Idina Menzel reflects on John Travolta’s name flub at the 2014 Oscars: ‘best thing’

Idina Menzel recently elaborated how John Travolta’s mispronunciation of her moniker at the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony had changed her life.

In a latest interview with Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, Menzel shared her sentiment at the time when Grease star made an error at the Oscar event.

“I’m finally here and this guy screwed up my name,” said Menzel.

However, Menzel did not let small mishap hamper her performance as she remembered, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get your act together, you know? You gotta get ready to sing this note.”

The actress and singer pointed out, “It ended up being one of the best things that happened for my career because all the people that had no idea who I was were like… ‘Who is this girl?’”

During a 2021 appearance on The Late Late Show, Menzel disclosed how the “mangled pronunciation” of her name led to connecting her with Travolta in the long run.

“It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” stated Menzel.

Talking about Travolta, Menzel commented, “He’s written many nice, apologetic emails and sent flowers. To make up for it, he would fly wherever at this point, he’s so sweet.”

“I just always say, ‘No worries because it was the best thing that ever happened, “added Menzel.