The most bizarre moment of the 84th Academy Awards had to be the red carpet encounter between Ryan Seacrest and Sacha Baren Cohen and it was caught live on E!. The celebrities were on the red carpet for the Oscars in Hollywood on February 26, 2012 when the fateful encounter took place.
- Slideshow: Pictures of arrivals on the Oscars red carpet
- Slideshow: Pictures of Oscar nominees and presenters
Ryan Seacrest, looking immaculate in his Burberry tux, was on the red carpet, interviewing the celebrities on the red carpet, when Sacha Baren Cohen made a special appearance as The Dictator. Seacrest proceeded to interview Cohen, who claimed to be carrying the ashes of Kim Jong Il. In the course of the interview, Cohen pretended to trip and spill the contents of the urn on Seacrest.
Seacrest was visibly shocked, but proceeded to try keep the interview going before Cohen was escorted away by guards. A neighboring broadcaster gave Seacrest a towel so he could wipe off the white powder, which he said was a biscuit mix.
As the moment unfolded on live television, it was difficult to know what to think, which seemed to be Seacrest's reaction. A true professional, Seacrest carried on, but seemed to be irritated.
Shortly thereafter, Seacrest sent out a Twitter message saying: "My mom always told me to pack two jackets for red carpets, always wondered why. Now I know."
In a E! news report, Seacrest stated, "In the back of my mind, I thought, 'OK, there's no way a conversation with him in character is going to go as planned. As we were talking, I could just feel that something was about to happen, and sure enough it did. But I had two jackets. I was red-carpet ready!"
Seacrest is taking the high road, but technically, Cohen's stunt could be considered assault in the eyes of the law.
Seacrest's American Idol co-star Jennifer Lopez was one of the first stars in line for an interview after the incident. Lopez, who ended up to having another of the most talked about moments of the Oscars, was also shocked at the stunt and seemed sorry for Seacrest's temporary predicament.
J-Lo's daring Oscar gown causes post awards buzz
Oscar coverage of the red carpet live on E!
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