Top 10 Red Carpet Fails

Red carpet events are some of the biggest nights in Hollywood, bringing together the best of the best to celebrate causes and triumphs alike. But, if we’re being honest here, red carpets are for fashion and publicity—whether good or bad. Amidst all the fun, flurry, and camera flashes, epic blunders are not uncommon. In most cases, red carpet fails embarrass stars, and for others, it’s the quickest way to become an internet meme. Here are the top 10 red carpet fails we can’t forget—but the celebrities wish we would.

10 Spilling A Dead Man’s Ashes

Sasha Baron Cohen is one of the funniest men on the planet and probably the best pranksters to ever grace our TV screens. To most, when he’s not busy playing foreign journalist Borat Sagdiyev, he appears as the incorrigible and excessive dictator Admiral General Aladeen. In this red carpet fail, Cohen showed up at the 84th Academy Awards as Aladeen, carrying a very bizarre package—a dead man’s ashes.

Cohen, who modeled Aladeen after former real-life dictator Muammar Gaddafi, arrived in tow with female bodyguards, looking as grand as ever. In his hands, Aladeen held an urn that contained the ashes of his “doubles tennis partner,” the fictional Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. So the only thing to do with these ashes is to “accidentally” spill them all over Ryan Seacrest.

It was a dirty prank that some would call sick for sure. Seacrest later confessed that he “Definitely did not know that he was going to do that!” Luckily, he was cool about the whole ordeal and even commented, “Now you know this isn’t taped.”

9 Falling At The Feet Of Celeb Royalty

Another comedian tops this list of red carpet fails, and this time, it’s none other than stand-up sensation Amy Schumer. Amy Schumer is a comedian who is never too proud to make fun of herself. At 2015’s Time 100 Gala, Amy Schumer noticed Kanye West and Kim Kardashian posing for the cameras and thought she should fake a fall. The problem is that while she fell, Kanye and Kim ignored her antics completely.

Schumer, who made headlines with her bizarre display on the red carpet shortly after, had assumed that Kanye and Kim would have reacted, at least a little bit. To her rude awakening, the couple went ahead with their shoot nonplussed. Schumer later said she thought “falling over was the funniest thing,” but apparently, Kanye and Kim didn’t agree.

The joke backfired, and she ended up apologizing for ruining Kim and Kanye’s red carpet moment. In the end, the “Trainwreck” actress wrecked herself in a moment that will live in infamy.

8 Taylor Swifts Serves Swift Justice To Reporter

Reporters are always searching for the best scoops and interacting with celebrities and asking the most unexpected questions. During the 2015 Grammy Awards, Entertainment Tonight’s Nancy O’Dell was lucky to interview Taylor Swift—but her luck quickly turned sour. In what went down as an embarrassing moment in O’Dell’s career, she found herself on the wrong side of T-Swift.

Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” album is one of her most impactful works, and it seems that even in real life, the songstress is just as fearless. During her interview with O’Dell, the reporter predicted, “You are going to walk with more than a trophy tonight, I think, lots of men.” As you would expect, Taylor Swift was not going to take the comment lying down. With a swift response, she remarked, “I’m not going to walk away with any men tonight.”

The comment, which was served with a death cold stare, proved that Taylor Swift is not to be messed with. As the interview progressed, the awkwardness never faded. On that night, Taylor’s plans only involved hanging out with her friends and going home to her cats.

7 Costly Slip Of The Tongue

Red carpet events are always serious, and from live coverage to interactions with stars, reporters are always on their best behavior. Sadly, the same can’t be said about TNT’s Danielle Demski, who made a costly slip of the tongue when she told Rashida Jones that she was “very tan.”

During the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Danielle Demski commented on Rashida Jones’ appearance, saying she looked as if she just got off an island as seen from her “tan.” The actress is African American. Rashida Jones’s dad is African American, while her mom is Ashkenazi Jew.

Lucky for Demski, the “Parks And Recreation” was calm in correcting her. Rashida responded, “Well, you know, I’m ethnic,” putting an end to the conversation.

6 Of Condom-Drops And Children’s Movies

Parents know this all too well. A child sees something, and immediately, they want to know what it is and how it works. While parents have mastered many tricks over the years, nothing could have prepared them for the time Zac Efron dropped a condom at a children’s movie premiere.

Dropping a condom is awkward in most places, but it’s sure to garner some attention when you are in front of a camera. In 2012, during the film premiere of “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” a condom popped out of Efron’s pocket and jumped straight for the floor. The unmentionable mishap at the innocent premier made headlines as many couldn’t help but wonder, “Why, Efron? Why?”

So, how did Zac Efron react? After the not-so-secret object fell out of his pocket, Efron dove with flash-like instincts to retrieve it and, after stashing it back, hid under a dark pair of sunglasses. Those that were looking more closely could not miss his desperate muttering, “Oh my god.” That basically covers everything.

5 We Don’t Matter. This Is Not Our World

Celebrities get microphones to their faces everywhere they go, and most times, reporters treat their statements like gold. Well, Jim Carrey is one celeb who has lots of gold to give. When he attended 2017’s New York Fashion Week, he couldn’t help but share his philosophical thoughts. In a famous tirade, Carrey blasted out that “there’s no meaning” to anything in life.

After a question from E! reporter Catt Sadler who commented on Jim Carrey’s efforts to dress up for the New York Fashion Week, the Ace Ventura star gave an unexpected response. In his “very real” confession, Jim Carrey remarked that he was there only because he “wanted to find the most meaningless thing” to be part of.

In the unexpected retort, Carrey continued to express his nihilistic viewpoints about life. He ended this happy speech with, “We don’t matter. There’s the good news.” To all that witnessed the interview, it was quite an unexpected response. To Carrey’s credit, a red carpet even is pretty meaningless. Yet, if his response had been relevant, it wouldn’t be on this list.

4 Kissing The “Man In Black”

As far as red carpet fails go, they don’t get better than a slap on the face. Comedians are always seeking to score some form of publicity, and when Ukrainian comedian Vitalii Sediuk tried a “hilarious” prank, he got a stinger in return. Many years after the incident happened, we can’t forget how “Men in Black” actor Will Smith stung Sediuk with a slap on the cheek.

Will Smith was on tour promoting “Men In Black 3” when Vitalii Sediuk approached him for a hug. Smith has been a celebrity for a long time, and hugs are always welcome. But soon enough, he realized that Sediuk had more in mind. In the classic Russian tradition, Sediuk greeted Smith with a kiss on the left and right cheek. But Smith had to cut his fun short when he went for a kiss on the lips.

After pushing off, Sediuk exclaiming, “What the hell is your problem, buddy?” Smith quickly fired up the backhand and slapped the guy across the face. Smith later said that people think they can do whatever they want to you just because you are famous. All in all, Sediuk learned that kissing strangers is not the best thing to do on a first date.

3 Don’t Hug Me. I Don’t Know You!

In another epic hug flop, Jerry Seinfeld found himself in an awkward position after a “mysterious lady” tried to hug him. As you probably know, hugs are usually reserved for people who know each other. Seinfeld certainly observes this rule. 

During 2017’s “A Night of Laughter and Song” event, Ke$ha, who is a big “Seinfeld” fan, approached Seinfeld and asked for a hug. To her dismay, Seinfeld turned her down. Ke$ha insisted asking, “Just a little one?” “No thanks,” was Seinfeld’s only response. Seinfeld stepped away from Ke$ha so that she couldn’t touch him. The famous encounter quickly became a meme on the internet.

But Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t rude. Anyone who has personal boundaries like that is never rude—you’re the one invading their space. Anyway, rant aside, Seinfeld just never hugs strangers. Later in the evening, the two stars got to know each other better as they laughed about the incident. Yet, according to Seinfeld, Ke$ha never got her hug. Guess it was not her day!

2 Stranger Pops Up Under A Dress!

America Ferrera looked forward to her first-ever appearance at the Cannes Festival but little did she know that someone else had eyes on her. All cameras were on America Ferrera as she arrived at the premiere of “How To Train Your Dragon 2.” She was having the time of her life! But, in a split second, a prankster had made his way under her fluffy white dress, stealing the spotlight.

As it turns out, Vitalii Sediuk, a notorious Ukrainian red-carpet prankster and journalist—remember him from the Will Smith story?—had jumped under her dress. While security responded swiftly to get the comedian out from under her, Sediuk made things worse by latching on to Ferrera’s ankle. Ferrera later described the event as a “weird crazy dream” since she couldn’t believe it was happening to her on such a special night. 

Luckily for Ferrera, her fellow co-stars and Cate Blanchett were there to ensure that she was okay. Well, little can be said about Sediuk, who obviously doesn’t know when to stop. Needless to say, the comedian got arrested for his antics.

1 Kissing The “Black Widow”?

Scarlett Johansson is one of the most beloved female actresses in the world. In Hollywood, she is among the highest-paid. While we can say a lot of great things about the actress, we’re going to talk about her super cringy encounter with John Travolta. In 2015, during the Oscars, Scarlett Johansson got a surprise kiss from Travolta that left everyone feeling uncomfortable. Hey, Travolta, this isn’t “Saturday Night Fever,” okay? What made the situation worse is that Travolta clasped his hands around Johansson and kissed her on her right cheek.

From Scarlett Johansson’s blank expression, which instantly became an internet meme, you could tell that she didn’t expect it and she didn’t look any pleased. I wouldn’t either. While Johansson later defended Travolta, saying that he’s a “class act,” many couldn’t shake the feeling that it was strange and creepy, if not inappropriate. Either way, the stunt was a huge red carpet fail and all the press it garnered is proof.