The Most Unforgettable Oscars Moments Of All Time
The Academy Awards are widely deemed to be the film industry’s most prestigious, glamorous, and classy night of the year. But even with the most careful planning and most extravagant budgets, they’ve nonetheless witnessed their fair share of mishaps and awkward moments over the years. So, from meme-spawning mispronunciations to performances gone wrong, these Oscar moments had Hollywood superstars wishing they'd stayed home.
21. Adele Dazeem
Idina Menzel doesn’t appear to be a particularly hard name to pronounce. But John Travolta got it spectacularly wrong when he introduced the vocalist’s performance of Frozen’s “Let It Go” at the 2014 Academy Awards. Indeed, much to everyone’s amusement, the actor for some reason pronounced the name as ‘Adele Dazeem.’
Best mistake ever
Luckily, Menzel saw the funny side. And a year later, she joined Travolta on the Academy Awards stage as a guest presenter. Speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016, the singer admitted that the gaffe was the “best thing that ever happened to me.” Indeed, Menzel claims that a whole new audience discovered her talents thanks to Travolta’s bizarre mispronunciation.
20. Björk’s swan dress
It would have been far more surprising if Björk hadn’t done something strange when she attended the 2001 Academy Awards. The Icelandic star had already, after all, built much of her early career on being eccentric. And she certainly didn’t disappoint when she showed up on the red carpet as a nominee for Best Original Song.
Laying an egg
Björk – who’d been recognized for Dancer in the Dark song “I’ve Seen It All” – eschewed the usual haute couture for a dress that looked like a swan. Fully committing to her outfit, the singer then went on to lay half a dozen eggs in front of photographers. You can actually now see the dress in question on display at the Museum of Modern Art.