Awkward Red Carpet Moments That Were Caught On Camera

There's no place like the red carpet to revel in the spectacle of celebrity glam, talent ... and awkwardness. It's one of the few places our beloved stars are at their most real, stripped of their PR machines and stage-managed images. As they trip and slip, the veneer of perfection comes off only for the world to realize — they're just as weird as the rest of us! From high couture made of birds and animals to cringeworthy greetings, Hollywood red carpets have been witness to a whole range of funks since the 1920s (via the BBC). If there was a place you could make a lasting statement, no matter how divergent (i.e., Lady Gaga's iconic meat dress and Kristen Stewart's shoeless feet), it was the red carpet.

Awkward moments on the red carpet have only been immortalized since the advent of social media, where their videos are preserved for posterity. Jennifer Lawrence's clumsy falls — yes, there have been more than one, per Teen Vogue – have offered the internet great meme potential, while Oscar Isaac and John Travolta's bursts of affection for their female co-actors remain as incomprehensible as ever. Nevertheless, these viral videos never age, and their very existence demands revival from time to time.

The sound of the slap Will Smith landed on Chris Rock's face at the 2022 Oscars resounded across the world — and everyone collectively gasped. But pop culture aficionados know that the scandalous episode was a repeat of a smaller, similar one that occurred many moons ago. Remember that time the actor slapped an overly affectionate journalist in 2012?

Smith probably didn't pull up to the premiere of his film "Men in Black III" expecting non-consensual smooches, but he got one regardless. Ukrainian reporter and notorious prankster Vitalii Sediuk planted a kiss on Smith when he leaned in for a hug, prompting the visibly annoyed Hollywood star to push him. Smith walked away, but not before dealing Sediuk a backhanded smack. "He's lucky I didn't sucker-punch him," Smith reportedly later said (via Entertainment Weekly).

Sediuk's celebrity ambush shenanigans are infamous. From grabbing Gigi Hadid by surprise, only to be elbowed by her, to landing up in police custody for allegedly attacking Brad Pitt, he has earned a rep for antics that have consistently drawn ire, if not laughs (via The Hollywood Reporter). When his encounter with Smith's slapping hand resurfaced in the wake of the Oscars controversy, Sediuk didn't forgo the opportunity to weigh in on the matter, quipping that Smith "practiced on [him] first, only to perform his slap at the Oscars" (per LADbible). 

You know that oh-so-liberating moment of slipping your poor feet out of those murderous heels? It's one of the best feelings in the world — and Kristen Stewart lived it, in all its glory, right on the Cannes red carpet in 2018. The perennially poker-faced star did the customary drill of posing for the paps, and then Stewart took off her high-heeled Louboutins to walk barefoot the rest of the way up the stairs (via the BBC). When a video of the rare episode went viral, the internet's general consensus was that the move was perfectly logical. Ever the nonconformist, Stewart has consistently prioritized comfort over glamour, even ditching her heels for loafers at the Oscars in 2022 (via People).

Though it could be considered sacrilege by some, red carpets have seen more than their fair share of barefoot celebs over the years. Julia Roberts made a striking statement at Cannes 2016 by going shoeless under her Armani Privé dress. The "Twilight" actor has, in the past, made known her discontent with footwear code at black tie events. "If you're not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you cannot ask me either," Stewart told The Hollywood Reporter. In Stewart's defense, she admittedly loves heels, but feels strongly that with respect to gender-specific red carpet rules, "Things have to change immediately" (via Vanity Fair).

Jennifer Lawrence is a renowned goof. So when she crashed her friend Josh Hutcherson's red carpet interview at an event for their film "The Hunger Games," it made for a perfectly timed gag. "Is your rash doing okay?" Lawrence asked Hutcherson in passing. Hutcherson, somewhat disconcerted, instinctively replied, "Yeah, it's good," before turning to the camera sheepishly and saying: "She's crazy!" That wasn't the first time he was the target of J-Law's leg-pulling, per PopCrush. Though her antics prompted Hutcherson to say Lawrence needed to be medicated, fans seemed to love all that "Joshifer" banter.  

In 2013, karma came looking for Lawrence in the guise of Jack Nicholson, who left the "Silver Linings Playbook" star red-faced by kicking off the cutest yet strangest correspondence. The screen legend interrupted Lawrence's Oscars interview, muttered praises for her, and added: "You look like an old girlfriend of mine." Lawrence didn't miss a beat before flirting back, "Do I look like a new girlfriend?" only to mouth a dramatic "Oh my God" as Nicholson walked away. The exchange resulted in a massively viral video and the seeming start of an adorable friendship. Lawrence told ABC News that Nicholson later sent her flowers, champagne, and a note that read: "Missing you already." Aww or nah? 

Sacha Baron Cohen's charade as Admiral General Aladeen is a long-loved gag. But even a host as seasoned as Ryan Seacrest was thrown off guard when the funnyman seemingly took the joke a bit too far. Cohen turned up at the 2012 Oscars as his outlandish character from "The Dictator," costume and comportment in tow. Mid-chat with E! News' Seacrest, Cohen saw his chance and emptied an urn of ashes on the unsuspecting interviewer. A formerly spruced-up Seacrest was bathed in what Cohen as Aladeen teased were the ashes of "his dear friend and double standards partner Kim Jong-il," North Korea's former supreme. Yikes!

Seacrest was visibly taken by surprise, playing down his apparent befuddlement with awkward laughter and a concentrated cleaning of his tuxedo, as Cohen was mock-dragged away. Though he later admitted he had an inkling that interviewing Cohen could entail an inevitable practical joke, Seacrest exclaimed on his radio show (per The Hollywood Reporter): "I definitely did not know that he was going to do that!" He further joked on his chat show "Live with Kelly and Ryan" that he would pack two jackets for future Oscars. It was all ash under the carpet, though, since Cohen (and his wife Isla Fisher) later apologized to Seacrest, saying, "It wasn't personal" (via Today).

Extravagance is synonymous with Lady Gaga. But back in 2010, the music icon took the zaniness up a notch by showing up at the MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made of meat. In what was her third outfit for the night, Gaga walked the carpet laden with 40 pounds of matambre steak (via Meatpaper). "We wanted it to look like a dress, not a freak show," said designer Franc Fernandez. It's hard to say how much of that ambition actually came to pass, but the vision of Gaga wearing a raw meat headdress and bearing a raw meat clutch was definitely something! If you're wondering if it stank: "Gaga said it smelled good. It had a sweet smell," Fernandez revealed (per MTV). 

The meat dress, legendary almost immediately upon its showcase, invited great awe and greater censure. Animal rights groups weren't thrilled, with PETA suggesting the stunt might prompt the "Bad Romance" hitmaker to fall out of favor. A survey even crowned it the most controversial red carpet look ever (via NDTV). Meanwhile, Gaga, who took home a booty of eight wins on that scandalous VMAs night, explained that the meat dress was a political statement in the context of the United States' military policy that banned non-heterosexuals from serving. Eleven years after the spectacle, she explained the thought behind it (via Insider): "If you are willing to die for your country, what does it matter how you identify?" 

Tripping is among the most common inevitabilities of being human, and yet, each time it happens, it leaves the best of us shamefaced — especially when there's an audience! A figure of poise on most days, Selena Gomez found herself momentarily discomposed when she lost her balance on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2022. The singer-actor fell to her knees as a stiletto broke and came off her foot, according to Hello! Magazine. Ushers standing nearby helped Gomez up and escorted her off the scene. The mortification of the moment was luckily mitigated by how resplendent Gomez looked in her all-black Oscar de la Renta gown and statement jewelry. 

Who would've thought taking a fall could look so graceful? As Teen Vogue noted, it was nothing less than a Cinderella moment of sorts. And as one would expect of a modern-day fairytale princess, Gomez made a bold statement by going barefoot for the rest of the evening. The "Only Murders in the Building" star even presented on stage without footwear — a surefire way to prevent any further slips. Gomez's tumble and consequent barefootedness found high relatability on the internet, and the star herself even took part in the fun: "I couldn't keep my heels on, but I did manage to take a couple selfies," she wrote on Instagram. Way to turn an awkward moment on its head!