The Most Viral Moments in Oscar History
L'OFFICIEL rounds up the most entertaining viral moments the Academy Awards have played host to.
While the Oscars are known for celebrating entertainment, the award show also plays host to some entertaining moments of its own. Celebrity feuds, viral fashion moments, blunders, mixups, and awkward interviews have all taken center stage at the Academy Awards. While many watch award shows in support of their favourite artists and entertainers, no one can help the small glimmer of hope of an unforeseen and unforgettable viral moment happening. Now to add to the list of hilarity, Jimmy Kimmel recently introduced a naked John Cena to present an award.
Below, L'OFFICIEL lists the few times the Oscar Awards audience has bore witness to the award show's drama.
The 1974 Streaker
In 1974, a man named Robert Opal streaked across the stage as the late actor David Niven was about to introduce Elizabeth Taylor to the stage to present the Best Picture winner. As he was doing so, Opal decided to steal the spotlight, so much so that one could say that The Sting's win was overshadowed. Now, 50 years later, Jimmy Kimmel referenced the moment during the 96th Annual Academy Awards as he introduced a naked John Cena to announce the award for costume design.
The Slap
It was the slap heard around the world. When Chris Rock took the stage to deliver his opening monologue, he made a rather unflattering joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, in which he compared Pinkett Smith to the popular protagonist of the American action drama G.I. Jane. This came in the months after Pinkett Smith shaved her head amid her struggle with alopecia. In defense of his wife, Will Smith got up on stage, slapped Chris Rock, and proceeded to yell, "Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth." This shocking moment is still talked about two years later.
Billy Porter’s Tuxedo Gown
Billy Porter, known for his lead role in the hit show Pose, turned heads on 2019's Oscar red carpet by wearing a fabulous tuxedo gown. The actor said that the choice to wear the gown instead of a traditional tuxedo was personal, as fashion has been a big part of his journey to come to terms with his queer identity. They wanted to push fashion binaries with this red carpet look and wear something that equally plays on masculine and feminine design.
Adele Dazeem
John Travolta was due to introduce Idina Menzel before she took the stage to sing the hit song from Frozen, "Let It Go." However, Menzel's name proved to be a tongue-twister for Travolta, as he referred to the actress and singer as "the wickedly talented, one and only, Adele Dazeem.” Menzel would later reveal that Travolta apologized for the butchered pronunciation of her name, but Menzel expressed that there were no hard feelings and even poked fun at Travolta's mistake at the next year's awards by calling him her “very dear friend Glom Gazingo.”
Ellen DeGeneres’ Selfie
It's the selfie that broke the internet. When Ellen DeGeneres hosted the 86th Academy Awards in 2014, she took what seemed to be an impromptu selfie with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Julia Roberts. The selfie was then posted to X (formerly Twitter) and remains one of the top 5 most retweeted posts of all time.
Jennifer Lawrence's Fall
In 2013, when the then 22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence went to accept her Best Actress trophy for her performance in Silver Lining's Playbook, she tripped over her Dior gown, causing a whirlwind of pop culture conversation to come out of it. After Lawrence got up on stage and proceeded with her speech, she humorously began with, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell."
