Ever end up rolling your eyes at weird celebrity headlines (ours excluded, of course)? If so, it’s probably because of the breathless descriptions of one celebrity “fighting” with another celebrity. The headlines gas you up to expect some sort of physical brawl, but when you read the article, you discover that the entire “fight” was just two bored celebs sniping at each other on Twitter.
Well, we decided to go the extra mile and find you the real stories of actual celebrity fights caught on live television. These events always include some nasty verbal abuse, and more often than not, end with two big names trading physical blows. Ready to see some high-and-mighty celebs getting down and dirty in unscripted fights? Keep reading to discover our definitive breakdown of the weirdest celebrity fights ever caught on live television!
Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler
It’s easy to think of nasty celebrity fights on live TV as a modern phenomenon…the kind of thing that took off after the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. But the truth is that trashy celebs fighting one another is a decades-old tradition, and one of the greatest examples is the onscreen clash between Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler.
In 1982, an episode of Late Night With David Letterman brought together famous comedian Andy Kaufman and famous wrestler Jerry Lawler. These two already had a major history of sniping at each other, and Kaufman couldn’t resist taking a few cracks at his longtime foe. This led to a physical altercation in which Lawler attacked Kaufman (who was wearing a neck brace), and the comedian later returned to snipe at Lawler more.
The whole thing is vintage crazy TV, and the look on Letterman’s face is priceless as he realizes there is no stopping the nastiness he accidentally unleashed.
Will Smith and Chris Rock
Thanks to incidents like the fight between Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler, most imagine celebrity fights to be the domain of late-night talk shows. However, the most famous recent celeb fight didn’t take place in a cramped studio…instead, it took place during one of Hollywood’s most prestigious events. Yes, Virginia, we’re talking about the Academy Awards altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock.
Rock was hosting the ceremony and made a joke about Smith’s wife, fellow Hollywood heavyweight Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith laughed until he saw his wife wasn’t amused, and he decided to rectify this by taking the stage and slapping Rock, then further berating him from his seat. Making the whole thing more surreal is that Smith wasn’t escorted out, which is a good thing because he ended up winning the Oscar for Best Actor less than an hour later!