There's nothing quite like the annual Academy
Awards, which brings together Hollywood's most elite filmmakers and actors for a celebration
of the year's most impressive films and performances. For those lucky few who get to take home a
trophy from the lavish showcase, it's the role of a lifetime to get to deliver an acceptance
speech from the stage. "I want to say thank you. To everybody." But every once in a while, winners manage
to make things extremely awkward. Between cringe-worthy comments and political
overtures, these Oscar winners definitely made audiences squirm while accepting their
big prizes. Sam Smith Everything seemed to be going swimmingly for
British singer Sam Smith when he won the 2016 Academy Award for Best Original Song for his
Spectre theme, "The Writing's On the Wall." But things got awkward when Smith erroneously
implied that he was the first openly gay man to receive an Oscar. "I read an article a few months ago by Sir
Ian McKellen and he said that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar." But McKellen's comments had been about the
Best Actor award specifically, which made fans of other openly gay winners like Elton
John and Dustin Lance Black scoff in disbelief at Smith's false claim. "So I basically said that I was the first
gay person to ever win an Oscar." Smith quickly apologized for the gaffe and
blamed a few too many sips of tequila for the slip. "I was unhappy with my performance and we
thought we had no chance of winning at all so I was just like, 'let's just get the party
started.' And, um, then we won, and I was just like
'woah.'" La La Land To be fair, the discomfort caused by the final
moments of the 2017 Oscars was by no means the recipients' faults. After being announced as the winners of the
Best Picture Oscar, three La La Land producers were in the middle of their acceptance speeches–when
it came to light that fellow nominee Moonlight had actually won the award. "Damien Chazelle, we're standing on your shoulders…
we lost by the way." "No, there's a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture." Presenter Warren Beatty had received an incorrect
envelope, which lead to the now-infamous blunder. Moonlight's director and producers ultimately
got the chance to issue their own thanks, but before they could revel in the night's
biggest prize, Beatty decided he had to clear things up from the same stage. "I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone,
La La Land." Not only did the mistake inspire some key
production updates with the show, but it was also responsible for some of the wildest audience
reaction shots the Oscars have ever known. Marlon Brando At the 1973 Academy Awards, viewers and attendees
were shocked after Marlon Brando was announced as the winner of the Best Actor award for
The Godfather. Not because he didn't deserve it, but because
a young woman in Native American dress appeared in Marlon Brando's place. And things got weirder from there. As she approached the podium, she refused
to accept the statue from presenter Roger Moore, and instead explained that she was
Sacheen Littlefeather, president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee,
and would be representing Brando. She then said Brando would not accept the
award. "The reasons for this being are the treatment
of American Indians today by the film industry." Some members of the audience booed, while
others applauded, and the incident also reportedly caused the academy to ban winners from using
other people to accept–or in this case, refuse–their awards. In a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times,
Littlefeather, an activist and an actress, described how she was subsequently ostracized
by the show business community, saying: "[T]he government was madder than hell…[they]
told everyone in the studios in Hollywood not to hire me, or they would shut them down… I was blacklisted, or you could say 'redlisted.' Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, they didn't want
me on their shows." In recent years, Brando and Littlefeather's
actions have been reframed, with Jada Pinkett Smith crediting Littlefeather as an inspiration
for her boycott of the 2016 Oscars over a lack of diversity. Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's 1999 win for Best Actress for her
performance in Shakespeare in Love prompted a speech that has since been called "The Day
Oscars Sincerity Died." Accepting her Oscar, a visibly overcome Paltrow
gave a seemingly endless speech that was slammed for "excessive weepiness." "I wouldn't be in this auditorium let alone
up here if it wasn't for two incredibly talented men." Her words may have been heartfelt, but if
she'd have delivered that kind of performance in the movie, chances are she wouldn't have
won that trophy in the first place. Elinor Burkett In what's been called the Academy Award's
"Kanye West Moment," journalist Elinor Burkett made things super uncomfortable when she rushed
the stage during Roger Ross Williams' 2010 acceptance speech for Best Documentary Short
Subject. "This is so exciting…" "The man never lets the woman talk. Isn't that just the classic thing?" She then launched into her own acceptance
speech, making for seriously uncomfortable (and confusing) viewing. It turned out that the two had had serious
beef over the winning film, Music by Prudence. Burkett reportedly came up with the idea for
the film and had been a producer, but later left the project. She even sued Williams and claimed that she
hadn't received proper credit for her involvement, while he denied her claim to the picture. "And everybody thinks I was bad for interrupting
him. So they don't think he was bad for like big-footing
me?" Whatever the reason for their tiff, it made
for the kind of stage drama you don't expect to see from any category, let alone this one. Angelina Jolie Long before she became a global humanitarian
and mother to six, Angelina Jolie developed a reputation for being something of a wild
child in the late '90s. Her portrayal of a sociopath in Girl, Interrupted
earned her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2000, and if people didn't know she was
strange before, they certainly found out as much during her acceptance speech for the
award. Jolie had been joined at the event by her
brother James Haven, whom she basically made out with on the red carpet. And instead of running through the usual list
of people to thank, Jolie turned her attention again to her relationship with him. "I'm in shock and I'm so in love with my brother
right now. He just held me and said he loved me, and
I know he's so happy for me." All due respect to their tight-knit sibling
status and all, but that is enough to make any audience uncomfortable. Thanks for watching! Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to
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