We’ve seen many times in the past when famous people got into big trouble because of something they said or did on live TV. Remember when the likes of Milli Vanilli, Steve Harvey, or Steven Seagal messed up? Yeah, they had a rough time, but some of them managed to bounce back.
Prepare to cringe once again after seeing these celebrities who destroyed their careers on live TV.
1. Will Smith
Do you remember any of the winners of the 94th Academy Awards? Yeah, almost nobody does, but everyone remembers the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident, where Rock gets bitchslapped for offending Smith’s wife while on the stage. The event was christened “The Slappening” and still makes rounds in the meme-o-sphere of the Internet, and Will Smith will never live this one down.
2. John Travolta
Remember when, at the 86th Academy Awards, Idina Menzel sang her banger from Frozen? Probably not, because something much more memorable happened that evening. John Travolta was about to introduce Menzel to the audience, but he fumbled her name so badly that everyone was confused as heck. Like, who in the world is Adele Dazeem? Either way, Travolta was ridiculed online for months, but Menzel said she doesn’t care about the fumble, so in that regard, it’s all good.
3. Steven Seagal
Back in the early ’90s, Steven Seagal was on the rise as an action star, starring in several semi-successful films. While trying to capitalize on his growing fame, he went on Saturday Night Live in 1991, but, unfortunately, it was his worst idea ever. Some “SNL” staff had a hard time working with the guy, and some even called him the worst host to ever appear on the show. After that fiasco, Seagal ended up making a bunch of low-budget action movies nobody really watched.
4. Paula Deen
There aren’t many examples of racial and sexual discrimination among celebs these days because they all know it’s a career-killing move. And yet, in 2013, Paula Deen somehow managed to royally bork it up. According to her former employee, Lisa Jackson, Deen wanted to host a weird “plantation-style” wedding party for her brother. There would be black servants and probably whips there. To add insult to injury, she admitted to dropping the n-word from time to time. Then she went on live TV to smooth things over and played the victim card of all things. The chef and her restaurants were canceled soon after.
5. Milli Vanilli
Back in ’89, Milli Vanilli released their famous 6x platinum album “Girl You Know It’s True,” but during a live performance, one of the tracks skipped a beat, revealing that Rob Pilatus was not singing at all. This lip-sync fiasco hurt the fans who now questioned the authenticity of the duoy, which ultimately led to the downfall of Milli Vanilli.
6. Steve Harvey
Let’s be real here: Steve Harvey has always been a clown when it came to live TV. But when he was hired to host the Miss Universe contest in 2015, Mr. Family Feud accidentally called out the wrong name of the winner and then actually crowned the runner-up! So no, Miss Colombia did not win the title, but the next two minutes were incredibly awkward for everyone involved.
7. Mariah Carey
It may be really hard to see someone like Mariah Carey, who’s so proud of her voice, struggle on stage, but her New Year’s Eve performance in 2016 was a real mess. You see, the backing track in her earpiece was throwing her off sync, and instead of trying to communicate with the staff, Carey started making excuses, basically threw them under the bus, and walked off the stage while the dancers kept going. Even though it wasn’t that big of a deal, this incident hurt her reputation.
8. Ashlee Simpson
Let’s talk about one of the biggest blunders in live television. During a live performance on SNL in 2004, Ashlee Simpson started lip-synching to Pieces of Me when Autobiography started playing. It seems like a small blunder at first, but here’s the cringe: after realizing what just happened, Simpson awkwardly walks off the stage and says it was all the band’s fault for playing the wrong song. So much for a “live” performance, huh? This is why you don’t follow the saying “fake it till you make it” because you’ll eventually get caught.
