed off a bit too much skin while walking the red carpet. Azalea even outdid Miley Cyrus that night.

Cara Delevigne’s antics at the 2014 GQ Men of the Year Awards were the talk of the town. With a drink in hand, the model-turned-actress tripped and almost drenched a famous fashion designer. 

Despite her fair share of red-carpet mishaps, the charming Jennifer Garner manages to pull them off with grace. At the 2013 Oscars, the stunning actress almost bowled over and fell face-first while wearing a tight, wine-colored dress. 

Adam Levine, the Maroon 5 frontman, is adored by fans and blessed with a stunning spouse, Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo. During a 2015 Oscar party, Prinsloo’s dress betrayed her as it slipped off her chest while she posed for a photo. 

Victoria’s Secret angel, Elsa Hosk, was walking on the 2019 Venice Film Festival red carpet when a small incident occurred. As Hosk was posing for cameras, her left earring became unlatched and fell to the ground.

Rami Malek won the 2019 Oscar for his mesmerizing portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. The young actor delivered his victory speech on the Oscars stage and started to descend the stairs – only to stumble and fall hard. 

Something amusing happened on the Oscars red carpet that could only happen to the comedy actor Jason Segal. His distinct facial expressions were on full display as he strolled along, and when the cleaning crew caught him off guard, his reaction was priceless.

Angelina Jolie’s fashion gaffe at the 2012 Academy Awards will live in infamy. She arrived in a stunning gown with a very high slit, and Jolie chose a pose that left little to the imagination, making the slit the focal point.

One can only hope that no major fashion mishap happens while walking the red carpet. However, Geri Halliwell bared more than she intended as she appeared at the Children’s BAFTAs.

In 2016, Italian model Giulia Salemi arrived at the 73rd Venice Film Festival with jaws already dropping. Her choice of dress is beyond revealing, as she is seen sporting a tan line and no underwear.

Ashley Graham is a well-known plus-sized model and TV personality who promotes women’s beauty and body positivity. While walking the red carpet at the TIME 100 Gala in 2017, the usually graceful model had a clumsy moment when she tripped over her gown.

As Lady Victoria Hervey strolled down the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, she tried covering up an embarrassing moment that caught her by surprise.

Michael Cera has made a name for himself as an awkward and quirky actor in Hollywood. He’s most well-known for his roles in Arrested Development, Superbad, Juno, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. 

It was probably one of those Awards where Heidi Klum had planned a funny skit with her co-host Tom Bergerson. Apparently, she was supposed to play dead and fall into the arms of Bergerson. 

In a bid to look stunning and fashionable, a lot of celebrities have ended up making fun of themselves. Just take a look at Hayden Panettiere in this picture. 

What is it with the Oscars stage? It certainly causes a lot of rising stars to fall down! In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence had just been called on stage to receive an Oscar for Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook. 

Wait, going from jumping to crawling – how’s that even possible? Well, Jon had just been nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in Mad Men.

Actress Katherine Heigl always has a good spirit about things and a great sense of humor. She handled this embarrassing moment like a champ!

She’s a dame, and she has the triple crowns of Emmy, Oscar, and Tony awards, but Helen Mirren is just like the rest of us and has some mishaps and klutz moments. 

Things were heating up at the 2015 Golden Globes. As Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lopez were presenting the award for Best Actor in a mini-series or TV movie, Renner made a pretty inappropriate comment about JLo’s cleavage.

During the Birdman cast’s acceptance for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Naomi Watts got a little too excited. As the actors gathered onstage, Watts missed a step while walking toward the microphone.

Anything can go wrong on the red carpet. From wardrobe malfunctions to falling and tripping, the possibilities are endless.

Green Day’s drummer, Frank Wright, famously rebranded himself as Tre Cool, but his coolness was in short supply at the 2019 Europe Music Awards. While stepping out of a car onto the red carpet, Tre Cool tripped and had a nasty spill onto the carpet. 

No pain, no gain, right? We don’t think Kristen Stewart agrees. While heels make women feel empowered and beautiful, they are exhausting and painful. Maybe that’s the reason the Twilight actress decided to remove her Louboutin heels midway through the red carpet event.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are two of the world’s biggest and most famous comedians who always attract attention to themselves somehow. They’re also known for mocking themselves.

Christoph Waltz, the accomplished German-Austrian actor known for his enigmatic acting style, caused quite a stir at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Waltz walked the red carpet with a strange limp, leaving many wondering if it was genuine or a prank.

There was once a time when John Travolta played a cool, collected Danny Zuko in Grease. But those days didn’t last forever because Travolta did something pretty cringy at the 2015 Oscars.

Much like her friend Giulia Salemi, Italian supermodel Dayane Mello also showed up at the 73rd Venice Film Festival with not much to show off. She rocked a puffy and revealing pink dress and the paparazzi couldn’t get enough.

During the 2014 Bambi Media Awards in Germany, Princess Mary, the Crown Princess of Denmark, experienced a minor mishap. As she ascended the stage to accept her charity award, she lost her balance and almost stumbled, nearly dropping her Bambi trophy.

Emma Thompson has been gracing the British cinema since the ’80s and there is no stopping her. The star was honored at the TCL Chinese Theater in 2013 and lost her balance while kneeling during the handprint ceremony. 

Emma Stone has proven herself to be a very talented and versatile Hollywood actress. Beginning with her first role as the down-to-earth Jules in Superbad, Stone went on to star in La La Land, The Help, and The Favourite. She is known for being awkward and witty.

John Travolta presented with Idina Menzel at the 2015 Oscars and did some things that would definitely be trending on Twitter if they happened today. It appeared that John had no sense of respect or personal space as he grabbed Idina’s face and got her name wrong. 

In 2014 Rihanna wore a gorgeous number from Stella McCartney’s collection but as fate would have it, McCartney herself would nearly ruin her own creation. McCartney was lifting her leg, unaware of the fact that the end of Rihanna’s skirt was entangled in her heels. 

Vitalii Sediuk is a journalist prankster who decided to play a prank on actress America Ferrera and clearly went too far. The Ugly Betty star felt violated and abused after Sediuk tried to take pictures under her dress.  

Eye contact and a firm grip – a proper handshake isn’t so hard. Though, from the looks of it, it might have been the most challenging task ever for Reese Witherspoon.

Amy Schumer loves poking fun at celebrities. That’s why, when the Snatched actress chanced on Kim and Kanye at the 2015 Time Gala, she pretended to faceplant onto the carpet to see how the husband-wife duo would react.

There’s no denying that Marion Cotillard embodies poise and grace but sometimes grace has to take a backseat — especially if there’s a fashion crisis. 

Talented and elegant, Jennifer Lawrence is a Hollywood force to be reckoned with. Of course, the Hollywood starlet isn’t all about work, she’s a whole lot of fun, too!

Leslie Mann is a real joker. In 2014, at the UK premiere of The Other Woman, the actress made headlines when she got a little too cozy with co-star Cameron Diaz.