TheAcademy Awards ceremony is one of Hollywood’s most major live events of the year, with many moving parts, egos and agendas. Which means, despite the film industry’s most talented entertainers onstage and behind the production, there’s only so much a script can do to keep a live show on track. Things go wrong. People make mistakes. People forget themselves, and sometimes they just can’t resist showing off.
As a result, Oscar history is full of cringe moments.
While it’s safe to say that nothing that has ever happened at the Oscars compares to what happened on Sunday, March 27, when Will Smith stepped up to the stage and slapped Chris Rock, here are eight other moments (in chronological order) that made everyone uncomfortable, both onlookers and participants during “Hollywood’s biggest night.”
It took 94 ceremonies for someone to behave as poorly as Smith — let’s hope that that represents the nadir for decades to come.
Will Smith stole the show at this year’s Oscars — and not in a good way
Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars was bad. His speech was even worse
Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at Oscars sparks social media response from Black Bay Area notables
克里斯·洛克和争议智慧有很长的历史h Oscars telecasts
The 6th Academy Awards: March 16, 1934
Presenter Will Rogers opened the envelope for the director award, smiled and went into a speech about his “good friend Frank.” He concluded by saying, “Come and get it, Frank,” and director Frank Capra started walking to the podium.
Capra was halfway to the stage when he found out that the winner was another Frank — Frank Lloyd for “Cavalcade.” Capra later said that his return to his seat was “the longest crawl in history.”
The 15thAcademy Awards: March 4, 1943
Greer Garson was a lovely, intelligent actress, but something of a windbag. Her speech, upon accepting the best actress award for “Mrs. Miniver,” became legendary, with witnesses saying that it went on for as long as an hour. Or perhaps it just seemed that long.
In any case, people talked about it for decades. The one clip available on YouTube shows Garson just getting warmed up.
The 45thAcademy Awards: March 27, 1973
When Marlon Brando’s name was announced as the best actor winner for “The Godfather,” he had a Native American woman, known as Sacheen Littlefeather, come to the stage to read a statement saying that Brando refused to accept the award because of “the treatment of American Indians by the film industry.”
At the time this was considered scandalous, but if you watch the video, Littlefeather’s speech remarks were thoughtful, restrained and sincere.
The 46thAcademy Awards: April 2, 1974
As David Niven was about to present an award, a nude man ran across the stage. Upon regaining composure, Niven said, “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”
That joke was considered the height of wit at the time.
The streaker was later identified as Robert Opel, a San Francisco gay activist who was murdered in a holdup in 1979.
The 50th Academy Awards: April 3, 1978
Vanessa Redgrave won best supporting actress for “Julia” and talked about the “Zionist hoodlums” who had been protesting her political beliefs.
Later Paddy Chayefsky came out to present an award and said, “I’m sick and tired of people exploiting the occasion of the Academy Awards for the propagation of their own political propaganda.”
Most, but not all, of the audience sided with Chayefsky, though it didn’t stop people from injecting politics into the Oscars.
The 75th奥斯卡奖:2003年3月23日
的伊拉克战争had just started five days before Oscars night, hung over the proceedings. In accepting the best documentary award for “Bowling for Colombine,” director Michael Moore launched into a tirade against this “fictitious president” (he was referring to President George W. Bush and the disputed 2000 election) who had started a war for fictitious reasons.
Moore was booed by the people who disagreed with him, while those who agreed sat in an uncomfortable silence. As the music swelled to drown him out, Moore concluded, “Any time you have the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up!”
The 89thAcademy Awards: Feb. 26, 2017
The story goes, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were given the wrong envelope. They were supposed to announce best picture, but instead were given the envelope for best actress — Emma Stone for “La La Land.” Beatty saw the problem and didn’t know what to do. He showed the envelope to Dunaway, who saw “La La Land” and announced “La La Land” the winner. The “La La Land” producers took the stage and were in the middle of their speeches when they found out “Moonlight” was the real winner.
Until this year, this was considered the greatest screwup at the Oscars.
The 94thAcademy Awards: March 27, 2022
Other Oscar embarrassments have been awkward. But the Will Smith incident was almost scary.
Could you imagine anyone, at any other Oscar ceremony, slapping Bob Hope, or Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal, or Whoopi Goldberg, or Ellen DeGeneres? Unthinkable.
But then he compounded the problem by cursing like an angry lunatic from the stage rim. Even after some time to think about his actions, Smith made it even worse with a self-serving speech.
Taken altogether, Smith set a new low standard.