2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of one of the greatest moments in Oscars history: The introduction of "Adele Dazeem," as spoken by the one and only John Travolta onstage at the 2014 Academy Awards. It was a glorious teleprompter misread almost too egregious to have been an accident. Reminiscing on that fateful night got us thinking about some of the other biggest Oscar fails in the history of the telecast.
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Take a quick sweep of the last decade in Academy Awards history and you'll be struck by just how much has been unplanned and uncouth in recent years. There's The Slap heard 'round the world, which we don't like to talk about but is nonetheless fabulously soapy. We forget that one of American cinema's most famous leading men is banned from the Oscars until 2032.
Five years before that catastrophe, "La La Land" was mistakenly awarded Best Picture. The nation looked on in horror (okay, Steve Harvey definitely felt a tinge of redemption) as the winning cast and crew of "Moonlight" soldiered onto the stage for a truncated acceptance speech, their moment of triumph forever tainted.
But recency bias clouds our understanding of the Academy Awards. Far from being a perfectly polished affair, the Oscars telecast has always provided a side of mess with all that glitz and glamour. You know, to help us plebeians wash down all that rich-pretty-people-getting-awards. Just ask David Niven, who presented alongside a streaker. Or Eileen Bowman, who put on one Snow White costume and saw Hollywood close its pearly gates on her forevermore.
Below, we round up the biggest Oscar fails in history, from the mildly cringe to the deeply illegal.
Jennifer Lawrence Trips Onstage (2013)
We're starting with some light second-hand embarrassment: Jennifer Lawrence tripping up the stairs in that mermaid gown while accepting Best Actress for "Silver Linings Playbook." In classic J. Law fashion, she played it off with admirable good humor. "You guys are just standing up cuz you feel bad that I fell and that's really embarrassing, but thank you."
Everyone Thought Jan Chapman Was Dead (2017)
ABC
The Academy biffed the "In Memoriam" segment when they honored the passing of Australian costume designer Janet Patterson with a photo of her friend, Australian producer Jan Chapman, who is very much alive. "I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and longtime collaborator Janet Patterson," Chapman said.
"Adele Dazeem" (2014)
In one of the most egregious teleprompter fails in history, John Travolta butchered "Wicked" and "Frozen" star Idina Menzel's name when he introduced her performance of "Let It Go." Even worse, he luxuriated in every misplaced consonant. "The Wicked-ly talented Adele Dazeem," we thank you for your service.
Adrien Brody Kisses Halle Berry (2003)
After winning Best Actor for "The Pianist," Adrien Brody decided it was totally okay and cool to grab presenter Halle Berry onstage and kiss her for a solid six seconds. Coming a year after Berry became the first Black woman to win Best Actress for "Monster's Ball," the moment is even more icky when viewed through a historical lens.
The Oscars Streaker (1974)
David Niven ("The Pink Panther") is the picture of debonair British elegance. So when LGBTQ rights activist Robert Opel streaked naked behind him onstage, it was like witnessing the left and right brains collide. Niven carried it off with cheek: "The only love that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings." Opel was not arrested.
James Franco Leaves Anne Hathaway In the Cold (2011)
Who thought it was a good idea to pair James Franco, the king of stoner movies, with girl scout theatre kid Anne Hathaway? The pair's disastrous, offbeat and aggressively unfunny co-hosting gig is routinely cited as one of the worst telecasts in Oscar history. Hathaway was unnervingly chipper, and Franco appeared to be...blissed out. (He's denied it.)
"We Saw Your Boobs" (2013)
The women of Hollywood pulled their pitchforks out on "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane when he called out various nominees for having performed topless scenes during his opening number. Naomi Watts is devastated when the camera pans to her, and Charlize Theron face-palms. Unquestionably the most offensive moment in Oscar history.
Rob Lowe and Snow White Bomb (1989)
Rob Lowe's opening number with newcomer Eileen Bowman, dressed as Snow White, went on for 12 minutes. (And 12 minutes too long, we declare!) They shrieked out a bad version of "Proud Mary" ("Rolling, rolling, keep the cameras rolling") and largely made a mockery of the movies. Disney filed a copyright claim against the Academy, Bowman's Hollywood hopes were dashed and Rob Lowe disappeared for like a decade.
Envelopegate (2017)
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway took so much heat for a crime they didn't commit. The Oscars accounting firm mixed up the Best Picture envelope with the Best Actress envelope, leading Beatty to crown "La La Land" the winner. It was up to producer Jordan Horowitz to correct the mistake and shuffle his entire cast off the stage: "There's been a mistake! 'Moonlight,' you guys won Best Picture." Chills.
The Slap (2022)
Will Smith wrecked his Oscars triumph for "King Richard" when he slapped Chris Rock onstage, then screamed out the F-word from the audience. He's been banned from the Oscars until 2032, and that's all we're going to say about that.
