The Most Bizarre Celeb Meltdowns On The Red Carpet
When you think about the red carpet, chances are your mind immediately leaps to images of glamorous gowns and celebrities that are calm, graceful, and above all else, poised. Whether it's a premiere, a gala, or a significant awards show such as the Oscars or the Grammys, odds are you're not going to see a star get rattled, much less completely lose their cool.
Yet for some celebrities, meltdowns are all too common, even on the red carpet. From off-kilter interviews that'll leave you feeling confused and vaguely creeped-out to full-out brawls between stars and sometimes even the press, wild moments happen do occasionally occur on the red carpet. In some cases, simmering feuds and substance abuse could be the cause for unrest, but in other instances, it's completely unclear just what sparked such oddball behavior. Here are some of the most unforgettable celebrity meltdowns that happened on the red carpet.
Jim Carrey doesn't believe you exist
When Jim Carrey is around, things usually get a little ridiculous — in a good way. The hilarious force behind such classic hits as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb and Dumber is known for making folks chuckle, and even in his more serious dramatic roles, his presence tends to bring a degree of levity to every scene. But Carrey's outlandish sense of humor took a bizarre turn at the Harper's Bazaar Icons party in 2017.
During an interview with Catt Sadler from E!, Carrey explained that "there's no meaning to any of this," and that he wanted to find "the most meaningless thing" to do, which is why he attended the Icons event in the first place. "I don't believe in personalities," he said. "I don't believe that you exist. ... I believe we're a field of energy dancing for itself and I don't care." Carrey continued getting existential while Sadler looked on, getting visibly uncomfortable. Finally, Carrey concluded this odd red carpet run-in with perhaps the strangest comment of them all: "We don't matter. There's the good news."
Sacha Baron Cohen spills ashes on Ryan Seacrest
British actor-comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of playing satirical characters such as rapper Ali G and Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev on both the small and big screens, but during the 2012 Oscars, Cohen took his outrageous antics to the extreme. Despite being warned not to, he hit the red carpet in character as Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, the titular character from The Dictator. The star then marched up to E! host Ryan Seacrest, carrying an urn that he claimed contained the ashes of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
"It was [Kim Jong-Il's] dream to come to the Oscars and be sprinkled over the red carpet and Halle Berry's chest again," Cohen explained. Within moments, he seemed to trip, spilling the contents of his urn on Seacrest. For his part, Seacrest seemed to take the red carpet prank in stride, claiming that he "had an idea something was coming." He later stated on his show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest (via The Hollywood Reporter), that he was glad he took his mother's advice and had another jacket ready, just in case.
That time Will Smith slapped a dude
You apparently don't need to be an extraterrestrial invader on a mission to wipe out all of humanity for Will Smith to lay the smack down — a lesson that one infamous prankster learned the hard way. At the 2012 Moscow premiere of Men in Black 3, Smith slapped notorious red carpet creeper Vitalii Sediuk across the face after Sediuk tried to kiss him.
The Ukranian TV reporter has a long and storied history of pulling questionable antics on the red carpet. He gave Madonna hydrangeas at the 2011 Venice Film Festival (She despises them), crawled under America Ferrera's dress at a film premiere, buried his face in Leonardo DiCaprio's crotch, and even broke Brad Pitt's glasses at the 2014 premiere of Maleficent, among many other incidents.
"What the hell is your problem, buddy?" Smith asked as he stepped away from Sediuk. Frankly, we're all still waiting for that answer.
Björk ruffles some feathers
Björk's swan dress from the 2001 Oscars has become the stuff of legend – so much so that the dress, designed by Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski, even has its own entry in Wikipedia now. While this zany get-up alone was enough to make fellow celebrities, fashion insiders, and even audiences do a double-take, it was the Icelandic singer-songwriter's strange behavior on the red carpet that truly drew some stares.
"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 (via Us Weekly). "But other people's bodyguards kept picking them up and saying in their thick American accents, 'Scuse me, ma'am, you dropped this.'" Although Björk was widely criticized at the time for laying a big fashion dud, a second version of the wraparound dress was auctioned off on eBay in 2005, and the proceeds benefited the Oxfam charitable organization.
Kanye West throws a fit over a reporter
Kanye West has a knack for bringing drama to major industry events, but his outlandish conduct at the Ralph Lauren 50th Anniversary Fashion Show in 2018 stands out, even for Yeezy. According to TMZ, the rapper-designer flipped when a female reporter from Entertainment Tonight asked about the beef between his wife, Kim Kardashian-West, and actor Tyson Beckford. The alleged feud reportedly began in August 2018, after Beckford commented on a picture of Kardashian-West: "Sorry. I don't care for it personally," (via (via TMZ) "She's not real, doctor f**ked up on her right hip."
The Keeping up with the Kardashians star was quick to clap back, writing, "Sis we all know why you don't care for it." Her fired-up response was immediately met with criticism, as many interpreted it as a homophobic slur. Being asked about the controversy was enough to push Kanye over the edge. "Ralph Lauren would be disappointed to have a journalist ask me questions like this at his show," he reportedly told the PR team for the event. "Either she leaves or me, you decide."
'What an ugly dress!'
For years, Joan and Melissa Rivers were one of the most fearsome — and funny — mother-daughter duos in Hollywood. As eventual co-hosts for Fashion Police on E!, the two dished out hot takes on celebrity fashion like it was going out of style. But one hot take in particular has since become legendary. While at the 1997 Oscars, the two spotted actress Nicole Kidman as she strolled down the red carpet in a green silk sheath dress by John Galliano for Dior.
Melissa recalled that infamous moment with Vanity Fair years later. "I still remember Nicole Kidman showing up in the green Dior [in 1997], and that was the first true couture dress on the red carpet, and you went, 'Wow,'" she said. "Wow" wasn't the word Melissa's mother used that day.
"What an ugly dress!" Joan said on-air (via the Los Angeles Times). Kidman breezed past her, which according to senior style writer Merle Ginsberg of The Hollywood Reporter, only fueled Joan's fire and ire. "I hate that color! You are making me puke," Ginsberg recalled Joan screaming as she pretended to retch.
Sloshed on the Orient Express
Johnny Depp has a reputation for being a bad boy. From trashed hotel rooms to fights with paparazzi, the Kentucky-born star has had his share of run-ins with the law over the years, along with many well-documented struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. Following his divorce from actress Amber Heard in early 2017, amid allegations of verbal and physical abuse, Depp's reputation took hit after hit — including a red carpet controversy.
In November 2017, he allegedly showed up drunk to the London premiere of Murder on the Orient Express. "...on the night of the premiere, he was in a strange mood and everyone thought he'd been drinking," a source told The Sun. According to the insider, Depp supposedly "reeked of booze" during the event, which was held at the Royal Albert Hall, and his personal security guard, Jerry Judge, had to "practically hold him up."
"These reports are completely false," a source from Depp's camp said in a statement to E! News. "Johnny was not drunk at the premiere. He came straight from set to the premiere. His security was maneuvering him around the carpet as he has done for years."
Eduardo Yáñez loses his cool
For some stars, certain questions cross a line, and that's exactly what happened in 2017, after one reporter went a bit too deep with actor Eduardo Yáñez, a Mexican soap opera star on Quiereme Mucho and La Verdad Oculta. According to CBS News, Yáñez was at a red carpet event in Hollywood when journalist Paco Fuentes from the television program EL Gordo y La Flaca (Univision) started asking about his relationship with his son, Eduardo Jr. "I've never been a parent who has felt right giving advice. My life has not been an example to [to live by] for anyone," Yáñez told the reporter in Spanish.
After Fuentes asked why the actor's son had set up a GoFundMe page to pay for a car instead of asking for help from him, the star became seemingly irate. "If you're so worried about my son, you send him the money or go talk to him," Yáñez reportedly suggested. After calling him out for being "disrespectful," Yáñez then slapped Fuentes.
Rah Ali and Sky get into a brawl
Old feuds die hard for Love & Hip Hop alum Rah Ali, who kicked off 2018 by causing a huge scene on the red carpet with former Black Ink Crew co-star Sky. The two were headed separately into Diddy's New Year's Eve party when Sky allegedly tried to hug Ali. It seems Ali didn't view that gesture as a friendly one because she proceeded to wail on her reality TV co-star before being escorted out of the party.
Sky and Ali have a checkered history. After a 2015 Instagram post (via VH1) kicked off a beef over fake eyelashes, tension escalated between the pair before finally erupting in a full-blown physical altercation, which was captured on the show, of course. The aforementioned 2018 rematch gave Ali a chance to fight back in a way she claimed she wasn't able to before. She went on Instagram Live (via YouTube) following the brawl to declare: "No one jumped anyone. No intervening of security from TV shows. None of that stuff, just one-on-one. Just two people, that's it, nobody else." In addition, Ali pointed out a broken acrylic nail and claimed Sky was to blame.
Courtney Love crashes Madonna's interview
In one of the most awkward and bizarre moments in award show history, Hole frontwoman and perpetual hot mess Courtney Love crashed a post-MTV Video Music Award interview in 1995 between Madonna and Kurt Loder outside of Radio City Music Hall.
Love was recently widowed following rocker Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. She was also fresh off the success of her band's sophomore album, Live Through This, when she interrupted the interview by tossing her makeup compact at the pair. Declaring that she was in a "feisty-ass mood," she proceeded to apologize for crashing the interview while talking to then-MTV News reporter Tabitha Soren, who was off-camera. Love grilled Madonna about "dipping into the general population" — a reference to the pop singer's relationship at the time with physical trainer and future baby-daddy Carlos Leon. The Material Girl proceeded to make a not-so-subtle reference to Love and drug use.
The whole incident is a master class in celebrity shade-throwing and one which Madonna summed up perfectly from the get-go when she quipped: "Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now."
Amy Schumer turns into fashion roadkill
Being in the presence of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian-West is enough to make anyone fall to their feet in awe, but actress/comedian Amy Schumer did so — literally. In 2015, the Trainwreck star opted to make a big first impression on Kimye by diving face first in front of them on the red carpet at the Time 100 Gala. "I think falling is the funniest thing, so I just took a dive in front of them," Schumer later told The Graham Norton Show, explaining that she was "doing God's work. While the audience enjoyed the spectacle, Kim and Kanye were apparently less than amused. "[Kanye] did not crack a smile at any point," Schumer told Norton.
She later met the pair inside the event, where she revealed that the duo was friendlier — though she didn't think they had any idea who she was. When Schumer asked Kim if Dash (the store she owned with her reality star sisters) was hiring, she claimed Kim K completely ignored her.