17 Awards Show Scandals And Jaw-Dropping Moments That Were So Wild They Eclipsed The Actual Awards

1.First, in 1974, while introducing Elizabeth Taylor at the Academy Awards to present Best Picture, host David Niven was surprised by a streaker named Robert Opel. He ran across the stage naked while flashing a peace sign. Then, the audience burst into laughter, with Niven joking, "Well, ladies and gentlemen. That was almost bound to happen. 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?"

Detailing the events, Opel said that he borrowed a press pass from a friend, snuck past security, and hid in the scenery until the right moment.

According to the New Yorker, rather than being arrested, Opel put on a blue jumpsuit, was escorted by an Academy official to the press, and posed backstage alongside a huge Oscar statue.

After the ceremony, many discussed what the reason for this form of protest was, with some even thinking that the show planned the moment. Reportedly, Opel always maintained that he "acted alone."

2.In 1982, Pia Zadora was named New Star of the Year at the Golden Globes. Zadora's win was a shock, considering she was a totally unknown actor and it was for the film The Butterfly, which was about father-daughter incest. Many believed the film's billionaire backer, Meshulam Riklis — who was also Zadora's husband — bought the award. He notably held screenings for voters in Vegas and at his home. There was also an extensive media campaign that saw Zadora in Playboy and on billboards in Hollywood.

Zadora notably beat Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Kathleen Turner, Rachel Ward, and Craig Wasson for New Star of the Year.

Looking back on the controversy in 2015, Zadora told the Hollywood Reporter, "Looking back, I realize what the controversy was about. I get it. I understand. Whether it was fair or not, I understand."

3.In 2008, Katherine Heigl made headlines after it was revealed that she wasn't going to submit herself for the Emmy Awards for her work on Grey's Anatomy. At the time, Heigl said, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination, and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention." After this statement, Grey's producers and writers were reportedly "angered" by this and considered it a "slap in the face" to their hard work. Heigl had won an Emmy the previous year for her work in Season 3.

Ultimately, Dianne Wiest won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work in In Treatment. Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson were nominated for Grey's Anatomy that year, too.

Looking back on the controversy in 2024, Heigl told the Let's Be Clear podcast, "You know, you have to submit yourself. You have to submit your work, and then they deliberate, and then they decide if they want to give you a nomination. I just didn’t submit my work that year."

She added that she regrets making that statement and shouldn't have said anything. She concluded, saying, "I would never be so bold or so arrogant to turn down a nomination. I would take that nomination if it came my way. I’d be down. But I just knew there wasn’t anything that would really warrant one that year, and I was trying to be honorable, I guess. I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn’t trying to be a dick."

4.In 1990, after winning Best New Artist at the Grammys, Milli Vanilli — who was comprised of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan — were forced to give back their Best New Artist award after it was revealed that they didn't actually perform any of the songs on their album Girl You Know It's True, but rather lip-synched to the songs. Nine months after the ceremony, the Recording Academy revoked their award. Apparently, it was a poorly kept secret that the duo didn't actually sing on the album and they even suggested the Best New Artist award be given to the album's actual singers.

Looking back on the ordeal 30 years later, Morvan recalled to Variety, "Rob and I hugged each other and celebrated. It may have looked like joy and happiness. But inside, it was pure confusion. We knew this would come back to bite us in the butt."

Milli Vanilli also performed at the Grammys that night, and according to a Grammys producer, it was one of the rare times that the show allowed an artist to lip sync.

The other artists nominated for Best New Artist that year included Indigo Girls, Neneh Cherry, Soul II Soul, and Tone Lōc.

5.In 1965, Julie Andrews won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical for her work in Mary Poppins. While accepting her award, Andrews shaded My Fair Lady producer Jack Warner by thanking him for making this possible. Despite her success playing the role of Eliza Doolittle on Broadway, Warner notably didn't cast Andrews in the film adaptation and instead went with Audrey Hepburn, citing that they needed "a name." Ultimately, Andrews and Hepburn were pitted against each other all awards season, with Andrews winning both the Globe and Oscar for Mary Poppins.

At the time, the public was reportedly "outraged" that Andrews was not cast in the film adaptation.

Looking back on her career with the Hollywood Reporter in 2015, Andrews said the one thing she wishes she had was a recorded version of her My Fair Lady to show her grandchildren.

She also said while she understood the decision, getting passed over for the film only reinforced the idea she had in her head that she wasn't "pretty enough" for movies.

6.In 2000, Jennifer Lopez notably attended the Grammy Awards wearing a green Versace silk chiffon dress that was cut very low. At the time, the dress was considered pretty scandalous, with Lopez's then-stylist reportedly trying to stop her from wearing it because other celebs had already worn it. "It caused, you know, quite a stir," Lopez recalled to Vogue. Lopez wearing the dress literally led to the invention of Google Images, with people wanting to SEE the look, not just read about it.

Former Google CEO and executive chairman Eric Schmidt recalled, "At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J­Lo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born."

With so many searching for the photo, Google got together and began to develop the tools to create Google Images.

7.In 2004, Evanescence won Best New Artist at the Grammys, beating out 50 Cent, Fountains of Wayne, Heather Headley, and Sean Paul. While they were on stage accepting the award, 50 Cent got up on stage, too, and crossed behind the band. Lead singer Amy Lee shrugged it off and thanked him before jumping into an acceptance speech. While getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020, 50 Cent alluded to still being annoyed at this loss, saying, "You got the largest debut hip hop album [but] you don't got no Best New Artist trophy. The Best New Artist, they gave that shit to Evanescence."

He continued, saying, "Can you find fucking Evanescence? I ain't seen Evanescence since that night. Since that night, they gave them the trophy."

In 2023, Lee told the Daily Beast, "50 Cent hates my guts. It's just one of those things… I mean, truthfully, we thought he was going to win, too. It was such a wild night. People are like, 'What was it like to win a Grammy?' and I’m like, 'Stressful!' I mean, it’s wonderful now to have them, but it was surreal… I just remember thinking, 'I don’t even think anybody in this room knows who we are.'"

8.In 2017, while presenting the award for Best Picture at the Oscars, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty accidentally announced La La Land as the winner. The producers and cast got on stage before an Oscars crew member came on stage and explained there was a mixup. La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz notably stepped up to the mic and proclaimed that Moonlight had actually won the award and even flashed the envelope. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Beatty was handed the wrong envelope. It was the one that contained the name of the Best Actress winner, Emma Stone, for La La Land.

Reportedly, members from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm that calculates the results, stand on either side of the stage with the envelopes and hand them to presenters. So there are two sets of envelopes.

Several hours after the Oscars ended that night, PwC issued an apology, saying, "We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for best picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."

9.In 2014, John Travolta took the stage at the Oscars to introduce a performance of "Let It Go" from Frozen. He notably mispronounced Idina Menzel's name as "Adele Dazeem." In the days and weeks that followed, Travolta was the subject of jokes online and everyone was discussing the misstep. Looking back on the incident 10 years later with Vanity Fair, Menzel recalled standing on stage thinking, "What the hell did he just say? Oh no. Why did he just say that? This was my big opportunity." Travolta later revealed he was looking at the phonetic spelling of Menzel's name and it tripped him up.

Menzel's Frozen costar Kristen Bell told Vanity Fair, "She handled it like a champ. She’s pretty impenetrable as a performer because she knows herself so well, and she knows her range so well, and she has such composure when she’s performing. I don’t know if I could have done it."

Travolta sent Menzel flowers to make up for the mishap.

Of course, all of it ended up being good fun, and it became a joke that has endured for years. So much so that Travolta and Menzel presented together the following year as they poked fun at the mispronunciation.

Looking back on the incident, Menzel said, "But ultimately, it was one of the best things that’s happened in my career."

10.In 1985, Betty Thomas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work in Hill Street Blues. However, before she could actually reach the stage to accept her award, a random man jumped up on stage and told the audience that she could not be there and accepted on her behalf. The audience went along with it until they saw a very confused Thomas. The broadcast reportedly quickly cut to a commercial break and then Thomas gave her speech when the show returned. According to the LA Times, he was later arrested backstage.

The Michigan man, named Barry Bremen, who was reportedly known for crashing high-profile events, told the awards that he was a journalist looking to cover the Emmys that year. He was eventually sold a ticket.

He was later fined $175 and placed on six months probation.

11.In 1998, while performing on stage at the Grammy Awards, Bob Dylan — who was one of the most nominated artists that year for Time Out of Mind — attempted to perform "Love Sick" when he was interrupted by Michael Portnoy, an extra who was hired to appear in the background of the performance. Shortly after the song began, Portnoy started aggressively dancing and took off his shirt, revealing the words "SOY BOMB" written on his chest. No one knew what "SOY BOMB" was supposed to mean.

Larry Campbell, Dylan's guitarist who was on stage with him, recalled to Billboard years later, "Bob's singing, and trying to ignore the guy, and then he turned around to me and said, 'Who the fuck is this guy?' And that’s when I realized, 'No, Bob didn’t plan this…'"

"I was very surprised I got to dance for so long! But no one filming the event had any clue that it wasn’t part of the act," Portnoy said in an interview with Billboard years later.

Eventually, a stage manager came and escorted Portnoy off the stage.

12.In 1983, Eddie Murphy and Joan Rivers hosted the Emmys. However, most of the night is remembered for the vulgar language used by both comedians, but mostly Rivers. Not only was the duo an odd pairing from the start, but Rivers shocked the audience by delivering several offensive jokes. There was notably one about "a Black, a Jew, two women, and a cripple," that many deemed extremely inappropriate.

Both Rivers and Murphy were never asked to host again.

Their controversial hosting moments overshadowed the evening, which saw Cheers winning four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

13.In 1969, Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tied for Best Actress at the Oscars. Streisand won for Funny Girl, while Hepburn won for The Lion in Winter. Notably, Hepburn did not attend the ceremony, so Anthony Harvey accepted the award on her behalf. This marked Hepburn's third Oscar for Best Actress and Streisand's first. This is the first and only time the Best Actress race has ended in a tie.

Streisand and Hepburn had each received 3,030 votes, marking the first time the awards had ever had to deal with a dead tie.

While accepting her award on stage, Streisand notably said, "Hello, gorgeous," while referring to her Oscar and referencing the opening line from Funny Girl.

14.In 2013, Seth MacFarlane hosted the Oscars for the first time. During his opening monologue, MacFarlane sang a song titled "We Saw Your Boobs," where he listed out movies that featured nude scenes from famous actresses. While he was singing, the camera notably panned the audience to some of the celebs he was mentioning, like Charlize Theron. Women both in the audience and at home were angered and "shocked." Sony producer and executive VP Elizabeth Cantillon told Business Insider, "Tabloids can do what they do. That's the cross of the business, but not the Oscars. I would be surprised if there was any woman in the movie business who was at the Oscars or watched the Oscars who wasn't offended by that."

The New Yorker notably published an op-ed titled, "Seth MacFarlane and The Oscars' Hostile, Ugly, Sexist Night," with writer Amy Davison Sorkin writing, "Watching the Oscars last night meant sitting through a series of crudely sexist antics led by a scrubby, self-satisfied Seth MacFarlane. That would be tedious enough. But the evening’s misogyny involved a specific hostility to women in the workplace, which raises broader questions than whether the Academy can possibly get Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host next year."

There was even a BuzzFeed list that listed the nine "sexist things that happened at the Oscars."

15.In 2009, Taylor Swift won Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me" at the MTV Video Music Awards. While on stage accepting her award, Kanye West notably went on stage, took the microphone, and said, "You, Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time." Beyoncé was nominated in the same category for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Ye left the stage and was reportedly removed from the venue. This moment kicked off a decades-spanning feud between Swift and Ye.

Swift was taken off stage by producers, and it was reported that Beyoncé joined her backstage to apologize, and both singers started crying.

Later in the evening, when Beyoncé won Video of the Year, she invited Taylor on stage and gave her a moment to give the speech she deserved.

16.In 2022, Chris Rock was on stage at the Oscars to present Best Documentary Feature. He made a joke directed at Jada Pinkett Smith, who was sitting in the audience with Will Smith, comparing her shaved head to that of Demi Moore's character in G.I. Jane. Moments later, Smith got up on stage and slapped Rock. He then returned to his seat but continued yelling at Rock, saying, "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!" About 40 minutes later, Smith won his first Oscar for Best Actor for his work in King Richard.

Reportedly unknown to Rock, Pinkett Smith has alopecia, and she has been open about how her hair loss has affected her confidence since her diagnosis in 2018.

Prior to winning Best Actor, Smith was comforted by Bradley Cooper, Denzel Washington, and Tyler Perry during a commercial break, as they tried to help the situation as the audience was left stunned.

17.And finally, in 2025, Karla Sofía Gascón was nominated for Best Actress for her work in Emilia Pérez, making her the first openly trans person nominated in the category. A few days after nominations were announced, a bunch of offensive tweets from Gascón began to resurface online. The online posts expressed anti-Islamic sentiment and targeted diversity at the Oscars, the Black Lives Matter movement, and more. She released a lengthy Instagram statement declaring that she's "not racist" and that she would "not apologize for something" that she is not. These resurfaced tweets led Netflix, who produced Emilia Pérez, to distance themselves from Gascón in an attempt to save the film's Oscars chances.

Gascón's costar Zoe Saldaña, who was a frontrunner to win Best Supporting Actress, made a statement saying, "It makes me really sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group."

Now, leading up to the 2025 Oscars, Gascón has been absent from several awards shows, with Variety reporting that Netflix has stopped talking directly to her. Sources also told the outlet that Netflix will no longer be covering any travel expenses to various award shows and other styling for any appearances at the events.

We can't fit everything into one post, so which other awards show scandals do you always remember? Tell us in the comments below!