Will Smith’s Slap, Best Picture Mix-Up, J. Law’s Fall and More of the Most Unforgettable Oscars Moments of All Time

Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock

Will Smith's Slap, Best Picture Mix-Up, J. Law's Fall and More of the Most Unforgettable Oscars Moments of All Time

A lasting memory! The biggest night in movies has played host to numerous noteworthy moments throughout the years. From awkward falls to emotional speeches, it’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen at the Academy Awards. In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence shocked many when she fell going up the stairs to accept the Oscar for best actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. The Hunger Games star didn't expect to win — which led to the unexpected moment — but she tried to take it in stride. "I didn't want to acknowledge the possibility that I would win. I didn't want to write down a speech," Lawerence recalled during an interview on Dear Media's "Absolutely Not with Heather McMahan" podcast in October 2020. "I had everything in my head. I was very, very nervous but I was ready. All of the adrenaline clears out and they call my name and I'm elated and I'm in shock. ... And then I fell, and it erased everything from my mind. My full brain went blank." In addition to humorous occurrences, there have also been some more serious mishaps. In 2017, La La Land was announced as the winner for Best Picture when it was actually Moonlight that won the award. Producer Jordan Horowitz was in the middle of his acceptance speech before everyone realized the mistake. Presenter Warren Beatty, explained to the audience at the time, “I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land. That’s why I took such a long look at Faye [Dunway] and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.” Stone had just won best actress in the category before Best Picture. Luckily, the Academy Awards offered for the winners to get their time to shine the following year with a re-do of the award acceptance. However, this opportunity was turned down by the cast and crew of the film. At the time, Moonlight director Barry Jenkins said that a do-over would not be the same and that he would not have the chance to enjoy the moment. “It’s bittersweet because when that switch happened, I didn’t enjoy it," Jenkins said to the Hollywood Reporter in February 2018. “I’m never going to get the opportunity to enjoy that – because even if it happens again, it won’t be the same. Moonlight was a very special film for me. It was super-personal.” The most unforgettable moments though can sometimes come from the performances themselves. Viewers were left shocked during the 2019 Oscars when costars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed their song "Shallow" from the movie A Star Is Born. The pair cozied up to one another during their performance and held intense eye contact as they sang the powerful tune, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Although Cooper took his then-girlfriend, Irina Shayk, to the awards show, there were still fans on social media who couldn't look away from the strong chemistry between the Hangover alum and the Grammy winner. Keep scrolling to reflect on the most memorable moments from the Academy Awards of all time! [podcast_block]

Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock

Will Smith's Slap, Best Picture Mix-Up, J. Law's Fall and More of the Most Unforgettable Oscars Moments of All Time

A lasting memory! The biggest night in movies has played host to numerous noteworthy moments throughout the years. From awkward falls to emotional speeches, it’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen at the Academy Awards. In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence shocked many when she fell going up the stairs to accept the Oscar for best actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. The Hunger Games star didn't expect to win — which led to the unexpected moment — but she tried to take it in stride. "I didn't want to acknowledge the possibility that I would win. I didn't want to write down a speech," Lawerence recalled during an interview on Dear Media's "Absolutely Not with Heather McMahan" podcast in October 2020. "I had everything in my head. I was very, very nervous but I was ready. All of the adrenaline clears out and they call my name and I'm elated and I'm in shock. ... And then I fell, and it erased everything from my mind. My full brain went blank." In addition to humorous occurrences, there have also been some more serious mishaps. In 2017, La La Land was announced as the winner for Best Picture when it was actually Moonlight that won the award. Producer Jordan Horowitz was in the middle of his acceptance speech before everyone realized the mistake. Presenter Warren Beatty, explained to the audience at the time, “I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land. That’s why I took such a long look at Faye [Dunway] and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.” Stone had just won best actress in the category before Best Picture. Luckily, the Academy Awards offered for the winners to get their time to shine the following year with a re-do of the award acceptance. However, this opportunity was turned down by the cast and crew of the film. At the time, Moonlight director Barry Jenkins said that a do-over would not be the same and that he would not have the chance to enjoy the moment. “It’s bittersweet because when that switch happened, I didn’t enjoy it," Jenkins said to the Hollywood Reporter in February 2018. “I’m never going to get the opportunity to enjoy that – because even if it happens again, it won’t be the same. Moonlight was a very special film for me. It was super-personal.” The most unforgettable moments though can sometimes come from the performances themselves. Viewers were left shocked during the 2019 Oscars when costars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed their song "Shallow" from the movie A Star Is Born. The pair cozied up to one another during their performance and held intense eye contact as they sang the powerful tune, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Although Cooper took his then-girlfriend, Irina Shayk, to the awards show, there were still fans on social media who couldn't look away from the strong chemistry between the Hangover alum and the Grammy winner. Keep scrolling to reflect on the most memorable moments from the Academy Awards of all time! [podcast_block]

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Marlon Brando Bails

Typically, accepting an Oscar is an offer stars can't refuse, but in 1973, Brando boycotted the Academy Awards when he won Best Actor for The Godfather. He sent Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Littlefeather took the stage and declined the award on Brando's behalf due to the unfair "treatment of American Indians today by the film industry."

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Sally Field Feels the Love

"I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me," Field declared, throwing her arms out while accepting her second Oscar for her role in Places in the Heart in 1984. The speech went on to be misquoted, "You like me, you really like me!" but the genuine moment lives on in Oscars history.

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Anna Paquin's Pint-Size Win

At age 11, Paquin became the second-youngest Oscar winner ever in 1994 for her supporting role in The Piano. Wearing a purple beanie and gasping, the tiny, rather breathless New Zealand native managed to thank her manager and family before walking off the stage with her golden trophy.

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James Cameron's King of the World

I'm flying, James! In 1998, Cameron won Best Director for his historical romance Titanic. "There is no way that I can express to you what I'm feeling right now, my heart is full to bursting, except to say, ‘I'm the king of the world!'" Cameron declared, mimicking Jack Dawson's (Leonardo DiCaprio's) famous line from the film and flinging his arms open wide.

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Gwyneth Paltrow's Blushing Pink

In 1999, Paltrow got her princess moment in a pink Ralph Lauren gown when she won Best Actress for her performance in Shakespeare in Love. "I would like to thank the Academy from the bottom of my heart!" the tear-drenched star declared.

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Angelina Jolie's Creepy Speech

Brotherly love! “I’m in shock, and I’m so in love with my brother right now!” Jolie (before Billy Bob Thornton or Brad Pitt) declared in 2000, when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted. Dressed in a Morticia Adams–like getup, she brought her brother, James Haven, as her date for the evening, and the two later kissed on the red carpet.

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Bjork's Swan Dress

In one of the most iconic fashion moves of the 21st century, Icelandic artist Bjork wore a dress crafted to look like a giant swan at the 2001 Oscars. The ensemble was designed by Marjan Pejoski. "What they don't mention is that I had brought six ostrich eggs with me, and I was dropping them carefully on the red carpet," Bjork later told GQ. "But other people's bodyguards kept picking them up and saying in their thick American accents, ''Scuse me, ma'am, you dropped this.'"

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Julia Roberts' Sassy Acceptance Speech

In 2001, Roberts took home her first Best Actress Oscar for the titular role in Erin Brockovich, and wanted to get her time during her acceptance speech. “Sir, you’re doing a great job, but you’re so quick with that stick, so why don’t you sit, ‘cause I may never be here again,” she told the orchestra conductor, who cuts off speeches.

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Halle Berry and Denzel Washington Make History

No one was more shocked than Berry in 2002 when she became the first black actress to win a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball. Overcome with emotion, she could barely get the words out, saying, “This moment is so much bigger than me.” Later that night, Washington became the first black actor to win Best Actor since 1963 and the first black actor to win two Oscars ever for his role in Training Day.

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"Lose Yourself" Wins

In 2003, rapper Eminem skipped the Oscars because he was sure his original song, "Lose Yourself," from 8 Mile wouldn't win. Surprisingly, the song won and co-writer Luis Resto accepted the honor on his behalf.

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Hugh Jackman's Opening Number

Following the recession of 2008, Jackman hosted the 2009 Oscars. “Everything is being downsized because of the recession,” he explained. “Due to cutbacks, the Academy said they didn’t have enough money for an opening number. You know what, I’m going to do one anyway!” He then broke into a musical tribute to the Best Picture nominees with homemade props. When Anne Hathaway jumped in for a dance number, it solidified one of the most painful performances in Oscars history.

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Jennifer Aniston's Brangelina Faceoff

Awkward! In 2009, Aniston presented the Best Animated Feature and Best Short Film alongside Jack Black. The moment was memorable because it marked the first time the star stood in the same room as ex-husband Pitt and his then-girlfriend, Jolie, whom he’d been rumored to be having an affair with during their marriage. 

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Heath Ledger's Posthumous Win

In 2009, a year after he died from an accidental prescription drug overdose, Ledger won the Best Supporting Actor award for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight. It was only the second posthumous Oscar to be handed out. “This award tonight would have validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here, his peers within an industry he so loved,” Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, said during the family’s acceptance speech.

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Ben Stiller's Impression

He’s still here! While presenting at the 2009 Oscars, Stiller jokingly walked out in a beard and placed his gum under the podium, mocking Joaquin Phoenix’s infamous David Letterman interview. “I just want to retire from being a funny guy, that’s all,” Stiller said.

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Kate Winslet Finally Wins

After six nominations, British powerhouse Winslet finally took home the trophy for her role in The Reader in 2009. “I’d be lying if I haven’t made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably 8 years old speaking into the bathroom mirror and this would have been a shampoo bottle. Well, it’s not a shampoo bottle now,” Winslet declared.

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Kathryn Bigelow Makes Historic Win

The ultimate ex-wife's revenge! In 2010, Bigelow became the first female director to win an Oscar for The Hurt Locker. To make her win even sweeter, Bigelow beat out her ex-husband, James Cameron, who was nominated for Avatar.

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Anne Hathaway and James Franco's Horrific Hosting

To appeal to a younger demographic, the Academy selected Hathaway and Franco to host the 2011 Oscars. It turned into a rather excruciating evening that featured musical numbers, bad jokes, and Franco cross-dressing. Years later, Hathaway advised future hosts to “do the opposite of what I did, and you’ll be fine.”

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Angelina Jolie's Leg

Sparking memes and fashion trends everywhere, Jolie popped her right leg out in a stunning high-slit black Atelier Versace dress at the 2012 Oscars. She was later mocked onstage by The Descendants screenwriter Jim Rash when he went onstage to accept his Oscar.

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Jennifer Lawrence's Trip

Ouch! On her way up to accept her Best Actress Oscar for her role in Silver Linings Playbook in 2013, Lawrence tripped on the stairs in her voluminous Dior gown. “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell, and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you,” she said laughing.

Credit: Courtesy of Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres' Selfie

Social media ruled the 2014 Oscars, when host DeGeneres rounded up some of the night’s top celebs, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Pitt, Jolie and Lawrence, for a star-packed selfie. Sorry, Kim Kardashian, but this broke the internet first.

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Lady Gaga Performs ‘Sound of Music’ Medley

In 2015, the singer captivated the audience when she sang “The Hills Are Alive," "Edelweiss" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain” in honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie’s 1965 release. Afterward, Julie Andrews, who played Maria in the musical classic, joined Gaga on stage to present the Oscar for Best Original Score. "It really warmed my heart, it really did," she said.

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Patricia Arquette Advocates for Women’s Rights

The actress called for equal rights while accepting the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in Boyhood in 2015. "To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights — it's our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America," she said. The crowd burst into applause while Streep memorably pointed to Arquette and yelled, “Yes!”

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Chris Pine Cries at 'Glory' Performance

The hunky star shed a single tear as John Legend and Common performed their Oscar-winning song “Glory” from the drama Selma in 2015. Pine and David Oyelowo got emotional as they looked on from their seats. "It was a wonderful performance, and it was really moving," Pine told James Corden during an appearance on The Late Late Show the following month. "And a lot of people gave me a lot of crap for it — a single tear."

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Leonardo DiCaprio Finally Wins

He’s the king of the world! The star — who was nominated six times before he won — finally took home an Oscar in 2016. His peers gave him a standing ovation as he accepted the award for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Revenant. He thanked the cast and crew and spoke about climate change during his speech. “Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species. We need to work together to stop procrastinating,” he said. “Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.”

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Lady Gaga Performs "Til It Happens to You"

Gaga brought viewers to tears when she performed “Til It Happens to You” surrounded by sexual assault survivors at the 2016 Academy Awards. The song, which was nominated at that year’s show for Best Original Song, was written for The Hunting Ground, a 2015 documentary about campus rape in the United States. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden introduced the performance and later tweeted, “Proud to stand by my friend @LadyGaga tonight. Pure courage that inspires, challenges us all. #ItsOnUs. All of us.”

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La La Land is Mistakenly Announced as Best Picture Winner

It was the Best Picture announcement that will never be forgotten. In 2017, Faye Dunaway mistakenly announced La La Land as the winner of Best Picture, but when producer Jordan Horowitz got up to accept the award he realized something was wrong — Moonlight was the actual winner. “There’s a mistake,” Horowitz told the audience. “Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.” Warren Beatty, who presented the award with Dunaway, later explained that mishap. “I opened the envelope and it said, ‘Emma Stone, La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye, and at you,” he told host Jimmy Kimmel as the Moonlight execs made their way up to the stage. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

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Celebrities Surprise Fans in a Movie Theater

In 2018, host Kimmel decided to spice things up during the awards show and invited celebrities to leave the Dolby Theatre and surprise a crowd who was seeing A Wrinkle in Time across the street. Gal Gadot, Margot Robbie, Armie Hammer, Lupita Nyong’o, Ansel Elgort, Emily Blunt and more all trekked to the TCL Chinese Theater and handed out candy, hotdogs and more yummy food items while the audience couldn't believe what was going on.

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Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Perform "Shallow"

Gaga and Cooper's rendition of "Shallow" from their movie, A Star Is Born, at the 2019 Oscars left viewers in total awe. The costars' chemistry was apparent as they stared into each other's eyes throughout the performance, which ended with the Hangover alum sitting next to the Grammy winner at the piano and lovingly nestling his head in the crook of her neck. One fan tweeted after watching: “If you try to tell me Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga aren’t in love, I am going to call you a liar. #Oscars.”

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Eminem Surprises Crowd With ‘Lose Yourself’ Performance

The rapper delivered an unannounced performance of his 8 Mile song “Lose Yourself” at the 2020 ceremony, nearly two decades after winning Best Original Song. “Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity,” he tweeted later in the evening along with a clip of his win being announced by Barbra Streisand in 2003. “Thanks for having me @TheAcademy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here.”

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Glenn Close Steals the Show

Though fans weren’t thrilled when Questlove announced it was time to play a game toward the end of the 2021 Oscars, the bit was worth it when Glenn Close busted out her dance moves.

“Wait just a second. That’s ‘Da Butt.’ I know, ‘Da Butt,’ it was a classic song by the great Washington, D.C., go-go band E.U.,” she said after being asked a trivia question about the 1988 track. “So, wait, no, I remember this. Spike Lee had it written for his brilliant movie, School Daze. Sadly, my friends at the Oscars missed this one and it was not nominated so it couldn’t win.”

To everyone’s excitement, the eight-time Academy Awards nominee then showed the room she was familiar with the song's dance moves as well.

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Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock

While presenting an award at the 2022 Oscars, Rock made a quip about Jada Pinkett Smith — who has alopecia and was sporting ashaved head — starring in G.I. Jane 2. She rolled her eyes as her husband marched on stage and slapped the presenter. “Will Smith just f—king smacked the s—t out of me,” Rock said.

After walking back to his seat, Smith yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth. Keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth!”

Diddy took the stage moments later and tried to remain positive amid the drama. “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve that like family at the gold party," he said before continuing to present.

Smith later got emotional while accepting the trophy for best actor for his role in King Richard. "I want to be a vessel for love. ... That's what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern," he said. "I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees."

The actor tearfully concluded, "Thank you. I hope the Academy invites me back."