“Wicked” star Idina Menzel and late-night host for “The Daily Show” Jon Stewart parodied one of the most viral mishaps from the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony during the The New York Comedy Festival’s Stand Up For Heroes benefit.
John Travolta’s Infamous Mispronunciation
“Grease” star John Travolta has gone down in “Oscars” history for pronouncing Menzel’s name while introducing her performance of “Let It Go” from Disney‘s “Frozen.”
“Please welcome the wickedly talented, one and only, Adele Dazeem,” Travolta said.
The following year, Menzel playfully got revenge on Travolta by mispronouncing his name.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, my very dear friend, Glom Gazingo,” Menzel said.
When Travolta joined her on stage, the pair hugged, and he graciously admitted, “I deserve that.”
“But you, you, my darling, my beautiful, my wickedly talented Idina Menzel,” Travolta continued, at last getting the Broadway star’s name right.
“You got it!” Menzel cheered.
Menzel & Stewart’s Parody Song
Menzel and Stewart turned the “Oscars” moment into a musical roast during the comedy benefit on November 10.
Menzel took to the stage and performed “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” before recounting her experience from 2014.
“It’s March 2, 2014. I’m at the Dolby Theatre. I’ve prepared for this moment my whole life. I’m wearing $3 million worth of diamonds. The security guards are waiting in the wings to protect the diamonds. I’ve meditated, visualized, manifested. Just remember, ‘you have eight bars before you come in, and then the whole world’s gonna know your name.'”
Following Stewart’s rendition of Travolta’s mistake, Menzel burst into song, “Adele Da-what? Are you freaking kidding me? I’ve worked my whole life to get to this point and he screws up my name? Adele Dazeem? Did he not rehearse? Did he have a stroke? Should we call an ambulance?”
Menzel recalled her early days on Broadway when no one recognized her offstage without her green makeup because they only knew her as Elphaba from “Wicked.”
“I would die to work with Meryl (Streep), and now she’ll have no idea who I am,” Menzel sang.
She went on to joke about “Frozen.”
“I’m an animated blonde Norwegian-looking 12-year-old with anorexic arms and blue eyes the size of grapefruits,” Menzel continued. “But really I am a middle-aged Jewish American Princess with 34 double D’s soon to be on a waiting list for Ozempic.”
Then Menzel burst into another rendition of “Let It Go.”
