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Paul Rudd on His Golden Globes Teleprompter Fail

Paul Rudd attends LAByrinth Theater Company Celebrity Charades 2013 Benefit Gala at Capitale on January 14, 2013 in New York City.
Paul Rudd. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

One of the Golden Globes’ most awkward moments came at the expense of Paul Rudd and Salma Hayek, who were presenting the award for Best TV Drama when their teleprompter failed. The two of them literally had no clue what to say. (Prior to that, they’d presented the award for Best Actor in a TV Drama.) So when we saw Rudd last night at the LAByrinth Theater Company’s 10th Annual Celebrity Charades Benefit, we broached the subject as delicately as possible. What was going through his head in that moment? “We didn’t know, I didn’t know they were doing two [categories] — we never had rehearsal,” he explained. “And they didn’t tell us, so we were just standing there, and I honestly thought they went to commercial! [Laughs.] I mean, there was nothing on [the teleprompter]! And then I realized in the middle of that, Oh! We’re on TV! And then I just started laughing. It was funny. Thankfully, thankfully, only 20 million people were watching.” Also, he told us, this isn’t his first awards-show mishap. “I did the Tonys once, and my contact lens fell out as I was going onstage, and I couldn’t read anything. I’ve done these kinds of things before, and they always go wrong for me, so I’m used to that.” Then, returning to the GGs story, he said, “It just went off, and I didn’t know what we were supposed to do. And all of a sudden, they’re just going through the thing. Oh, okay.”

Paul Rudd on His Golden Globes Teleprompter Fail