9 Worst Oscar Acceptance Speeches!
Published on January 27, 2014. Updated April 1, 2017Receiving an Oscar is a great honor for any actor or actress. Unfortunately, some recipients seem to blow it with their speeches! One might think that actually getting the award is the hard part, but some actors and actresses make the acceptance speech look like it is more challenging. We have collected 9 of the worst Oscar acceptance speeches for your enjoyment!
9. Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow cried throughout most of her acceptance speech for Best Actress for “Shakespeare in Love.” The actress usually comes off as quite restrained, so it was surprising to see her emote more in those two minutes than she has in her entire acting career!
8. Sally Field
Sally Field gave the oddest acceptance speech when she won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Places in the Heart.” Many people believe she said, “You like me, you really like me!” But the actress actually said, “You like me, right now, you like me!” Either way, it comes off as incredibly desperate and needy.
7. James Cameron
James Cameron’s acceptance speech for Best Director for “Titantic” started out well, but that changed when he decided to end it with, “I’m king of the world!” By using that one line, Cameron’s speech has gone down as one of the most arrogant acceptance speeches in history.
6. George Clooney
George Clooney won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “Syriana” and his acceptance speech – to use his term – seemed a little out of touch! The actor seems to contradict himself by first mentioning how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the world, but that then goes on to credit the Academy with discussing topics like AIDS and civil rights before it was popular to do so.
5. Angelina Jolie
When Angelina Jolie won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Girl Interrupted,” she brought her brother as her date and, during her acceptance speech, she told the audience that she was “so in love” with him at that moment! To make the situation slightly creepier, she had also kissed her brother that evening in a way that was a bit too intimate for a brother and sister…
4. Sean Penn
Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor for “Mystic River” and, in his acceptance speech, he took the opportunity to mention U.S. military involvement in Iraq. When he won another Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in “Milk,” he touched on everything from his support for equal marriage rights to fellow nominee Mickey Rourke’s career resurgence. Unfortunately he forgot to mention his wife at the time Robin Wright Penn!
3. Julia Roberts
When Julia Roberts won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Erin Brockovich,” her acceptance speech was the second longest in Oscar history – and she still forgot to thank Brokovich herself! Without her, there would have been no story and no movie, but apparently that didn’t warrant a mention!
2. Halle Berry
Halle Berry was quite moved when she won Best Actress for “Monster’s Ball,” which was understandable given that she was the first black woman to win the award. However, the actress went on about her win as though she had just single handedly ended racism and oppression.
1. Adrien Brody
When Adrien Brody accepted the Oscar for Best Actor for “The Pianist,” he not only hugged Halle Berry – who presented the award to him – but he also went in for a kiss! Then he began his acceptance speech with, “I bet they didn’t tell you that was in the gift bag!” We are pretty sure no one told Berry that either!