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The 34 Most Outrageous, Scandalous Moments in Oscars History

Elle

February 7, 2020 at 1:05 PM

The 34 Most Outrageous, Scandalous Moments in Oscars History

1936: Dudley Nichols declines his award

1940: Hattie McDaniel becomes the first black Oscar winner

1958: Donald Duck co-hosts the Oscars

1961: Elizabeth Taylor wins for Butterfield 8 after illness and scandal

1964: Sidney Poitier wins the Best Actor Oscar

1969: Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tie for Best Actress

1970: George C. Scott refuses his Oscar

1973: Sacheen Littlefeather refuses an Oscar on Marlon Brando's behalf

1974: A streaker hits the Oscars stage

1986: Cher and her headdress make a splash

1989: Rob Lowe and Snow White duet on stage

1992: Jack Palance did push-ups on the stage

1993: Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Richard Gere are banned for life...sort of

1993: Marisa Tomei wins Best Supporting Actress Oscar

1999: Shakespeare in Love beats Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture

1999: Roberto Benigni leaps onto chairs and up to the stage

1999: Elia Kazan wins an honorary Oscar

2000: Angelina Jolie says she's "so in love" with her brother

2001: Björk is a swan, lays egg on the red carpet

2002: Halle Berry is the first African American actress to win Best Actress

2003: Adrien Brody kisses Halle Berry

2006: Crash beats critical darling Brokeback Mountain

2009: Heath Ledger wins a posthumous Oscar

2011: Melissa Leo drops the F-bomb

2013: Jennifer Lawrence falls down

2013: Jennifer Lawrence flips the bird in the press room

2014: John Travolta introduces "Adele Dazeem"

2014: Ellen's star-power selfie

2016: Chris Rock brings Stacey Dash on stage

2017: Moonlight wins Best Picture after La La Land is mistakenly announced

2018: All of the references to last year's mix-up

2018: Emma Stone calls out gender inequality in the directing cateogry

2019: Kevin Hart steps down as Oscar host

2019: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper deliver a steamy performance

The 34 Most Outrageous, Scandalous Moments in Oscars History

The Academy Awards are a celebration of film as well as the people who make them. We love the dramas and comedies that play out on the silver screen, and we love the real-life drama that spills on to the Oscars stage, too. Hollywood's biggest night has a long history of scandals and controversies, from winners turning down their awards to the total fail of "Adele Dazeem."

Until Sunday's ceremony brings us more shocks, soapboxes, and meme-able facial expressions, let's look back at the most jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing, and outright memorable moments in Oscars history.

From Björk's swan dress to "Adele Dazeem."

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