The worst live TV fails of all time

There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as a live television broadcast — anything could happen, and usually does. Last night’s huge fail at the Oscars got us reflecting back on other blunders in live TV events. From the boob seen ’round the world at Super Bowl XXXVIII to Ashlee Simpson’s lip-sync disaster on SNL, there have been quite a few memorable ones. Here is our list of worst live TV fails of all time.

Jennifer Lawrence trips at the 2013 Oscars.
OK, this wasn’t so bad because Jennifer Lawrence owns everything she does — including tripping on her way up to receive her Oscar for Best Actress for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Steve Harvey announces the wrong winner at Miss Universe.
Remember in 2015 when Steve Harvey, host of Miss Universe, awarded the top prize to the wrong contestant? Ouch. He announced Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo (Miss Colombia), but Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (Miss Philippines) was the real winner.

Janet Jackson’s “Nipplegate”
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake gave a strong performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII, but it was overshadowed by her wardrobe whoopsie, when her breast was exposed on live television for a split second. It became one of the most searched items in internet history according to Guinness World Records.

John Travolta butchers Idina Menzel’s name at the Oscars.
For such a big night, people do make a lot of mistakes. Perhaps it’s nerves! John Travolta completely messed up Idina Menzel’s name when he announced her performance of “Let It Go” from the film, “Frozen” at the 2014 Oscars. He called her: “Adele Dazeem.” Perhaps she can use it as her alter ego like Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce?

Ashlee Simpson’s lip sync fail on SNL
It doesn’t get more awkward than this. Remember back in 2004 when Ashlee Simpson had a reality TV show and an album chock-full of catchy pop-rock tunes? Those days are a distant memory since she obliterated her burgeoning career with this lip sync catastrophe. The vocal tracks for a song that she already “sang” played overtop the song she was supposed to be singing. Simpson nervously breaks out into a weird “hoedown” dance in response. Yikes!

Mariah Carey’s disastrous “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” performance
If you’re going to mess up a live performance and be exposed for lip syncing, channel your inner Mariah and own it. Mariah had issues hearing her vocals on the monitor and stopped singing completely. Not breaking a sweat, she truly gave no f—s and phoned in the rest of the performance.

#OscarGate 2017
Nothing can compare to last night’s live TV disaster, however. The Oscars are Hollywood’s biggest night and the Best Picture award is the biggest accolade. To mess that up so epically really is stranger than fiction. We bet Steve Harvey is relieved that Twitter trolls now have Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to rely on for epic fail memes. We just feel bad that “Moonlight’s” big moment was overshadowed by the mix-up.