A viral image circulating on social media during the Academy Awards sparked confusion after it appeared to show actor Timothée Chalamet falling on the red-carpet stairs at the 2026 ceremony.

The image quickly gained traction online, with users sharing memes and humorous posts suggesting the actor had taken a tumble while arriving at the star-studded event. Several posts on X mocked the supposed fall. One user joked that the actor “should’ve taken some ballet classes,” while another compared the moment to a football-style stumble.

However, the viral claim is false.

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Viral image actually from Cannes Film Festival

According to available information, the popular photo is not related to the 2026 Oscars.

According to Prime Timer, a popular entertainment news site, the photo was originally taken during the Cannes Film Festival. The photo shows a moment where security guards were trying to remove a man from the red carpet, where the man accidentally tripped on the stairs.

This photo has circulated many times online, with many speculating that the man could have been popular singer Jason Derulo, though this is not confirmed. However, due to the timing of the photo’s circulation during the Oscars ceremony, many people mistakenly believed that the man was Chalamet.

Chalamet nominated at Oscars amid recent controversy

At the 2026 ceremony, Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor alongside Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, and Wagner Moura. The award ultimately went to Michael B. Jordan for his performance in the film Sinners.

The viral meme also gained traction shortly after Chalamet faced criticism for remarks he made earlier in March during a town hall discussion organised by Variety and CNN with Matthew McConaughey. During the conversation, Chalamet joked that he had little interest in working in ballet or opera, suggesting that while audiences often talk about preserving those art forms, few people actually engage with them.

The comments generated responses from prominent people such as Steven Spielberg, Andrea Bocelli, Jamie Lee Curtis, Misty Copeland, and Whoopi Goldberg. The host of the event, Conan O'Brien, also mentioned this in his opening remarks, making a joke about how tight the security was for the event because the ballet and opera communities were upset about the actor's comments.

Towards the end of the event, Chalamet was seen laughing with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner.