The 10 Wildest Moments in Oscars History

It’s that time of year again. On March 10, stars will gather in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to celebrate the best and brightest in filmmaking at the 96th Academy Awards.

The awards ceremony is usually regarded as a classy affair, but with so many big personalities—and lots of alcohol—in one room, occasionally, there are a few unexpected fireworks.

Whether it’s nudity, alleged incest on the red carpet or a deafening slap, here are 10 wild moments in Oscars history.

The Infamous Academy Awards’ Streaker

While introducing Elizabeth Taylor, who presented the award for Best Picture in 1974, host David Niven was interrupted by a man running naked across the stage to rapturous applause.

Niven wasn’t bothered by the streaker, telling the crowd at the 46th Academy Awards, “Probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings.”

The streaker was 34-year-old Robert Opel, an LGBTQ+ activist and photographer. Opel announced his bid for president in 1976 with the slogan “Nothing to Hide,” but he was murdered a few years later.

Tom Hanks Accidentally Outs His High School Teacher

After picking up the Best Actor award in 1994 for Philadelphia, in which he played a gay lawyer, Tom Hanks unintentionally outed his favorite high school teacher. At the 66th Oscars, the actor gave a shout-out to his former drama coach Rawley Farnsworth, dubbing him one of “the finest gay Americans.”

It could have been a sweet moment, if Rawley hadn’t wanted to keep his sexuality under wraps. The awkward speech went on to inspire the 1997 Kevin Kline movie In & Out.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker Arrive High, Dressed as Gwyneth Paltrow and J.Lo

South Park creator Trey Parker landed a Best Original Song nomination for “Blame Canada” in 2000, with the animator and his creative partner, Matt Stone, living up to their wild reputations at that year’s ceremony.

Parker took Stone as his date to the 72nd Academy Awards. The creatives have said they were on LSD while walking the red carpet dressed like Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez, recreating some of the actresses’ most famous looks.

The outfits were actually their second choice. They originally planned to attend in duck costumes but were worried they wouldn’t be allowed in.

Jack Palance’s Bizarre Acceptance Speech

Jack Palance’s acceptance speech in 1992 stunned for several reasons.

The late star was 73 years old when he won the award for playing gruff cowboy Curly Washburn in City Slickers.

After taking the stage at the 64th Academy Awards, the Hollywood tough guy announced that he could “c*** bigger” than host Billy Crystal—who starred alongside him in City Slickers—before recounting the producers’ reported concerns about his age.

However, Palance proved he had more than enough stamina for the role, performing a series of one-armed push-ups for the casting team—which he recreated onstage.

His unusual acceptance speech went down well with the audience, who loudly cheered for the veteran actor. The following year, Palance opened the awards ceremony by pretending to drag a giant Oscar statuette, with Crystal riding on top of the oversize award.

Angelina Jolie Kisses Her Brother

Maybe it was the turn of the century, but 2000 was a wild year for the Academy Awards.

Angelina Jolie took her older brother, actor James Haven, as her date to the ceremony. While collecting the Best Actress award for Girl, Interrupted, Jolie told the audience: “I’m in shock, and I’m so in love with my brother right now.

“He just held me and said he loved me, and I know he’s so happy for me. And, um, thank you for that.”

Posing for the press after her win, the actress turned and kissed her brother on the mouth, although Haven later said that it was not a French kiss.

“It was something simple and lovely,” he told the Daily Mail in 2007. “She was about to go off to Mexico to finish filming Original Sin with Antonio Banderas.

“I congratulated her on the Oscar win and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. It was snapped and became a big thing.”

Adrien Brody Grabs and Kisses a Shocked Halle Berry

After Halle Berry handed him the Best Actor award for The Pianist in 2003, Adrien Brody unexpectedly grabbed and kissed the actress without her consent, stunning both Berry and the audience.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2017, Berry confirmed that the kiss at the 75th Oscars was a surprise.

“I knew nothing about it,” Berry said, adding. “I was like, what the f*** is happening, right now?”

The Oscar winner said she went along with this kiss because she had attended the ceremony the year before and knew “the feeling of being out of your body.”

Sean Penn’s ‘Racist’ Joke About Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu

When Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu won the Best Director award for Birdman in 2015, his former collaborator Sean Penn handed him the golden statuette—but not before making a controversial joke at the auteur’s expense.

After opening the envelope revealing the winner’s name, Penn said, “Who gave this son of a b**** his green card?”

The actor was accused of racism following the joke, receiving a fierce backlash online.

However, Iñárritu was unfazed by the quip, telling reporters at the 87th Academy Awards: “Sean and I had that kind of brutal relationship where only true friendship can survive.

“When I was directing him in ’21 Grams,’ he was always making jokes … I made a lot of very tough jokes (to him) that I will not tell you.”

Sacheen Littlefeather and Marlon Brando’s Oscars Boycott

Marlon Brando wasn’t the first star to make a political statement at the Oscars, and he certainly wasn’t the last. However, he may hold the award for “most awkward” statement.

Despite being the favorite to win Best Actor for The Godfather, Brando boycotted the 1973 ceremony in protest of Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans.

When Brando’s name was called out during the 45th Academy Awards, Native American activist and actress Sacheen Littlefeather walked onstage to decline the award on his behalf.

Wearing a buckskin dress and moccasins, Littlefeather told stunned onlookers: “I’m representing Marlon Brando this evening, and he has asked me to tell you … that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award.”

Most audience members booed, with John Wayne reportedly attempting to drag Littlefeather off the stage. Although Brando’s protest was well intentioned, Littlefeather was likely a “pretendian”—someone who falsely claims Native American ancestry.

Following her death in October 2022, Littlefeather’s sisters, Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, told the San Francisco Chronicle their family was not Native American. Their father was of Spanish and Mexican descent—not White Mountain Apache or Yaqui, as the actress had claimed—with researchers unable to find any evidence of Littlefeather’s supposed Native American lineage.

Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock Onstage

Dubbed “slapgate” and the “slap heard round the world,” Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars’ slap earned the actor a 10-year ban from Academy events.

After host Chris Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, the movie star jumped onstage and slapped the comedian, telling Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out your f****** mouth.”

Rock had been poking fun at Pinkett Smith’s recently shaved head. The actress has alopecia.

“Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” the Rock said before Smith struck him across the face.

Later in the evening, Smith won the Best Actor award for King Richard, making the situation even more awkward. Despite the win, Smith was temporarily blacklisted after the 94th Oscars. Research conducted by Variety found Smith’s popularity declined significantly following the incident.

Smith discussed the slap a few months later in a video posted to his YouTube account.

“I’ve reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out,” he said.

“So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

Almost a year later, Rock addressed the slap. During his Netflix comedy special Selective Outrage, the comedian said he was “not a victim.”

“You’ll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying,” Rock said, adding. “I took that hit like Pacquiao.”

La La Land Mistakenly Announced as Best Picture Winner

While presenting the Best Picture award at the 89th Academy Awards, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty accidentally announced La La Land as the winner.

The Hollywood icons were mistakenly handed the Best Actress envelope, with La La Land star Emma Stone taking home the award that year.

The 2017 Best Picture award actually went to Moonlight, but the mistake wasn’t revealed until after the La La Land team had hopped onstage and made their speeches.

Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and his crew did get their moment in the spotlight, but the mix-up was one of the most awkward moments in Oscars history.