Academy members, Oscar nominees, seat-fillers and millions of TV viewers all cringed as one when John Travolta, atoning for his mispronunciation of Idina Menzel’s name at last year’s ceremony, cradled her face and cooed sweet nothings during this year’s Academy Awards show.
Menzel’s rictus grin and head-twisting seemed to suggest awkwardness. But apparently the moment was all planned out, according to Travolta’s publicist. “It was rehearsed in total,” his rep told Us Weekly. “John Travolta loved working with Idina Menzel.” Heavily underlining the fact he’s a family man rather than some kind of sleazy predator, the rep added: “John had a great time at the Oscars because his wife, Kelly Preston, and his daughter, Ella, were in attendance with him.”
At the 2014 awards, Travolta introduced Menzel as “the wickedly talented, one and only, Adele Dazeem”, prompting great mirth and spoof Twitter accounts. This year, Menzel introduced him as “Glom Gazingo”, with Travolta admitting “I deserve that” before the caressing began. “You, you my darling, my beautiful, my wickedly talented Idina Menzel”, he said, adding “Is that right?” to cheers from the crowd.
Host Neil Patrick Harris joked about the moment, saying: “Travolta will be back next year to apologise to Idina for all the face-touching.” There was also consternation at the Pulp Fiction actor looming behind Scarlett Johansson on the red carpet to plant a kiss on her cheek.
