Live television has proven itself time and time again to be the perfect storm of cameras
and spontaneity - capable of producing truly embarrassing, uncomfortable moments that will
live on forever in our hearts and on the internet.
From Taylor Swift’s awkward awards show call-out to Tara Reid’s unforgettable Shark
Week appearance, these live TV moments are like bad accidents from which you simply can’t
look away.
So, kick back, relax, and prepare for some serious second-hand embarrassment.
J-Law shuts down a hater
Oh, Jennifer Lawrence - she always keeps it real, and has a bit of a tendency to fall
during awards ceremonies.
But J-Law’s tumble at the 2014 Oscars wasn't anywhere near as uncomfortable as her off-script
call-out later that night.
While presenting the award for Best Actor to Matthew McConaughey Lawrence noticed Jared
Leto seemingly laughing at her as she took to the stage - something the starlet couldn’t
seem to let slide.
"Why are you laughing?
What, is this funny?
Oh, okay."
As it turned out, Leto and his family were laughing, but only because Oscars host Ellen
DeGeneres was pantomiming and mouthing, "Don't fall!" as Lawrence walked onstage.
Leto told Billy Bush what he really thinks of Lawrence’s red carpet mishaps in a 2014
interview, saying, “You know, I’m starting to wonder if this is a bit of an act.”
This tan is all natural
Things got really uncomfortable for Rashida Jones on the 2015 SAG Awards red carpet, but
she handled the situation with her signature brand of sarcastic comedy.
Jones, the daughter of record producer Quincy Jones, was attending the ceremony as a presenter
when she was called over for an interview by TNT's Danielle Demski.
The questions started pretty typically, but things quickly took a rather unfortunate turn.
"You look like you've just come off like an island or something.
You're very tan, very tropical."
“I mean, you know.
I’m ethnic.”
Demski laughed off her ill-advised remark, but Jones' uncomfortable smile said it all.
It was a cringe-worthy moment for all parties involved, including the fans who had to sit
through it.
A Taylor Swift scorned
For Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends, having a pop radio hit written about their biggest
faults is the cost of doing business - just ask Harry Styles, the inspiration for quite
a few of Swift's biggest hits from both Red and 1989.
Or take it from Taylor herself.
In 2013, Swift was accepting an MTV Video Music Award for "I Knew You Were Trouble"
when she went completely off the rails to call out her famous ex and muse.
“I wanna thank the person who inspired this song, who knows exactly who he is.
Because, now I got one of these.
Thank you so much!”
Ouch.
Styles was later asked about the incident on Extra, saying:
"It's alright, she likes a joke."
"That was about you?"
“I like a joke as much as the next guy, so it's all good."
Uncomfortable, much?
You’re tearing him apart, James!
Tommy Wiseau is famous for mysteriously self-funding the multi-million dollar budget for his cult
masterpiece The Room, which simultaneously fulfilled his dreams of becoming a famed actor
and director.
His inspiring story proves that you can achieve anything as long as you throw enough money
at it, even though he didn't truly rise to mainstream success until more than a decade
later when James Franco took Wiseau's unconventional success story to the big screen - then totally
cut him off at the Golden Globes.
After winning a Golden Globe for his depiction of Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, Franco invited
him onstage during his acceptance speech.
But what was supposed to be a moment of vindication for Wiseau turned out to be painfully awkward
instead when Franco blocked Wiseau from getting the microphone.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
Looks like someone didn’t want to share the spotlight.
Tara Reid: Shark Expert
Tara Reid's appearance on Discovery Channel's Shark After Dark was more than just a lesson
in biology - it was a lesson on why you should never show up to a live taping under the influence.
During Shark Week’s hit show, the Sharknado star let viewers know she did a whole lot
of research to appear smart on the subject - no American Pie-worthy blonde moment here.
Unfortunately, her rant about whale sharks was almost entirely unintelligible and got
pretty awkward.
“I think, 'Well how does a whale and a shark have sex?'
And then I looked up-"
"Was there a video of it?"
"No!
Because there's a thing called whale sharks."
Reid might not be a biologist, but that didn’t stop her from delivering an - interesting
take on whale sharks.
“They must, you know.
And then I realized that whales are mammals and sharks are animals.
They have nothing to do with each other.”
While no one can say for sure that Reid had sipped on a little too much of the sauce,
her appearance did remind us of a certain drunken SNL character.
“So maybe next time you're on your new iPad, look up how to be a decent human being.”
Steve Harvey's Miss Universe mistake
Who can forget Steve Harvey's baffling Miss Universe mix-up?
Not only was the moment monumentally uncomfortable for viewers watching the pageant live on Fox,
but Harvey received so much backlash that he had to hire armed security guards, which
he still has in his home today.
Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner of the 2015 Miss Universe pageant after producers
urged him to immediately read the next name from the teleprompter, though the card showed
Miss Philippines had actually won the competition.
Producers hoped to straighten things out with the press the following morning, but Harvey
marched back out and announced the real winner on live TV.
“The first runner-up is Colombia.”
The resulting footage was one of the most uncomfortable things ever captured on television.
No one wants to watch a beauty queen lose her crown.
David Blaine’s scary stare
It’s the famously uncomfortable interview in which David Blaine gave us all the heebie
jeebies before breakfast.
Eamonn Holmes may have been voted best UK breakfast TV presenter, but his talents were
no match for this 2001 interview with the infinitely puzzling Blaine, who’s apparently
equally as baffling even when he’s not performing tricks.
In this interview, we're not quite highlighting uncomfortable things Blaine said, but rather
all the moments where he actually didn't say anything at all.
Blaine, who was promoting his special Frozen In Time, was essentially mute during the entirety
of the segment, though his creepy stare said volumes.
The TV host eventually got so fed up that he asked Blaine,
“Is this part of the show, this sort of moody persona and the stare and the eyes and
all that sort of thing?
That’s just you?”
Things only got stranger from there.
“The eye on the hand.
What is that, what is the eye on the hand?
Let's see that again.”
We’re not quite sure Holmes was ready for Blaine's, uh, answer:
"Takes him from death."
“Ooooh, mmm.”
Creepy!