Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty during the 89th Annual Academy Awards on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California; Steve Harvey hosts the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty; Ethan Miller/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Multiple celebrities have made unforgettable on-air blunders, including Steve Harvey, Christina Aguilera and Michael Jackson
While some stars have been able to laugh off their on-air mishaps, others, like Ashlee Simpson, have spoken candidly about the fallout
In 2025, the singer called the backlash from her 2004 Saturday Night Live lip-sync incident “dehumanizing”
Live TV doesn’t come with a safety net — just ask Steve Harvey, Ashlee Simpson or any other celebrities who got caught in some unforgettable on-air blunders.
Whether it was a misread cue card or a moment that spiraled completely off script, these slip-ups have turned into viral moments that still live on in the pop culture canon.
And while some stars managed to laugh them off, others became cautionary tales of what can happen when the cameras never stop rolling.
“I had a super-high and then I had a super-low at SNL,” Simpson told the Los Angeles Times in an August 2025 interview discussing the backlash she faced from her 2004 lip-syncing incident on Saturday Night Live.
She continued, “For me, it was such a lesson: You hate me so much because I lost my voice? It was such a dehumanizing feeling that I had to remember who I was and why I was doing this.”
From Steve Harvey’s miscrowned Miss Universe to Ashlee Simpson’s lip-syncing snafu, here’s a look back at some of the wildest celebrity mistakes ever made on air.
01 of 08
Elizabeth Taylor almost ruined her presentation for Best Picture (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globes
Elizabeth Taylor at ‘A Diamond is Forever.. Cinema Against Aids 2001’ in Cannes, France.
Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty
While presenting the Best Picture award at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards, Elizabeth Taylor was called out by an audience member for prematurely opening the envelope containing the winner’s name, per Vulture.
“I’m new at this!” she responded, before Dick Clark came onstage to assist her.
After building suspense by slowly reading each nominee, she abruptly announced Gladiator as the winner.
02 of 08
Michael Jackson mistakenly accepted an imaginary MTV Video Music Award in 2002
Britney Spears and Michael Jackson at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards on August 29, 2002 in New York City.
Credit: Scott Gries/ImageDirect via Getty
One of the most awkward moments during the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards came during what was supposed to be a simple birthday celebration for Michael Jackson, who was turning 44.
When Britney Spears presented him with his cake, she introduced him as the “artist of the millennium” — a sweet gesture that the “Thriller” singer mistakenly believed to be an actual award.
Jackson went on to deliver a full acceptance speech for the nonexistent honor.
03 of 08
Ashlee Simpson got caught lip-syncing on Saturday Night Live in 2004
Ashlee Simpson performs during SNL on October 23, 2004.
Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Simpson became the first-ever performer to walk offstage during her SNL set in 2004 after her pre-recorded vocals for the wrong song began playing before she could sing.
Caught off guard, she did an awkward jig before exiting and later blamed acid reflux for the mishap.
However, the moment quickly sparked widespread backlash that the “Pieces of Me” singer described as “insane” bullying during an August 2025 episode of the Pod Meets World podcast.
“I think it’s a different era,” Simpson said on the show, adding that she felt like she had to explain herself after the incident. “But then my whole life, I had to tell people, ‘Oh, but I perform every night.’ My fans know. I had to know that in my heart.”
04 of 08
Christina Aguilera singing the wrong words in the National Anthem at the 2011 Super Bowl
Christina Aguilera sings the National Anthem during Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas.
Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty
While belting out the National Anthem during Super Bowl XLV in 2011, Christina Aguilera flubbed the lyric: “O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.”
Instead, she repeated a variation of an earlier line, singing, “What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last reaming.” The correct lyric is: “we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming.”
“I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through,” the singer later said in a statement, per The Florida Times-Union.
05 of 08
Kendall Jenner nearly introduced 5 Seconds of Summer as One Direction during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards
Kendall Jenner during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Billboard Awards 2014/WireImage
Kendall Jenner ran into a little teleprompter trouble while introducing 5 Seconds of Summer during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
The reality TV star seemed to almost refer to the Australian band as One Direction, but caught herself before finishing and said, “Guys, I’m the worst reader.”
Later that night, she posted about the moment on X, writing, “Anndddd as if I wasn’t nervous already!!!! #NeverLeavinMyContactsAtHomeAgain! #LOL #LessonLearned.”
06 of 08
Steve Harvey named the wrong Miss Universe in 2015
Miss Colombia 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, looks on as Paulina Vega crowns Miss Philippines 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the new Miss Universe during the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty
The Family Feud host mistakenly crowned Ariadna Gutiérrez, Miss Colombia, as the winner of the Miss Universe pageant in 2015. Minutes later, he returned to correct the error, revealing that Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, was the actual winner.
Four years later, Harvey appeared to make another flub during the global competition, introducing the wrong contestant while announcing the winner of the National Costume Contest.
“Y’all got to quit doing this to me,” he joked to the show’s producers. However, it was later confirmed that Harvey did, in fact, announce the correct winner.
07 of 08
La La Land was mistakenly announced as the Best Picture winner at the 2017 Oscars
Jordan Horowitz shows the card reading Best Film ‘Moonlight” after the latter mistakingly read “La La Land” initially at the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California.
Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty
The 2017 Oscars made history when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the wrong Best Picture winner. Though the duo had announced La La Land as the victor, it was really Moonlight who had landed the coveted gold statue.
That mistake was, unfortunately, not realized until the La La Land cast had already come onto the stage and begun giving their thank-you speeches. Producer Fred Berger was midway through his address when confusion mounted and he said, “We lost, by the way.”
It later emerged that Beatty had been given the envelope naming Emma Stone as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in La La Land. But Dunaway only saw the film title when she announced the winner.
08 of 08
Craig Melvin spoiled Jenna Bush Hager’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 cameo
Craig Melvin; Jenna Bush Hager.
Credit: NBC
During a live Today show broadcast in April 2026, host Craig Melvin accidentally spilled the beans about his co-host’s secret cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
“By the way, you know how that movie’s going to be good?” he rhetorically asked on camera. “You know how I can tell? JBH is in it!”
Jenna Bush Hager looked visibly shocked by Melvin’s announcement and replied, “I don’t know that you were supposed to drop that bomb.” He then apologized for the flub, saying “My bad!”
Read the original article on People