Top Ten Worst Live Television Blunders
March 16, 2017
The 2017 Oscars demonstrated the true power of live television to the world. Everyone watched in awe as the biggest award of the night, Best Picture, was handed over to the cast and producers of Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” only to be taken right back and given to Barry Jenkin’s “Moonlight.” It was awkward, it was uncomfortable, and above all else, it was live. In the wake of what some are calling the greatest live television blunder of all time, let’s take a look back at history and remind the 2017 Oscars that they aren’t at all alone.
- John Travolta forgets how to read, introduces “Adele Dazeem”
During the 2014 Oscars, John Travolta was given the job of announcing one of the night’s musical performers, Idina Menzel. Menzel was to perform her song from Frozen, “Let it Go,” which had already won an award for Best Original Song earlier in the night. But to my, and everyone’s enjoyment, Travolta’s simple task became an immediate internet sensation when he was unable to pronounce Menzel’s name and instead uttered the infamous words, “Adele Dazeem.”
- Christina Aguilera fumbles the lyrics to the National Anthem
Super Bowl XLV featured Christina Aguilera as its National Anthem performer; arguably the biggest performance of her career. By no means is singing the piece easy, but the Super Bowl is a national event and Aguilera was crucified for her wrongdoing. Instead of singing “o’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming,” she sang “what so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last reaming.” Many viewers missed the mistake, hence why it isn’t as high on the list as some would place it. But for Super Bowl super fans, it is a blunder that will go down in history.
- Oscars’ In Memoriam shows wrong photo of Janet Patterson
Many will remember the 2017 Oscars for its Best Picture gaffe, but what most viewers missed was it’s incredibly disrespectful and lazy “tribute” to famous costume and production designer, Janet Patterson. During the memoriam, the deceased honoree’s face is projected on to the screen along with their name– however, Patterson’s picture was not even her own. In fact, it was her close friend Jan Chapman who is alive and well. Chapman was devastated by the mistake as it not only smeared the memory of her friend, but also led some to believe that she herself was dead too. I for one was not aware of the mistake initially as I didn’t know who Chapman or Patterson is/was, but it still deserves a spot on the list for the stir it caused for both families.
- Kanye West attacks George Bush in hurricane Katrina commercial
After hurricane Katrina, NBCUniversal’s “A Concert for Hurricane Relief” aimed to raise money and awareness by bringing together several celebrities to speak on television and give their condolences. Kanye West accompanied Mike Myers in a live segment that was supposed to entail the two of them asking audiences to donate, but West had other plans. He instead used the commercial as a platform to speak out on the injustices that African Americans were facing at the time, and even called out the current president of the United States in a now famous Kanye quote, “George Bush does not care about black people.” Myers stared at West absolutely flabbergasted, and Bush would go on to recall it as the lowest point of his presidency.
- Australia’s Next Top Model pulls a Steve Harvey
In 2010, the final round of Australia’s Next Top Model was aired on live television for the entire country to watch. The winner was fed through an earpiece to the show’s host who was unfortunately given the wrong name. After a few minutes of celebration, the excitement was completely sucked out of the room when the show’s host had to explain that there had been a mistake and the runner-up was the true winner.
- Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift during 2009 VMAs
Kanye West has found his way on to the list again. However, instead of victimizing the president, this time he went after popstar sensation Taylor Swift. At the 2009 VMAs Taylor Swift beat out Beyoncé for Best Female Video– and West took personal offense to this. He climbed the stage, took her microphone in the middle of her speech and exclaimed, “I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Beyoncé looked helplessly embarrassed, and West would eventually leave the theater after a horde of boos.
- Mariah Carey puts on the show of the year in NYC
Mariah Carey was to perform two of her hit singles in Times Square before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. But instead, every home in America was treated to a show without lyrics. Carey was going to lip sync both songs, but a technical error prevented her from doing so and she very stubbornly stood while her dancers finished the performance behind her. Since then, Carey and her manager have blamed ABC’s producers, claiming that they purposefully kept the show going without Carey’s lip syncing audio as a means to get higher ratings. Whether this is the truth or not, Carey suffered embarrassment that kept her out of the spotlight for several weeks.
- Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway read wrong card at 2017 Oscars
You knew this was coming, and I must say, it wasn’t their fault. Beatty and Dunaway were given a duplicate card to the previous award, Best Actress in a Leading Role, which was given to Emma Stone. Stone had starred in “La La Land,” so naturally, Dunaway read aloud to the audience that “La La Land” had won. It wasn’t until after three acceptance speeches that the truth was revealed and the cast of “Moonlight” was brought to the stage to accept their award. Beatty explained himself immediately after, but the internet did not hesitate to take their anger out on both him and Dunaway all over social media.
- Janet Jackson has a wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl
Perhaps the biggest wardrobe malfunction of all time, it was tough not to put at number one. Super Bowl XXXVIII’s halftime show was performed by both Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. But Timberlake got a bit too overzealous on a dance move and somehow ripped off a piece of Jackson’s bra, exposing her breast. Luckily, a sun-shaped “nipple-embracer” covered most of the area and the show was cut on TV extremely quickly. Still, an exposure like that on the biggest sports stage in America is hard to cover up– as much as Jackson tried.
- Steve Harvey announces wrong winner of Miss Universe 2016
Perhaps the most unbelievable of them all has to be “Family Feud’s” very own Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner of the Miss Universe pageant just last year. Originally stating that Ms. Columbia had come out victorious, Harvey realized his mistake rather quickly and was forced to deliver the bad news: Colombia was the runner-up, and the Philippines contestant had won. Harvey handled it as best as he could, even showing the audience the card and apologizing repeatedly. Still, Harvey became a meme on the internet that lives on to this day and will go down in infamy. However, even after suffering such backlash, he would embrace the criticism and return to host the 2017 Miss Universe Contest.