Oscars 2026: The shocking and cringe-worthy moments we wish we could forget from over the years

It’s nearly time for the star-studded Oscars where we find out if any of our favourite movies from last year win big — it’s also time for celebrities to accidentally make a fool of themselves or become the next huge pop culture moment of 2026.

From Adrien Brody’s strange act of kissing Halle Berry without her permission in 2003 to the infamous slapping incident, we relive some of the biggest Oscars moments we wish we could forget before new ones take the spotlight on Monday.

Movie buffs in Perth keen to wake up early can catch the Red Carpet Live Show from 5.30am on Seven and 7plus.

The awards ceremony will start at 7am with an encore screening at 6pm.

Adrien Brody kisses Halle Berry kiss - 2003

It was a moment that made a lot of headlines and it was something no one saw coming, especially Halle Berry.

Berry was presenting the award for Best Actor which went to Brody for his role in The Pianist.

Before accepting his award he embraced the actress in his arms and planted an unexpected kiss on her mouth.

“I bet they didn’t tell you that (kiss) was in the gift bag,” Brody joked before launching into his acceptance speech.

When asked by Access Hollywood in 2006 if Brody was a good kisser, Berry said, “Since we didn’t really kiss, I can’t tell you how good he was, but I can tell you this. He was wet.”

Brody copped backlash for his behaviour and the non-consensual kiss kept raising its head years later.

Berry addressed the event on Watch What Happens Live in 2017.

“I was like, ‘What the f..k is happening right now?’ That is what was going through my mind,” she told the show’s host Andy Cohen.

“And because I was there the year before and I know the feeling of being out of your body, I just f..king went with it. But I was like, ‘What the f..k is going on right now?’”

Brody referred to the moment this year when he told Variety, “We live in a very conscious time, which is a wonderful thing... And nothing that I ever do or have done or would’ve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad.”

And Berry eventually got her payback at the 2025 Oscars when she kissed Brody on the red carpet.

“Surpriseee @adrienbrody!! I had to get some payback,” she said in a video of the moment shared to Instagram.

Another moment that saw Berry make the Oscar headlines was in 2021 when everybody couldn’t stop talking about her ultra-short hairstyle — a dramatic change from her long locks.

While the haircut turned out to be a wig, social media was filled with viral memes of her.

Jennifer Lawrence fall - 2013

It’s another moment that went viral across social media and certainly one The Hunger Games star would like to forget.

While the actress was walking up the stairs to the stage to accept the award for Best Actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, she tripped and fell.

It seemed her voluminous strapless Dior dress was responsible for the embarrassing mishap streamed around the globe.

Production designer Derek McLane, who was in the audience at the time, told Harper’s Bazaar in 2017 he was “horrified” when it happened.

“I thought someone had spilled something and then I realised it was her dress,” he said.

“She got caught on it. Thank God she was okay.”

Anne Hathaway ill-fated dress - 2013

It seems we aren’t the only ones to think this choice of dress does a disservice for Anne Hathaway.

While the pink Prada gown was a last-minute decision after her original Valentino dress was deemed too similar to another actress attending the event.

Fashion critics slammed the garment’s stiff silhouette while Hathaway herself later said: “It looked like my nipples were hard”.

That year she won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Les Miserables.

Pharrell Williams breaks tradition - 2014

Is it a vibe or no?

The music heavyweight set tongues wagging in 2014 after he rocked up to the Oscars in shorts and no socks.

Questionable, yes. But the unusual choice did have fashion experts labelling Williams as one of Hollywood’s biggest risk-taking men.

La La Land and Moonlight mix-up - 2017

This is probably up there in the top most memorable Oscars moments (keep reading for number one) that we are sure Oscars’ presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty want to erase from their memories.

When the pair were announcing the all-important Best Picture award, they announced La La Land as the winner not Moonlight.

La La Land’s producers were more than two minutes into their acceptance speeches when one of them, Jordan Horowitz, interupted after realising the mix-up.

“Guys, I’m sorry there’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.”

It was such a surreal moment to happen on live TV.

It later came out that Dunaway and Beatty were given the incorrect envelope which apparently had the name of the Best Actress winner Emma Stone above the words La La Land.

Will Smith slap - 2022

Finally we arrive at ‘The Slap’.

Arguably one of the most significant pop culture moment of the year was when Will Smith whacked Chris Rock across the face at the 2022 Oscars.

The controversy began when Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary (Feature) and aimed a joke at Jada Pinkett Smith.

“Javier Bardem and his wife are both nominated,” he said. “Now if she loses, he can’t win! He’s praying that Will Smith wins, like ‘Please! Lord!’ Jada, I love ya, G.I. Jane 2 — can’t wait to see it.”

The camera panned to Pinkett Smith, who rolled her eyes, while Smith appeared to be laughing along. But just minutes later, Smith caught Rock off guard when he walked up to him on stage and slapped him across the face.

Smith then left the stage and sat down, while a stunned Rock said “Will Smith just smacked the s..t out of me.” Smith interjected, yelling twice: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f..king mouth”.

Following the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy.

Emilia Perez controversy - 2025

This controversial musical crime comedy from 2024 follows the story of a Mexican cartel leader played by Karla Sofia Gascon who fakes his own death before enlisting an attorney played by Zoe Saldana to help transition as a woman.

Despite receiving 13 nominations at the 2025 Oscars, the Spanish film actually caused major upset within the Mexican community due to its depiction of drug cartels.

The LGBTIQ+ community also took issue with how transgender people were represented in the film, which also stars Selena Gomez, with further outrage stemming from racist and offensive comments made by Gascon that resurfaced on X.

Gascon apologised and deleted her X account but didn’t attend many events across the awards season including the 2025 Oscars due to the backlash.

The movie however did end up winning Best Supporting Actress which went to Saldana and Best Original Song for El Mal.

When Saldana accepted her award she addressed the criticism from a Mexican journalist who felt that the film was “really hurtful for us Mexicans”.

“First of all, I’m very, very sorry that many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention,” she said.

“We spoke from a place of love. I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women.

“And these women could have been Russian, could have been Dominican, could have been Black from Detroit, could have been from Israel, could have been from Gaza.”