John Travolta had a miscommunication between the teleprompter and his mouth at the Academy Awards on Sunday, with the actor introducing singer Idina Menzel as “Adela Dazeem.”
Menzel was giving a much-anticipated performance of “Let It Go,” her Oscar-nominated song from the animated movie Frozen. Menzel would go on to win the Oscar for the song, while Frozen took home the Academy Award for animated film as well.
But even after the show-stopping performance, folks on Twitter were abuzz over John Travolta butchering Menzel’s name before the performance.
“Please welcome the wickedly talented Adela Dazeem,” Travolta appeared to say.
Ironically, it was Idina Menzel who said before the show that she was nervous about appearing on stage.
“If I wasn’t nervous, something would be a little off,” the veteran Broadway singer told AP Live on the Oscar red carpet.
John Travolta and his unique interpretation of Idina Menzel’s name immediately spawned jokes across the internet. Buzzfeed wondered what Travolta would do if he had to introduce other Hollywood celebrities, like Brat Spit (Brad Pitt), Stanley Hooper (Bradley Cooper), and Maddow Mohogany (Matthew McConaughey).
The hashtag #AdelaDazeem also picked up on Twitter after Travolta’s flub
Aaaand @AdelaDazeem is now happening. Great work, John Travolta. #youhadonejob #weallknowyousawRENT
— courtney (@courtneyp_) March 3, 2014
I would pay 500 dollars to hear John Travolta pronounce Chiwetel Ejiofor. #Oscars2014 — Matt Mira (@MattMira) March 3, 2014
“Screw it, I’ll just make up a name.” – John Travolta — Rachel Zarrell (@rachelzarrell) March 3, 2014
John Travolta may have introduced her as “Adela Dazeem,” but the flub didn’t slow down the real Idina Menzel. She went on to win the Oscar for Best Song only a few minutes later.
