No matter how perfect the life of a celebrity may look, even fame and fortune can’t rid awkwardness from our lives. We all fumble through various situations, and when you’re famous, it’s caught on camera with the potential to go viral. However, this can make stars more relatable. Here are the cringiest, most awkward celebrity moments caught on camera.
1. Emma Chamberlain and Jack Harlow exchange “I love yous”
At the 2022 Met Gala, Vogue correspondent and influencer Emma Chamberlain was saying goodbye to rapper Jack Harlow, and he said, “Love ya, bye.” She responded, “Love ya” back, though she stared at the camera awkwardly after… is this just as bad as calling your teacher ‘mom’ or what?
2. Timothée Chalamet leans back and falls
This actor has had no shortage of awkward moments, and one of them was when he fell backwards in a chair in 2018 in the middle of a Q&A, followed by the audience laughing at him. He explained to Jimmy Fallon that it was due to an unexpected “gravitational force” that embarrassed him in front of a girl he had a crush on.
3. Doja Cat missed an award callout because she was in the bathroom
In 2022, Doja Cat and SZA won Best Pop Duo Performance, and while SZA made it up to the red carpet (even on crutches), Doja barely made it to the stage because she was in the bathroom from too much champagne, taking the mic and telling the audience, “I have never taken such a fast piss in my whole life.” What a way to miss your first Grammy win!
4. John Travolta messed up Idina Menzel’s name
This moment launched a million memes—at the 2014 Oscars, when introducing Idina Menzel, who was set to perform “Let it Go,” and called her a fully different name: Adele Dazeem. According to Travolta, it was the cue card’s fault… Menzel was frustrated, but Travolta apparently apologized by sending flowers and many apologies.
5. Ryan Seacrest failed a high five
Scott MacIntyre was a hopeful singer on Season 8 of “American Idol,” and after the audition, when Ryan Seacrest interviewed him, Seacrest reached for a high five that wasn’t returned since MacIntyre is visually impaired. Seacrest realized his mistake and then announced he was going for a high five and grabbed MacIntyre’s hand.
6. Kanye West stole the mic from T-Swift
Taylor Swift’s first VMA win will always be overshadowed by Kanye West getting on stage and taking the mic from her with the famous words, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” The camera then panned to Beyoncé, who looked visibly uncomfortable while the audience booed.
7. The slap heard around the world
When actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after a joke about his wife Jada at the 2022 Academy Awards, it turned into a pop culture moment in history that will live on forever.
Rock said, “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.” Smith appeared to laugh, then got on stage to defend his wife with alopecia and slapped Rock, going back to his seat and saying, “Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth.”
8. Jerry Seinfeld refuses to hug Kesha
At a 2017 red carpet event, singer Kesha had a fangirl moment and went up to Seinfeld to tell him she loved him and reached for a hug. Seinfeld refused the hug with a “no thanks” and backed up, later saying he wouldn’t “hug a total stranger,” while poor Kesha felt embarrassed for the flub that wasn’t her fault.
9. A Victoria’s Angel smacked Ariana Grande with a wing
When Ariana Grande performed at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, model Elsa Hosk accidentally bopped her with a pink wing during her performance of “Bang Bang.” Grande made a terrified face and hunched over in a now-hilarious photo, and then wrote the deleted tweet, “ A Victoria’s Secret angel accidentally smacked me in the face with her wings, and it was awesome #goals #bangbangintomyface.”
10. Whoopi Goldberg farted on live TV
Accidentally passing gas on TV has to be up there as one of the most awkward moments, and in 2011, while interviewing Claire Danes on “The View,” Goldberg did exactly that. Everyone clearly heard, and the actor said, “Oh, excuse me. I think I just blew a little frog out of there,” but calmly returned to the conversation. Apparently, this isn’t new for Whoopi, and she actually got her name from a whoopee cushion because she passes gas a lot!
11. Ellen DeGeneres asked why she wasn’t on Dakota Johnson’s invite list
When she was a guest on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and promoting “The Peanut Butter Falcon” in 2015, DeGeneres confronted Johnson about not being invited to her 30th birthday party, to which Johnson replied, “Actually, no. That’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited. … Last time I was on the show, last year, you gave me a bunch of [expletive] about not inviting you, but I didn’t even know you wanted to be invited.” Things got even worse when Johnson said Tig Notaro was her favorite comedian, and DeGeneres was annoyed.
12. Jennifer Lawrence fell at the Oscars
There’s nothing quite like a celebrity taking a tumble, and that’s exactly what happened to the adorable Jennifer Lawrence when she won her first Academy Award for “Silver Linings Playbook.” She received a standing ovation, and Lawrence said, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell, and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you.” She later clarified that nerves and adrenaline took over, which led to the confused, out-of-breath speech that followed.
