We’ve rounded up some of the funniest worst jokes told at the Oscars over the years. From host flubs to bad puns, these are the moments that had us cringing.
Checkout this video:
Table of Contents
The Best Picture Snafu
The night’s biggest moment of drama came when presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty mistakenly announced “La La Land” as the winner of best picture, when in fact “Moonlight” had won. It was a stunning moment that had the internet exploding, with many wondering how such a thing could happen.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Stumbles
Jennifer Lawrence is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses, but even she’s not immune to the occasional stumble. At the 2013 Oscars, Jennifer took a tumble on her way up to the stage to accept her Best Actress award. To make matters worse, she joked about it afterwards, saying “I’m sorry, I did trip on my dress, but I’m kind of glad that happened. It would be weird if, like, no one noticed that.”
While Jennifer’s stumble was certainly embarrassing, it wasn’t the worst joke told at the Oscars. That dubious honor goes to host Seth MacFarlane, who made a crass joke about best actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis during his opening monologue. Referring to Quvenzhane as “a nine-year-old prostitute,” Seth drew gasps from the audience and prompted many viewers to call for his firing.
Other memorable (and not-so-memorable) jokes told at the Oscars include James Franco’s awkward attempt at a jokes about host Anne Hathaway’s breasts, Billy Crystal’s outdated Jodie Foster jokes, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s zingers about James Cameron’s ex-wife.
Seth MacFarlane’s Hosting Gig
In 2013, when Family Guy creator and actor Seth MacFarlane hosted the 85th annual Academy Awards, he opened the show with a musical number called “We Saw Your Boobs.” The spoof song highlighted all the times female celebrities had bared their breasts on film. It was an instantly controversial opening that set the tone for MacFarlane’s entire hosting gig, which was panned by many as being sexist, racist, and homophobic.
James Franco and Anne Hathaway’s Hosting Gig
Franco and Hathaway were both nominated for Oscars for their work in “127 Hours” and “Love and Other Drugs,” respectively. Franco was also fresh off a much-maligned hosting gig at the 2011 Golden Globes, which he shared with actress Anne Hathaway. Given all of that, it’s no wonder that people were skeptical about the two young stars hosting Hollywood’s biggest night.
As it turned out, though, Franco and Hathaway actually did a pretty good job as co-hosts. They had good Chemistry, cracked plenty of jokes and seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage. However, not everything they said was met with laughs from the audience. In fact, some of their jokes fell completely flat.
Here are some of the funniest worst jokes told by Franco and Hathaway during their Oscar hosting gig:
“This is James Franco’s first Oscar nomination. It’s also Anne Hathaway’s first Oscar nomination… for acting.” -Franco
“I’m here to ensure that the corsets fit snugly around all your assets.” -Hathaway, joking about her role in “The Dark Knight Rises”
“For those of you who don’t know, I play James Franco’s mother in 127 Hours… or as I like to call it, ‘the film where my son cuts his arm off.'” -Hathaway
“The winner of this award will go home with a coveted statuette. The losers will go home with me.” -Franco, joking about his much-publicized relationship with actress Olivia Wilde
“I’m getting tweets that say ‘you’re doing great.’ Thanks Dad!” -Hathaway
As you can see, not all of Franco and Hathaway’s jokes landed well with the audience. However, they did manage to get more than a few laughs throughout the night. All in all, it was a successful pairing – even if their material wasn’t always top-notch.
Ellen DeGeneres’ Selfie
“If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever.”
This was the caption that Ellen DeGeneres tweeted along with a now-infamous selfie taken at the 2014 Oscars. The photo, which featured a star-studded lineup including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, and Kevin Spacey, quickly broke the record for the most retweeted tweet of all time.
