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John Travolta explains his awkward Oscars moment with Idina Menzel


February 25, 2015
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John Travolta set the internet alight for the second Oscars in a row when he took to the stage with Idina Menzel, and the pair shared an awkward moment as John continually stroked the singer's face. But it turns out the choreography was actually planned. "It was rehearsed in total," John's rep has confirmed. "John loved working with Idina Menzel. John had a great time at the Oscars because his wife Kelly Preston, and his daughter Ella were in attendance with him."

john idina © Photo: Getty Images

John Travolta's rep has confirmed his skit with Idina Menzel was 'rehearsed in total'

John and Idina were paired together to present the Oscar for original song to Glory singers John Legend and Common. Idina, whose name was mangled at the 2014 awards by the Hollywood star when he called her Adele Dazeem, had her revenge when she introduced her co-presenter. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage my very dear friend Glom Gazingo," she joked. "I deserved that, I deserve that," John said as he came on stage and stood next to Idina, caressing her face. "But you, my darling, my beautiful, my wickedly talented Idina Menzel," he continued, stroking the Tony Award winner's cheeks. "You got it, yay! You did it," Idina said, reacting to the proper pronunciation of her name. "That was so good. It's not like it's going to follow me around for the rest of my life."

john idina2 © Photo: Getty Images

Idina Menzel tweeted her thansk to John Travolta after the show

"Yeah, tell me about it," John quipped back. Idina took it all in her stride, and tweeted after the show, "Surprise! That was so much fun. Thank you John Travolta for being such a good sport. What an honour to be invited again. #life is good." Nevertheless, the moment quickly became a talking point on Twitter – and host Neil Patrick Harris even referred to the encounter at the end of the show, revealing his prediction that "John Travolta will be back next year to apologise to Idina for all the face-touching".

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