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Idina Menzel wishes 'Adele Dazeem' a happy birthday 10 years after John Travolta gaffe

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
2 min read

Idina Menzel is wishing a very happy birthday to her Academy Awards alter ego.

The "Frozen" star took to TikTok over the weekend to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of one of the most infamous Oscar flubs of all time: when John Travolta butchered her name by introducing her as Adele Dazeem.

In a TikTok video, Menzel playfully sent a birthday message to Adele Dazeem as if that was an actual person.

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"Hey, Adele Dazeem!" she said. "It's Idina Menzel. I just wanted to say happy birthday. Sending you so much love and positive energy. I hope you have the best, best day!"

The Adele Dazeem incident occurred at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014, when Travolta was introducing Menzel's performance of best original song nominee "Let It Go" from "Frozen."

"Here to perform the Oscar-nominated, gorgeously empowering song 'Let It Go' from the Oscar-winning animated movie 'Frozen,' please welcome the wickedly talented, one and only Adele Dazeem," he said.

Idina Menzel and John Travolta at the 2015 Oscars.
Idina Menzel and John Travolta at the 2015 Oscars.

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Travolta later blamed this on Menzel's name being changed at the last minute to a phonetic spelling on his teleprompter. "I didn't rehearse it that way," he told Jimmy Kimmel, saying this is why he was thrown off.

Menzel playfully got her revenge at the following year's Oscars by introducing her "very dear friend," Travolta, as "Glom Gazingo." But jokes aside, the "Wicked" star holds no ill will toward Travolta for the mistake. In fact, she told "Today" in 2021 that this was "one of the best things that happened for my career" because it made people more aware of who she is. "All the people that had no idea who I was were like .. 'Who is this girl?'" she explained.

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The Adele Dazeem snafu isn't the only Oscars moment celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, as the 2014 ceremony also featured Ellen DeGeneres' famous star-studded celebrity selfie, which she took live while hosting the show. Featuring Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt and more stars, the photo became the most retweeted post in the history of Twitter at the time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Idina Menzel celebrates 10-year anniversary of 'Adele Dazeem'

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