Since red carpets are highly visible spaces, it’s rather rare for celebrities to outright reject each other at these events. Most of the time, they make an effort to maintain professional conduct and resolve any possible tensions behind the scenes to avoid negative press.
The situations listed below are a clear exception to the rule. These celebrities have publicly declined hugs, handshakes, or simple interactions, inviting social media users to create viral memes or react to their behavior.
Here are 11 examples of tense and awkward celeb interactions that made pop culture enthusiasts’ jaws drop.
#1 At The 2015 Time 100 Gala, Amy Schumer Threw Herself Onto The Ground In Front Of Kim Kardashian And Kanye West, Who Walked Right By Her
How could one get Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s attention back in 2015? Faking an accidental fall at a red carpet event is definitely not the right answer.
Unfortunately, that was comedian Amy Schumer’s strategy to introduce herself to the former couple.
The model and rapper walked past her, not even looking in her direction.
“I saw Kim and Kanye standing there, just owning it, just being short and important. And I think falling is the funniest thing, so I took a dive in front of them,” Schumer said during an interview on The Graham Norton Show.
“He did not crack a smile at any point. There’s no way that either of them had any idea who I am. So that was comforting.”
#2 When Don’t Worry Darling Premiered At The 2022 Venice International Film Festival, Costars Harry Styles And Olivia Wilde — Who Were Reportedly Dating At The Time — Seemed To Avoid Each Other On The Red Carpet. During Group Photos, They Posed With A Costar Between Them
Few red carpet events have shaken social media as much as the 2022 Venice International Film Festival. To the dismay of the Don’t Worry Darling filmmakers, it seems like people were much more interested in the different feuds of the star-studded cast than in watching the actual film.
One of the most unexpected moments occurred when Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde, who were supposedly dating at the time, chose not to stand next to each other on the red carpet.
What’s more, the English singer and actor declined a request from a team member who instructed him to stand beside his partner.
What triggered this bizarre situation was a leaked video of Wilde, the movie’s director, speaking about the leading actress, Florence Pugh, in a derogatory way.
Image credits: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis
#3 At The 2023 Vmas, Tiffany Haddish Continually Photobombed Shakira, Who Ignored Her
Don’t blame yourself if Tiffany’s cries to Shakira at the 2023 Video Music Awards instantly remind you of the “Hips Don’t Lie” intro, when Wyclef Jean calls the Colombian star’s name twice before she begins singing the pop anthem.
Despite being ignored several times when she called Shakira across the room backstage, Haddish decided to photobomb the selfie of a fan who’d gotten luckier than her.
After being criticized for her unapologetic behavior on social media, the actress tweeted, “This experience has Aloud [sic] me to realize how truly popular I am. I appreciate all of your opinions. Thank you.”
Image credits: Astrid Stawiarz
#4 While Sofía Vergara Was Giving A Red Carpet Interview At The 2014 Angel Ball, Her Ex-Fiancé Nick Loeb Snuck Up Behind Her Mid-Answer. She Barely Acknowledged Him Without Missing A Beat
The actress and model dated Loeb between 2010 and 2014.
When the businessman saw his ex giving an interview at the 2014 Angel Ball red carpet, he thought it’d be an excellent idea to say hello. By the looks of it, Vergara disagreed.
After the awkward moment, the Colombian star gave her best smile and carried on with the interview as if nothing had happened.
Image credits: Extra
#5 During The Australian Premiere Of Babylon In Early 2023, Nasser Sultan — Who Appeared On The Australian Version Of Married At First Sight — Reportedly Rushed Up To Margot Robbie. However, She Fully Ignored Him And Went To Talk To Some Fans Instead
TV personality and actor Nasser Sultan, who appeared in the Australian version of Married at First Sight, was eager to say hello to the Barbie star during the 2023 premiere of Babylon held in Sydney’s State Theater.
When he spotted the Aussie actress, Sultan immediately rushed in her direction, hoping to get a memorable interaction with her. Robbie, however, preferred to speak to her loyal fans.
The actor has been accused of “gate-crashing” several highly publicized events with the intention of boosting his popularity and getting his 15 minutes of fame.
Image credits: Don Arnold
#6 At The 2013 Amas, Lady Gaga Seemingly Accidentally Ignored Zendaya, Who Was Helping Interview Her
Back in 2013, Zendaya had just finished filming her successful Disney Channel sitcom, Shake It Up.
When she was asked to interview celebrity guests on the red carpet of the American Music Awards, the then 17-year-old got the chance to meet Lady Gaga.
Sadly, the pop star brushed her off, making it clear that she didn’t know who she was.
Image credits: American Music Awards
#7 During A 2017 Event At The Kennedy Center, Kesha Interrupted Jerry Seinfeld’s Interview To Ask For A Hug, Which He Declined
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that celebrities are just as starstruck to meet their idols as the rest of us. This is why, when pop singer Kesha encountered legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld at the Kennedy Center in 2017, she had to ask him for a hug.
After Seinfeld declined, Kesha insisted by asking for “a little” hug, which was also turned down.
“It was the most depressing — and hilarious — but also so sad. It was the saddest moment of my life,” the “Tik Tok” singer said, recalling the awkward moment on an episode of the Best Show podcast.
Image credits: WTOP
#8 When A Red Carpet Reporter Brought Gigi Hadid Over To Say Hello To One Direction At The 2015 American Music Awards, The Model Hugged All Of Them Except For Harry Styles, Her Close Friend Taylor Swift’s Ex
On the 2015 VMAs red carpet, a reporter invited Gigi Hadid to join a One Direction interview. The video shows the IMG model hugging all the members of the British band except for Harry Styles.
Some fans speculated that Gigi’s gesture was explained by Harry being her close friend Taylor Swift’s ex.
Still, others believed that there were no hard feelings involved, and the “Watermelon Sugar” singer had simply extended his arm to go for a polite handshake.
Image credits: E!
#9 During San Diego Comic-Con 2016, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Homecoming Costar Laura Harrier Linked Her Arm Through His, But He Instantly Slipped Away, Put Both Arms Around All His Costars, And Asked Where His Now-Girlfriend Zendaya Was
The cast of Marvel movies is known for being extremely close to each other—and occasionally unable to keep the interviews spoiler-free.
But this doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any tensions that people don’t know about.
During the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, actress Laura Harrier linked her arm around her Spider-Man: Homecoming co-star, Tom Holland. Quickly, the leading actor responded by putting his arms around all his castmates and asking where Zendaya, his now-girlfriend, was.
Image credits: ScreenSlam
#10 At The 2023 Academy Awards, Vanessa Hudgens Was Interviewing Celebs As Abc’s Red Carpet Correspondent, But Her Ex, Best Actor Nominee Austin Butler, Was Interviewed By Her Cohost Ashley Graham. Later In The Night, As Austin Exited The Vanity Fair Oscars Afterparty, Vanessa Kept Her Eyes On Her Phone As She Brushed Past Him
Both exes had very good reasons to attend the 2023 Academy Awards. While Butler was nominated for Best Actor for his role as the iconic Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, Hudgens was called to be one of the ABC red carpet correspondents as part of their “Countdown to the Oscars” pre-show.
Instead of having Vanessa interview Austin, it was her co-host, Ashley Graham, who asked him about his experience working in the movie.
Later on, when they were leaving the after-party, Hudgens decided to look at her phone while walking past her former boyfriend.
Naturally, people took notice of her intentions of avoiding eye contact at all costs with the Elvis star. The actress responded to social media conspiracies by reposting a video on her Instagram stories of Malala Yousafzai telling Jimmy Kimmel, “I only talk about peace,” and captioning it “Let’s all be on the ‘I only talk about peace’ train. Ok?”
Image credits: BACKGRID
#11 At The 2016 Academy Awards, Ryan Seacrest Spotted Sacha Baron Cohen — Who Infamously Spilled Fake Ashes All Over Him During An Interview Four Years Earlier — Coming Towards Him. So, He Reportedly Just Told Sacha, “No.”
During an infamous 2012 Oscars interview, Sacha Baron Cohen—dressed as his character on The Dictator— spilled the fake ashes of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il all over Seacrest’s tuxedo.
Four years later, the two crossed paths at the same event for another interview.
When he saw the Borat actor walking towards him, Seacrest was apparently caught saying “No!” to the comedian. But Sacha didn’t give up.
He popped up again when Seacrest was interviewing Lady Gaga, putting his arm around him for a hug.
Image credits: E!