The Top 5 Award Show Fails of All Time
The awards show season means stunning celebrities, dazzling dresses and glitz everywhere. We all love gathering around the television to watch these celebrations, but there’s more to award shows than just the glamorous stuff. Every year, the major shows suffer from a handful of big fails. Here are five of the worst.
How Ritch Are You?
Lionel Richie has been a beloved musician for decades, and so it was fitting that he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 BET Awards. Unfortunately, the banner that at-home viewers saw misspelled the musician’s name as “Ritchie.” Whatever the reason for the gaffe, fans took to Twitter and talk about the misspelling trended during the ceremony. We hope the “Ritchie” mix-up reminded awards show producers that proofreading really is important.
Tripping Up the Competition
Emma Stone and Naomi Watts are two of the loveliest actresses in Hollywood, and they both looked the part at the 2015 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. Unfortunately, it seems that Stone might not be the most coordinated. As Naomi Watts walked to the podium to give a speech, Stone accidentally tripped her. Watts recovered quickly and assured everyone that she was just fine. No doubt it was an accident, but it still looked just a bit like Stone was tripping up the competition.
When Fun Facts Just Aren’t Fun
Red carpet coverage is a staple on E! during awards season. Shows often include Fun Facts and other on-screen text to capture viewer interest during lulls in the red carpet routine. Unfortunately, the writer E! employed to come up with fun facts for its 2014 Golden Globes coverage seemed to misunderstand the meaning of the word fun. One of the captions that popped up stated, “Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1991.” While that was 100 percent a fact, we’re still perplexed that someone thought it was also fun.
Sweetheart Sandra Bullock Swears It Up on Stage
When Sandra Bullock stepped up to the stage to accept her Best Actress in an Action Film award at the Critics’ Choice Awards in 2014, she was her usual lovely, composed self. As she delivered her speech, though, the show announcer’s voice was accidentally broadcast over hers. Bullock dropped an f-bomb that shocked some audience members at home. While it might have caught some by surprise, Bullock recovered quickly and delighted the audience with her jovial speech.
That Time Kanye Bullied a Teen on Stage
It’s impossible to talk about awards show fails without mentioning Kanye West’s transgression at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards. Taylor Swift, then only 17, had just been given honors for Best Female Music Video. Swift was speaking on stage when an inebriated Kanye cut her off, took over the mic and declared that Beyonce should have won the award. Everyone in the nation, including Beyonce, was horrified by Kanye’s rude interruption of the teen singer.
Award show fails often make the audience laugh, but they’re not always so amusing to award recipients. Here at Cristaux, we know that getting it right matters whether you’re producing the Academy Awards or a smaller company gathering. When it comes to awards fails, we’re here to laugh with you.