Top 10 Mistakes Caught Live at Award Shows

The year was 2009, and Taylor Swift had just won an MTV Video Music Award. Clutching her prized Moon Man for Best Female Video, Swift was in the middle of her speech when Kanye West jumped on stage. The "Mercy" rapper took hold of her mic and dropped these famous words. The moment rocked Radio City Music Hall and left viewers watching at home stunned. Later that night, Beyoncé won Video of the Year. The gracious "Single Ladies" singer welcomed Swift back up, allowing her to speak uninterrupted. But as most folks know, this was just the beginning of a lengthy spat between West and Swift.

One of the most thrilling parts of the Academy Awards is the opening number. The glitz, glamor, and spectacle make it a must-watch moment. But 1989's opener has gone down in award show history for all the wrong reasons. The questionable act featured actress Eileen Bowman as Snow White, as she paid tribute to Hollywood through some of the cringiest song and dance numbers ever staged. Everything about it was arguably awkward, from the dancing stars to the random tango sequence. The climax was an uncomfortable duet between Rob Lowe and Snow White to "Proud Mary." Severe backlash followed, which very negatively affected producer Allan Carr’s career.

Sometimes opposites attract, and sometimes, they...totally clash. When Anne Hathaway and James Franco were selected to host the 83rd Academy Awards, it was clear that producers wanted to mix things up. Unfortunately, the experiment went array. Franco and Hathaway's lack of chemistry, paired with a night of awkward jokes and gags, resulted in a very perplexing night. It was later revealed by a director named Jordan Rubin that Hathaway was all in and “committed” to making the show the best it could be. However, Franco later said that he "[didn't] care" about being a host, seemingly having no stake in the game – hence his blasé delivery during the telecast.

During the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, a special moment was reserved to honor Michael Jackson's 44th birthday. Britney Spears was on hand to present the King of Pop with a heartwarming speech, followed by a cake and trophy. In her intro, she characterized him as “the artist of the Millennium” , and he rolled with it. When he stepped up to the mic, it became apparent that he thought "Artist of the Millennium" was an honor being bestowed upon him — oops! But to be fair, there was a trophy, and it was an award show, so all things considered, the mistake is understandable.

What should have been the most exciting moment in Jennifer Lawrence's career turned into what might be one of the most mortifying. After winning her first Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook," the actress went to walk onstage but accidentally tripped on the stairs. Luckily, she took it all in stride by laughing it off, and presenter Jean Dujardin (as well as attendee Hugh Jackman) ran over to help her. The room broke out into applause, and Lawrence admitted that the accident was "embarrassing." Ultimately though, it was a memorable moment, so at least there was...a silver lining. Sorry, we just had to!

For the 2011 BET Awards, contest winner Tiffany Green was awarded an opportunity to appear on the show as a presenter. But the exciting experience quickly turned into a confusing one. While announcing the winner of the Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award, Green was given two different pieces of information. Going off what was written on her tablet, she named Chris Brown the recipient. However, the teleprompter reportedly said it was Rihanna. This was doubly awkward considering the disturbing history between the exes. Then, Drake, who was featured on the winning song “What’s My Name?”, appeared to accept the award. In the end, it turned out Brown was the actual winner — yikes.

Of all the categories, the Best Picture ones are usually the most anticipated of any movie-centric award ceremony. While presenting the highly coveted prize for Best Motion Picture - Drama at the 2001 Golden Globes, screen icon Elizabeth Taylor almost ruined the big surprise. Before announcing the nominees, Taylor mistakenly started opening the envelope. You know, the one that reveals the winner. Audience members’ objections got her attention and she paused. Taylor blamed her confusion on being an amateur presenter, and Dick Clark swooped in to help her out. Eventually, she figured it out and all was well, but it was definitely a close call.

This mistake by John Travolta is truly the gift that keeps on giving. While introducing "Frozen" star Idina Menzel at the 86th Academy Awards, Travolta totally butchered the pronunciation of her name. Honestly, he turned it into a different moniker altogether. As you can imagine, the Internet went wild! Endless tweets, hashtags and memes flooded social media, and Adele Dazeem took on a life of its own. The following year, the two appeared on stage together, where they poked fun at the incident. However, during their interaction, he touched her face, which only added fuel to the fire.

For beauty pageant contestants, Miss Universe is arguably the title to end all titles. In 2015, 80 contestants competed for the throne; at the end of the night, it was down to two. Host Steve Harvey dubbed Colombia’s Ariadna Gutiérrez the winner and the Philippines’ Pia Wurtzbach was deemed 1st runner-up. After Gutiérrez was given her sash and crown, the host bashfully came back to confess that he had made a grave error. In reality, Miss Philippines was the new Miss Universe. Harvey immediately took responsibility for misreading the card, clearly feeling horrible about it.

The 2017 Oscars were a big night for "La La Land." Throughout the night, the musical romance collected several awards, like Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Actress for Emma Stone. So when it came time for Best Picture, it was no surprise that it was initially announced as the winner. However, what would Oscar night be without a shock? As speeches were made, it was revealed that there was a mistake — in reality, "Moonlight" had won! Host Jimmy Kimmel then stepped in, and presenter Warren Beatty announced that the envelope given to him wasn’t the right one. Hey, accidents happen...just usually not in front of so many people!