Top 10 Most Chaotic Award Show Moments Ever

In 2017, David Harbour gave an impassioned speech about fighting injustice while accepting an award alongside his “Stranger Things” colleagues. However, while the words might’ve been coming out of his mouth, we couldn’t tear our eyes away from Winona Ryder, who clearly had a lot of feelings about everything he was saying. When he begins, she looks a little startled; perhaps, this isn’t the speech she expected. But by the end, she’s practically given us a meme for every emotion. Harbour later explained that, apparently, Ryder simply couldn’t hear him. Who knew trying to listen could look so colorful!? Do they give out awards for best facial reactions to acceptance speeches? Ryder definitely deserves one.

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor? Wow, what an honor! You certainly wouldn’t want anything to happen to that… Oh, we spoke too soon. Yes, this was a pre-planned bit by the actor, but his commitment to it showed how deserving he was of the accolade. After breaking the bust, Ferrell plows on with his speech, playing off the stunt with total seriousness. He really sells the joke, speaking with an earnestness that has the audience continuously cracking up. Trust Ferrell to accept a comedy award with his unique brand of humor and bring a little chaos to the proceedings.

This messy performance begins with the group playing the opening to a song they were explicitly told they couldn’t play. After getting their little prank out of the way, they move on to “Lithium.” Only bassist Krist Novoselic grows increasingly frustrated by his malfunctioning amp and chucks his guitar in the air, which lands on his head. As he stumbles his way off the stage, Kurt Cobain takes his bandmate’s odd behavior as a cue to let all hell break loose and starts trashing the stage. Dave Grohl also jumped on the bandwagon, racing to the microphone to provocatively call out to “Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose. How… rock n’ roll of them?

Thomas "Sodapoppin" Morris was a guest streamer at the 2021 "Twitch Chat's Choice Awards," which lets its audiences determine all the winners. At this event, Sodapoppin lets the honor go to his head and decidedly tries to influence the votes while livestreaming from home. The chaos peaks when the gamer voices his feelings about all the nominees in the 'Game of the Year" category. He insists it's been a "trash" year for games, evoking a heated argument with the ceremony's hosts. Watching the presenters argue with an iPad screen is hilarious, and it only gets funnier when they physically move their troll out of the way. We're not sure if this was serious or a joke, but it was certainly unforgettable.

In 2014, John Travolta had us all baffled when he was meant to introduce “Frozen” actress Idina Menzel and somehow fluffed it up. The actor later explained that just before going on stage, he was told that her name would appear phonetically on the prompter. Still, we’re not exactly sure how you get to Adele Dazeem from Idina Menzel. The actress admitted that she was briefly thrown, but since she had to go on stage and perform, she had no choice but to “Let It Go.” Menzel has confessed that his mistake ended up being the “best thing” that happened to her. And she got her own back the following year with a wickedly creative mispronunciation, especially for Travolta.

Like many teen stars, Miley went through a few wild years as she transitioned away from her Disney Channel image. Case in point: while performing “We Can’t Stop” for MTV, the teddy bear aesthetic she’s wearing is like something out of a very trippy nightmare. But we hadn’t seen anything yet! Robin Thicke soon joins her for a raunchy performance of his highly controversial hit. Cyrus’ moves are considerably provocative, and we never want to see a foam finger used like that ever again. Apparently, Thicke even approved of her outfit since it reflected the vibe of his music video. Admittedly, Cyrus unfairly took most of the heat for this hot mess. Still, it’s unfortunately etched into our minds forever.

It’s 1998, and you’re watching Bob Dylan perform “Love Sick” at the Grammy Awards as an ensemble sways to the rhythm behind him. Suddenly, one man takes off his shirt and emerges from the group to reveal the words “Soy Bomb” on his chest. It only gets weirder from there as he starts performing what seems to be an unusual interpretive dance. That man was Michael Portnoy, a New York-based performance artist who chose this moment to make a statement about “dense nutritional life” and how art should portray “dense, transformational, explosive life.” It takes a while until Portnoy’s removed, but by then, he’d already become the breakout star of the evening.

Well, this is a moment none of us will forget in a hurry. In 2017, “La La Land” was announced as the winner of “Best Picture” at the Oscars. During the acceptance speeches, the cast and crew are approached by a stagehand, and the tone on stage visibly changes. One of the film’s producers, Jordan Horowitz, comes forward and reveals the error in the clunkiest way imaginable. The presenters seemed to have been handed the wrong envelope, which sparked utter chaos. It was a bittersweet moment for the actual winner “Moonlight” since the victory became overshadowed by the unfortunate incident. It was hard to imagine that anything could top this moment in Oscars infamy until…

You knew that this one would make an appearance sooner or later. During the ceremony, comedian Chris Rock made some jibes about Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness — it’s worth noting that the actress has alopecia. Her husband Will’s initially seen laughing, although she’s clearly unhappy. Next thing we know, Smith is up on stage, and before we can register what’s happening, he slaps Rock. The drama doesn’t end there as Smith yells and curses at the comedian from his seat. We honestly don’t know who was more stunned: Rock or the viewers. Smith later tried to explain himself, but the damage was done. The Guardian’s uncensored footage became the second most viral YouTube video of 2022.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Tim Commerford Protests a Loss, “17th MTV Video Music Awards” (2000)
We Guess the Rage Against the Machine Bassist Really Doesn’t Like to Lose

Adrien Brody Kisses Halle Berry, “74th Academy Awards” (2002)
Berry Later Confessed to Being Shocked & Having No Idea What Was Happening

Nicki Minaj Calls Out Miley “32nd MTV Video Music Awards” (2015)
Because… Every Feud Needs a National Stage?

Streaker Steals the Spotlight, “46th Academy Awards” (1974)
Robert Opel Will Forever Be Remembered for His... “Shortcomings”

Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress, “27th MTV Video Music Awards” (2010)
Talk about Making a Steak-Ment!

In 2009, T-Swift ascended the VMAs stage to accept the “Best Female Video” award for “You Belong With Me.” You know who didn’t belong in that moment? Kanye West. Still, that didn’t stop him from gatecrashing to declare that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” should’ve won instead. Poor Tay Tay was at a loss for words while Beyoncé looked mortified, and apparently, both were reduced to tears. When Bey won an award later that evening, she graciously gave her spotlight to Taylor so that she could finally have her moment. But as we all know, the drama wouldn’t end there. As with most Kanye moments, this notoriously messy incident had us collectively wondering what on earth was he thinking?