John Travolta’s 10 Most Awkward Moments

John Travolta has no shortage of awkward moments throughout his roller coaster career. The Grease star has been a staple in show business for decades, enjoying success and struggles throughout.

But in the past decade or so, the once-beloved star has become better known for his affiliation with Scientology, some odd film choices and a choice of bizarre moments during awards shows. From his awkward kiss on Scarlett Johansson’s cheek to creating a new persona for the “wickedly talented” Idina Menzel, Travolta has been at the center of some of the more viral, awkward celebrity moments.

The 64-year-old Travolta first shot to fame in the 1970s after starring on Welcome Back, Kotter and the back-to-back hits Saturday Night Fever and Grease. He even earned an Oscar nomination for Saturday Night Fever.

Travolta’s initial success continued with Urban Cowboy (1980), but he spent most of the 1980s starring in box office bombs. While he found a hit with the Look Who’s Talking movies, his career got a much-needed jolt with his Oscar-nominated turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). Throughout the rest of the 1990s, he continued to appear in successful movies until Battlefield Earth (2000) sunk him again.

Since 2000, Travolta has been busy with action movies, many of which have earned limited releases or gone straight to VOD. In 2016, he earned positive reviews for playing Robert Shapiro in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story for Ryan Murphy and FX.

Outside of his career, he has had several awkward moments no one can forget and plenty that have endeared him with fans. Scroll on for a look at some moments Travolta has either leaned into or has worked to forget.

Scarlett Johansson Kiss

During the 2015 Oscars red carpet, Travolta infamously wrapped his arms around Scarlett Johansson and kissed her. One photo of the scene went viral, with Johansson looking less than enthused by it. Johansson said there was “nothing strange, creepy or inappropriate” about Travolta’s actions.

“The image that is circulating is an unfortunate still-frame from a live-action encounter that was very sweet and totally welcome,” Johansson told the Associated Press. “That still photo does not reflect what preceded and followed if you see the moment live.”

Adele Dazeem

During the 2014 Oscars, Travolta introduced Idina Menzel as “Adele Dazeem,” which confused everyone watching. Travolta later explained to Jimmy Kimmel there was a mix-up with an assistant and he bumped into Goldie Hawn, who distracted him. When he made it to the stage, he saw Menzel’s name spelled out phonetically, which was different from the rehearsals. It confused him, which resulted in “Adele Dazeem.”

Idina Menzel Face-Touching

Back at the 2015 Oscars, Travolta and Menzel had another chance to laugh off the 2014 moment. This started with Menzel pronouncing Travolta’s name wrong. When he came on stage to join her, he grabbed her chin and kept complimenting her to the point she was visibly uncomfortable. 

‘This Christmas’ With Olivia Newton-John

In 2012, Travolta joined forces with Olivia Newton-John for a Christmas album called This Christmas. It was the first time they worked together since the movie Two of a Kind in 1983. The two made an awkward music video for the album and it received poor reviews. The album peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Say what you will, but Newton-John’s death has put their relationship into perspective and casts the video for “I Think You Might Like It” into a somewhat different light. If anything, he’s a loyal guy who just can’t get enough of life or trying to find whatever makes him happy.

Starring in a Brazilian Rum Commercial

Celebrities turn up in odd international commercials all the time. For Travolta, he raised a few eyebrows by showing up in an ad for a Brazilian rum company. The commercial shows everyone he meets recognizing him and ends with him dancing on the beach. The awkward part here is that Travolta is definitely green screened somewhat, especially when he starts dancing. 

At the same time, find me a famous name who hasn’t done an embarrassing foreign ad. Even Tommy Lee Jones has shown up in one or two.

Kissing Kirk Douglas

In November 2007, Travolta got a little close to Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, then 90 years old. After presenting an award to Travolta, Douglas went to shake Travolta’s hand. But the Spartacus star was not expecting Travolta to lunge at him for a kiss. One weird photo from the moment makes it clear Douglas was shocked, but not shocked enough to give a smooch back.

It’d be a little more odd if the acting legend had closed his eyes. Great showing of guys secure in their being either way.

Covering Bobby Brown for ‘Old Dogs’

Celebrities often do things to promote movies they probably wish they never did. In 2009, Travolta recorded a cover of a Bobby Brown song, “Every Little Step” to promote Disney’s Old Dogs. To make the music video more awkward, he is seen dancing for his daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, who had a role in the film. 

‘Gotti’ Gets a 0 Percent Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Travolta’s passion project Gotti finally hit the big screen as a bit of a cult joke. The film finds Travolta starring as mobster John Gotti and co-stars his real-life wife Kelly Preston as Gotti’s wife Victoria. Gotti was supposed to hit theaters in December 2017, but Lionsgate dropped it two weeks before its release. Vertical Entertainment and MoviePass finally released it, and it received so many negative reviews that it has a 0 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Winning Razzies for ‘Battlefield Earth’

Battlefield Earth is an adaptation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s 1982 novel of the same name. It is widely considered one of the worst films ever made and was a box office bomb. The film “won” eight Razzie Awards, the most until Adam Sandler’s Jack & Jill won 10 in 2012. Travolta himself won two of the awards, including Worst Actor and Worst Screen Couple (for “John Travolta and anyone sharing the screen with him”).

His Hairy Situation

In the past few years, Travolta has changed his hair style frequently to fit his movies. In 2015, he posed for a fan at a gym, apparently revealing his true hairline. In April, he looked different again, wearing a grey beard for Moose, a new film being directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.