The biggest, most famous and infamous viral moments from the last 10 Oscar telecasts.

Adele Dazeem (2014)

John Travolta was set to introduce Idina Menzel before she took the stage to sing “Let It Go” from the Oscar-winning film Frozen.  But he botched her entire name and introduced her as the “wickedly talented, one and only, Adele Dazeem.” It spark countless memes, but the singer-actress later said it was one of the best things that happened for her career.

 

Ellen DeGeneres’ Selfie Breaks Twitter (2014)

While the comedian was hosting in 2014, she took a selfie of herself with Bradley Cooper, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong’o, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Jared Leto. The tweet crashed Twitter after it became the most shared photo on the platform, having been retweeted two million times in just two hours during the 86th Oscars. In total, the post on DeGeneres’ account generated 4.87 million engagements and remains one of the top 5 most retweeted posts on X (Twitter) of all time.

Patricia Arquette’s Pay Equity Speech (2015)

When the actress won for her role in Boyhood, Arquette made a plea for equal pay for women during her acceptance speech. The camera panned to Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez in the audience, who were cheering her on.

Brie Larson Hugging Sexual Assault Victims (2016)

At the finale of Lady Gaga’s performance of “‘Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground, a documentary focusing on sexual assault on college campuses, a group of male and female sexual assault survivors joined the singer onstage. After the performance and during commercial break, best actress winner Brie Larson (who won for Room, a film about a woman held captive and bearing a child in captivity) hugged every single survivor as they exited the stage.

EnvelopeGate (2017)

At the very end of the 89th Oscars in 2017, the wrong Best Picture winner was announced. Faye Dunaway announced La La Land as the best picture winner, although Moonlight was the actual winner. As La La Land’s cast and crew took the stage, chaos was unfolding backstage as it became clear that Dunaway and Warren Beatty had been handed the wrong envelope by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm responsible for tallying votes and handing the envelopes to presenters.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Steamy “Shallow” Song from A Star Is Born (2018)

When Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed their song “Shallow” from A Star Is Born at the 2018 Oscars, viewers were convinced the two were madly in love. Their chemistry during  performance became one of the most talked-about moments at the show. However, Gaga denied any real-life romance.

Billy Porter’s Tuxedo Gown (2019)

The actor wore a black velvet tuxedo dress designed by Christian Siriano to the Oscars, capturing the attention of many fashion journalists and fans worldwide. It cemented Porter’s status as a celebrity and as a fashion icon and many lauded the actor’s boundary-pushing choice.

 

Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” (2020)

No one had more fun at the 2020 Oscars than Bong Joon Ho, who won best screenplay, best international feature film, best director and best picture for Parasite. After saying he will “drink until next morning” during his international acceptance speech and being seen gazing down lovingly at his screenplay Oscar, he famously made his Oscars kiss. The moment went viral and is still one of the most adorable things to ever have happened.

The Slap (2022)

The slap that was heard around the world in 2022. During that show, Will Smith (who was nominated and would later win in the lead actor category for King Richard) got up on stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith returned to his seat and shouted “keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” Rock briefly responded and then continued the show. Smith was forced to resign his Academy membership and was banned from any Academy-related events for 10 years.