That Time at the Oscars When Juliette Lewis Couldn’t Keep Her Gum in Her Mouth

meriah

Ever have an awkward awards show run-in?

That's the question Yahoo Movies posed to celebs at the Hollywood Film Awards earlier this week.

Juliette Lewis is in "August: Osage County," which won an award that evening for its ensemble cast. And when we spoke with the 40-year-old actress, she was quite pleased with herself for coming up with this awards show zinger from her youth: She spit her gum out of her mouth … at the Oscars!

The awkward part was that Harvey Keitel was there to witness it all — and he was rolled with laughter at the sight. "I was 19 and full of social graces — not," Lewis joked.

It was 1992, when Lewis was nominated for her supporting role in "Cape Fear" and Keitel had snagged a nom for his supporting role in "Bugsy."

[VIDEO: Han Solo vs. Indiana Jones: Stars (and Harrison Ford Himself!) Weigh In]

Lewis and Pitt at the 1992 Oscars
Lewis and Pitt at the 1992 Oscars

Um, Juliette, you forgot to mention the part about your Academy Awards escort! You see, back then she was dating Brad Pitt, and was on his arm at the event. (But did he do the gentlemanly thing and throw the gum away for her? We may never know. Incidentally, it would be four more years until Pitt would snag his first Oscar nom for his performance in "Twelve Monkeys." So there!)

More than 20 years on, Lewis has quite a sense of humor about it all — even her unique-if-not-strange hairstyle at the occasion. "I had gangster braids at the Oscars because why wouldn't you," she said with obvious facetiousness.

Other choice awkward awards show tales came from David Oyelowo ("The Butler"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave), and "So You Think You Can Dance" impresario Nigel Lythgoe.

Nyong'o noted how shocked she was when veteran actor Mark Wahlberg asked her for a hug. "You're asking me!?" the rising star told Yahoo. "That was awkward and cute at the same time."

Oyelowo (from "The Butler") cited a dodgy director, who he declined to name. "I think he thought I wanted to tell him off for not having given me [a] role … he saw me and literally ran the other way."

Then there are those dreaded wardrobe malfunctions. "So You Think You Can Dance" impresario Nigel Lythgoe noted a dancer accidentally exposed herself onstage at a recent fundraising event.

You can see Juliette Lewis, sans braided cornrows, in "August: Osage County" on Christmas Day along with cast mates Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Dermot Mulroney, and many more.

Watch the Trailer for 'August: Osage County':


Follow me on Twitter (@meriahonfiah)

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