With awards season well underway, all eyes are going to be on the year's hottest actors, singers, models, and even influencers. And while most of them will serve fashion wins and hilarious interviews, some will leave us feeling a little awkward.
But now is the perfect time to look back on all the awkward red carpet moments over the years. From uncomfortable interactions to fashion malfunctions, this list might make you cringe more than once.
During a perfume launch event in 2012, Kim Kardashian was attacked by a protester who covered her in flour. As if that wasn't awkward enough to look at on its own, there's also a good chance it was actually staged.
Love it or hate it, the dress was a moment. Not the most elegant take on a swan out there, but it at least got people talking.
Cosmopolitan wrote that the actor looked like an undertaker. To me, though, Harrelson seems more like a character out of some kind of steampunk alternate universe of The Matrix.
For the premier of his film Music and Lyrics in Amsterdam, Grant spent a lot of his red carpet time with a "fan" who'd handcuffed herself to him. According to Fox, the woman was from a prank show and ended up getting arrested.
Speaking with Nancy O'Dell from Entertainment Tonight, Taylor Swift was asked about her love life in a move that most thought was pretty inappropriate. But the singer dispelled any speculation by talking about going home to her cats, so there's that.
When asked about the possibility of retiring, Howard delivered a pretty...strange response. He might have been on to something about the universe, but then again, maybe not.
While talking with Graham Norton on his show after the event, Amy Schumer explained that she fell in front of Kim and Kanye as a prank. And to be honest, the fact that she did it on purpose makes it a lot more awkward.
In 2016, Stone broke down her awkward moment, in which she hugged Chazelle, who was actually trying to hug his date. At least the actress could laugh about it later.
During the 2012 Oscar red carpet, Cohen, dressed and in character for The Dictator, had an urn with fake ashes in it. He then proceeded to spill them all over an unsuspecting Ryan Seacrest, who was just trying to conduct an interview.
Because of course someone had to clean the ashes up. And of course Segal happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Of course, Griffith hadn't seen the sexually explicit movie, which starred her daughter, Dakota Johnson. To make things weirder, they got into a bit of an argument about whether Griffith should see the film.
Whether they were trolling or just not that into the interview questions, Lil Uzi Vert delivered some of the most low energy answers on the red carpet that night.
Pharrell Williams was one of the talented artists behind the score of Hidden Figures, which was nominated at the 2017 Golden Globes. Jenna Bush Hager, who was interviewing the artist, talked about his nomination for Hidden Fences, a movie that doesn't exist.
Hidden Figures and Fences were both nominated that night. Notably, both movies feature African American leads. Bush Hager did come out and apologize for the mix up later.
When announcing Octavia Spencer's nomination for the same film, Michael Keaton introduced the film as Hidden Fences. Weird.
Rancic was in the middle of interviewing Clarke, but then spotted Heidi Klum and decided the interview was over. "You can go now..." yeesh.
Years before the Oscar Slap that nearly ruined Will Smith's career, Russian prankster Vitalii Sediuk tried to kiss the actor on a red carpet. Smith, who was not playing around, gave him a pretty light tap on the face.
Sediuk also appeared at the How to Train Your Dragon premier, and decided to try and crawl under Ferrera's dress. He ultimately got escorted away.
Accidentally letting a condom fall out of your pocket wouldn't be nearly as awkward if it happened anywhere but the red carpet for a children's movie like The Lorax. Which is exactly where Efron was when it happened.
It was pretty clear that Seinfeld had no idea who Kesha was at the time. At least he let her down politely.
Once again, Seduik struck the red carpet. In this case, he clung to Cooper's leg (and had to be removed, of course).
Seduik is nothing if not consistent. When hugging Leonardo DiCaprio at a red carpet event, the actor seemed strangely unfazed.
Not a red carpet, but still a pretty awkward interaction. Seduik came behind Gigi Hadid as she was leaving a show in Milan, picked her up, and got more than he bargained for when a (rightfully) furious Hadid fought him off.
While Steinfeld absolutely stunned at the 2017 Oscars, her dress had a pretty big tear (look at the red circle in the image).
The designer's heel nearly destroyed Rihanna's whole look at the Met Gala. Luckily, everything turned out okay.
To be fair, it was 2007, and Gomez was just a teenager at the time. But listening to her talk about her "edgy" blue hair is still pretty cringe.
At an afterparty for the infamous 2022 Oscars, Haddish corrects Lauren Zima, who said the comedian had a "costume change." It's actually Dolce & Gabbana.
Giuliana Rancic interviewed Issa Rae at the 2018 Golden Globes, asking what a potential memoir for the actress would be called. I guess she forgot that Rae already wrote one.
When asked if she want Lisa Rinna to return to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Sutton stayed absolutely silent.
Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but this one of Jones and Witherspoon shaking wrists with an awkward staff member between them speaks a million.
While promoting Scenes From a Marriage, Isaac went ahead and kissed Chastain's elbow... for some reason.
Messing was pretty quick to point out to Giuliana Rancic that the male hosts on E! get paid a lot more than the female hosts.
The actress is no stranger to awkward moments, and her tripping on the Oscars red carpet is just one of them.
The year before, when going to accept her Best Actress win, Lawrence tripped on her way up to the stage.
While promoting the movie The Other Woman, Mann grabbed Cameron Diaz's butt for some unknown reason.
The interviewer decided live television was the place to grab one of Scarlett Johansson's breasts in order to feel the padding on her dress.
The Hunger Games star asked about her costar's rash while passing him by on the red carpet. Why? Why not?
At the 2016 Emmy's Schumer let everyone know that she had an OB tampon on. Not that anyone asked.
The actress called Seacrest's question about her shoes "ridiculous." And to be fair, it really was.
Their entire exchange is pretty awkward, but after Harlow says, "love you, bye," Chamberlain looks visibly confused.
The interviewers clearly didn't know that the Big Bang Theory alum is actual a neuroscientist in real life.
When trying to interview Laura Linney and Jennifer Garner, Gary Bussey interrupts to talk to Seacrest. And then he kisses Garner on the neck...
Were silk bedsheets ever in style as something people wore? Probably not.
The dress Gaga wore to the 2015 Oscars was stunning. The gloves, though, looked like the kind you'd use to wash dishes.
The slits on Teigen's dress might've been too high, and she definitely looked uncomfortable wearing it.
The dress itself is mostly fine. But between the hair and necklace, it's a fashion don't.
Poor Johansson just couldn't catch a break that night. She looked more than a little uncomfortable when Travolta came by.
Back in 2021, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's weird displays of affection were still pretty new. It's still weird now, but a little less unexpected.
In 2022, Kardashian and Barker had an equally uncomfortable PDA moment. When will celeb couples learn?
Celebrities are just like us, in that even they can't walk in a long dress and heels that well.
Not only is that not a picture of Jason Derulo, it wasn't even taken at the Gala.
Again, not a red carpet moment. But Nicki's "Miley what's good?" is both iconic, and a little awkward.
Interrupting an interview is awkward enough, but doing so by throwing a makeup compact at Madonna? Just plain odd.
"I'm not saying I'm hating on the fit but, let's move on." Probably not the best thing for an interviewer to tell a star, whether it's the truth or not.
We probably won't know if it worked or not, but it sure was a little awkward to watch.
Of all the statements to make on a dress, this one is pretty inoffensive. But still weird.
Good thing there were plenty of bodyguards around to keep the fight from getting ugly.
Mere hours before he interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, West was caught drinking right on the red carpet.
2019's Venice Film Festival literally could not go on until Hosk found that earring.
Everyone thought it was strange how the then-couple would wear their blood around their necks. But according to Thornton, it wasn't that weird.
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2018, he stated that they just put a little bit of blood on the necklaces. "But by the time it came out in the press it sounded like we were wearing a bucket of blood around our necks."
Those high heels celebs wear definitely aren't comfortable, and at the 2018 Cannes Festival, Stewart decided to take a stand against them.
Between the dress and the weird little jacket, this outfit did nothing for Hudson.
Kidman completely ignored Rivers, who'd shouted, "Nicole! Come tell me why you wore such an ugly color!"
While goofing around with Catalina Sandino Moreno, Cera fell. And then, just kept falling.
Their matching black outfits really didn't do either of them any favors.
Between rumored feuds between Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde, not to mention "Spitgate" and a number of other strange controversies, there were plenty of awkward moments to be had.
A year after splitting with Amy Poehler, Arnett was asked how he got ready with his wife for the Emmy Awards ceremony, to which he responded, "I don't really have a significant other… She doesn't exist."
Danielle Demski for TNT asked how Jones was able to look so tanned. Jones, the daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, responded with, "I mean, you know, I'm ethnic."
While attending a premier for Frozen, Hart's makeup artist clearly didn't blend properly.
The ruffles, which kind of resembled a fungal colony, were definitely one risk that didn't pay off.
On one hand, the color is nice. On the other hand, the dress looks a little... cheap.
At least the awkward moment from 2015 prevented something that would've been even more awkward.
The top looks like a camisole, and the bottom looks like a ballgown. It just doesn't make sense.
Talk about an odd hairstyle choice to go with that outfit.
Paltrow may be an acting powerhouse, but this outfit is an absolute fail.
It looks like something Elsa would wear, minus the incredibly constricting chest area.
The dress itself is quite nice, but gets ruined by that shoulder piece.
The dress at least works for both of them. Still, that's got to be awkward.
Bündchen's dress seemed pretty out of place for an Oscars red carpet. It looks more like something you'd wear on the beach.
Some argue that this is the most beautiful Oscar dress in existence. Cosmopolitan, on the other hand, thinks it's pretty overrated.
Robbins is dressed in a suit that kind of resembles outer space. A spacesuit, if you will.
It would have actually been a nice dress, if the skirt section looked less like it was just pinned on there.
The more you look, the worse it gets. The dress is an odd color, has no shape, and has a weird thing going on with the bottom.
The dress is so bad, it's almost actually good. But not quite.
He wouldn't have looked so out of place if he were going to the prom. Or if it were the 1980s.
No suits should ever be made entirely out of velvet again.
The dress is definitely a product of its time, but not in a bad way. The hair, on the other hand, is an absolute travesty.
Is it a red carpet gown? Probably not. Is it a nightgown? Well it definitely looks like one.
Apart from being a very odd shade of pink, this dress feels like it could've done well in an ice dancing show.
Are they supposed to elevate the look, or make them look more causal? Because either way, they just don't work.
The button down shirt under that dress? Not as good as Goldberg probably thought it'd be.
Jolie attended the 2000 Oscars with her brother, and won for her role in Girl, Interrupted. Years later, she addressed the infamous kiss, though:
"First, we’re the best of friends", she said to PEOPLE. "And it wasn’t some odd open-mouthed kiss. It was disappointing that something so beautiful and pure could be turned into a circus."
It's definitely safe to say that the actress is known for her... interesting red carpet looks.
The dress's color isn't very flattering against Hathaway's skin. But the glaring nipple outlines are, well, glaring.
There's something pretty off about this dress. And not because it's asymmetrical. Well, not completely because of that.
The dresses came from different decades, are made from different materials, and still both have those odd collar things. And neither of them work.
The hat, the sunglasses, the fact that the blazer is on backwards. Nothing makes sense.
It's an attempt at a moulin rouge kind of outfit. The keyword here is "attempt," though.
Something about the cut and material just don't work. It definitely doesn't feel like a red carpet outfit.
