When Jim Carrey avenged the mistreatment of Cameron Diaz
Aspiring actors dream of debuting with the biggest splash possible, even if it’s not something a great deal of them manage to accomplish. However, Cameron Diaz arrived on the scene and displayed immense star power by the time the credits even started rolling on her very first movie.
It’s no easy task for even seasoned professionals to hold their own against Jim Carrey in unrestrained form, but Diaz more than stood her ground as the female lead in 1994 comedy The Mask, an accomplishment made all the more impressive that it came in the year Carrey became a certifiable A-list sensation by taking top billing in the slapstick caper, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Dumb and Dumber within the space of a few months.
The most profitable comic book movie in history at the time, Carrey would land a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Actor’ in the ‘Musical or Comedy’ category, while Diaz was inundated with offers in the aftermath of The Mask as she began her own climb to the top of the industry ladder, a rise that would eventually see her named as the highest-paid female actor in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, when presenting Carrey with the ‘Best Kiss’ trophy at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards, Diaz was forced to resist the unwanted advances of co-host Chris Isaak. The musician and regular David Lynch collaborator seemed determined to plant one on the lips of his podium partner at any cost, but it was evident she wasn’t interested.
Making it clear to the audience, Diaz underlined that the nominees happened “on the director’s say-so”, but Isaak would then forcibly plant a kiss on her and smirk that “I knew you’d come around”, while she looked every bit as uncomfortable as the situation would suggest.
Seeking to give Isaak his comeuppance without causing a major incident at a star-studded ceremony, when Carrey took to the stage to collect his trophy, he can be seen grabbing Diaz’s harasser and going in for a passionate kiss. When the rubber-faced comedian steps away to collect his prize, Isaak can clearly be seen wiping his mouth, having ended up getting a big fat smooch from the A-lister.
Given the way he handled the situation, it was understandable that Carrey was critical of Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, which very much did cause a major incident at a star-studded ceremony. He undersold it as “not a good moment” when talking to CBS, describing the applause to greet the King Richard star’s ‘Best Actor’ win as “spineless”, leaving him “sickened by the standing ovation”.
Somehow, Diaz managed to maintain her composure despite making it abundantly clear Isaak was overstepping his boundaries, but Carrey did at least manage to serve a small modicum of comeuppance once his name had been read aloud.
