Top 10 Times Celebs Crashed Out On TV

Before Warren Beatty mistakenly announced “La La Land” as the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, we had Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner of the Miss Universe pageant. Hosting the 2015 iteration of the pageant, the lively comedian announced Ariadna Gutiérrez, Miss Colombia, as the victor. In reality, Gutiérrez was the first runner-up, and Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Phillippines, was the actual winner. Despite this monumental screw-up, Harvey was invited to host several more Miss Universe pageants, including the following year when he apologized to the Philippines for his mistake. We hope that apology carried over to 2019, when Harvey repeated the error for the National Costume contest, this time announcing Miss Philippines as the winner when Miss Malaysia had actually scored the crown.

You might not have known it from his timeless, impeccable stage presence, but the Godfather of Funk bore more than a few demons of his own. Although Brown famously forced members of his band to abstain from using alcohol and substances, he eventually developed a fondness for PCP sometimes in the early 1980s. The substance, which Brown began to use regularly and caused him to act erratically, is suspected to have contributed to the singer’s wildly off-the-rails 1988 interview with CNN host Dr. Sonya Friedman. Following his April 1988 arrest in which Brown was charged with domestic abuse of his wife Adrienne Rodriguez, this attempt at PR course correction likely had his management team pulling their hair out.

Has such a dramatic mishap and subsequent fall from grace ever been so perfectly captured on video? Richards, best known for his Emmy-winning role as Kramer on the hit NBC sitcom “Seinfeld,” was filmed by an audience member at the Hollywood Laugh Factory. Incensed by hecklers, the former “Seinfeld” star shouted a series of deplorable racial epithets at them. The shaky cell phone camera footage went viral after being leaked by TMZ. Things only got worse during Richards’ “Late Show” appearance. Having been invited on by Jerry Seinfeld, Richards appeared via satellite to deliver an awkward apology. Even worse? Some audience members thought that Richards was doing a scripted bit, with Seinfeld uncomfortably stepping in to refute that notion.

Even 20 years since this chaotic interview first aired, that enigmatic central question still remains… What was Tom thinking here? 2005 was a whirlwind year for new couple Cruise and Katie Holmes. They began dating in April, made their first public appearance that month, and in May, Cruise appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to promote… their relationship? In any case, the Oscar nominee and action star made a fool of himself by inexplicably showing off his admittedly impressive gymnastics skills. The crux of the interview was Cruise jumping up and down on the talk show host’s couch, declaring his love for the “Dawson’s Creek” star. The over-the-top moment is even harder to watch when you remember Cruise and Holmes’ acrimonious, painfully public 2012 divorce.

Every child star is, at one point or another, confronted with a professional fork in the road. Does one continue down the path of family-friendliness and risk fading into obscurity, or aggressively pivot into an edgier, more “adult” stage? If you’re at all familiar with this widely-publicized MTV VMA performance, then you’ll know that former teen idol Cyrus decisively opted for the latter. Described by the Telegraph as Cyrus going into “overdrive [...] trying to kill off her Disney millstone, Hannah Montana,” Miley performed a medley of her “We Can’t Stop” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” The resulting performance was blasted by fans, critics, and everyone in between. Although Cyrus’ career eventually recovered, Thicke’s reputation was tainted due to his participation, as well as other contemporary scandals.

Oof. You can’t help feeling bad for poor Ashlee while watching this infamous “Saturday Night Live” moment in October 2004. The pop-rock singer (and sister of Jessica) was reportedly under doctor’s orders not to sing, due to vocal cord inflammation as a result of chronic acid reflux. Simpson’s choice to sing to a prerecorded track, while seemingly innocent enough in itself, would be her cringeworthy downfall. While her first performance, the song “Pieces of Me,” went off without a hitch, her performance of “Autobiography” was almost immediately derailed by the “Pieces of Me” vocals being piped in. Mass confusion fell over the “SNL” stage, and Simpson started dancing around in an ostensible attempt to pick up the pieces.

Sometimes, despite the best efforts of everyone around you, you’re just not able to get out of your own way. Such was the case with “Two and a Half Men” star Sheen, whose history of wild partying and hedonism caught up with him in a big way. The show’s production was paused in January 2011, when the four-time Emmy nominee was enrolled in a rehab program — his third try in under a year. Following a series of erratic remarks made by Sheen about showrunner Chuck Lorre, the actor was fired in March and replaced with Ashton Kutcher. However, just ahead of that, a “Good Morning America” introduced a number of highly memorable quotes that set the Internet ablaze.

Was this the beginning of the end for the quote-unquote “old” Kanye? While the jury may still be out on that one, it’s hard to deny that eternal provocateur West’s career took a serious, lasting hit from this 2009 incident at that year’s MTV Video Music Awards. Country-pop star Swift had just won the “Best Female Video” category for her smash hit “You Belong With Me.” West, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time, stormed the stage and cut her speech short, declaring that Beyoncé deserved the award for her “Single Ladies” video. The public backlash was intense and, well, swift: West was forced to apologize multiple times, especially in light of then-President Barack Obama’s leaked commentary on the incident.

This wardrobe malfunction is so widely scrutinized that it has its own conspiracy theories. For the uninitiated: Jackson headlined the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, which also featured special guests P. Diddy, Nelly, and Kid Rock. However, an incident that would instantly become the stuff of pop culture legend was afoot. Special guest Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson’s top, exposing her right breast. Jackson was quickly punished and blacklisted by the music industry, while Timberlake mostly got off scot-free (at the time, that is). Oh, those conspiracy theories? That Timberlake planned the stunt on purpose to upstage Britney Spears’ most recent MTV VMA appearance, and that it was an attempt by the media to distract the general public from the ongoing War in Iraq.

Okay, maybe this is kind of a huge claim to make, but is this the wildest moment that’s ever happened on live television? In an incident that still baffles, confounds, and just generally shocks, the normally family-friendly Smith took clear offense to a lighthearted joke told by Rock at Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense. Comparing the alopecia-stricken Jada to Demi Moore’s character in the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” Rock quickly found himself physically assaulted by the soon-to-be Oscar winner. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping episode of celeb losing their marbles, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was banned from attending their events for 10 years.

Which celeb crash-out surprised you the most? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!