Awkward Carrie Underwood Moments That Were Caught On Camera

Carrie Underwood, who's long been rumored to exhibit diva behavior, caused a major uproar online when it was announced that the country star was slated to perform "America the Beautiful" at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025. Social media swiftly turned against the "Before He Cheats" hitmaker for her divisive decision, with one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, "No longer a Carrie Underwood fan." 

Following the backlash Underwood made a statement of her own in which the Grammy winner declared her love for America and expressed her hope for the future. "I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event," Underwood said (via Today). "I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future."

Due to the fact that so many people are displeased with her, this occurrence brings to mind several other times that she behaved somewhat strangely in public. The key difference between the below instances and the inauguration announcement — Underwood is expected to make a big fashion fail involving her killer legs at the inauguration so it may be doubly uncomfortable for her — is that these awkward moments were caught on camera.

Carrie Underwood first gained nationwide prominence when she won the fourth season of "American Idol" back in 2005. During her time as a contestant on the hit reality competition show, Underwood said and did many things that showed she lacked, shall we say, a certain amount of media training at the time. In the years since, the country star has openly discussed how some of her behavior wasn't exactly appropriate. "When I was on 'Idol,' I said some dumb stuff, and learned what that could do, and that stuff lives on," Underwood recalled (via Mass Live), before explaining that she felt as though the producers purposely wanted to showcase the moments when she acted a bit foolish. "It seemed like every single solitary stupid thing I said was aired and featured and replayed over and over and over again," the "Jesus, Take the Wheel" hitmaker argued. 

One particular moment that stood out as awkward actually occurred during Underwood's audition for the show. In a clip from "American Idol" that can be seen on YouTube, judge Simon Cowell devilishly asks her to: "Tell me about your chicken thing you do." The plucky wannabe singer starts to laugh and seems embarrassed before admitting, "I have the ability to cluck like a chicken," with a bashful head nod. Underwood then lets out a cluck sound, to the delight of the judges, before proudly proclaiming, "I could have just clucked my way into 'American Idol.'" The moment may have been a bit cringe, but Cowell did bait her into doing it, and it brought some humor to the show.

In 2018, Carrie Underwood was pulled over by a police officer in Brentwood, Tennessee, for a rather typical offense: speeding. Police provided Inside Edition with footage of the country star in which her face can clearly be seen in the rearview mirror of her vehicle. Underwood was in a rather upscale neighborhood and, during the embarrassing ordeal, the cop asked the "Good Girl" hitmaker why she was going so fast to which Underwood responded that she simply wasn't  thinking.

Funnily enough, Underwood mocked her husband Mike Fisher on X in 2013 about a similar incident that happened to him, writing, "Ok...so, Mr. 'I'm gonna star a driving school in Nashville' just got us pulled over for going 56 in a 45. Just sayin..." Years later, Underwood seemed to eat her words when she returned to X to make a statement about her brush with the law, acknowledging, "Well, it happened today. After 18 years, I can no longer say I've never been pulled over for speeding. I feel so ashamed!"

While performing during her residency in Las Vegas in 2023, which is titled Reflections and goes on until April 2025, Carrie Underwood almost suffered from a major wardrobe malfunction. Right before starting the show, she realized the back of her outfit would not zip closed. Fortunately, the country star confirmed to People that her staff behind the scenes were able to fix the issue, clarifying, "Luckily my dresser added a big bow, and no one knew the difference. Stage magic, people!"

Just a year later, in 2024, Underwood almost experienced another wardrobe malfunction when she performed at the 2024 CMA Awards. While singing, Underwood's killer legs couldn't be contained by the high slit in her dress, but luckily, no unnecessary skin was ultimately revealed. Experiencing a near-wardrobe malfunction seems to be a recurring theme for Underwood. While the situation during her Las Vegas residency was a live performance, the incident during the CMA Awards was televised.  

What a gorgeous performance of 'I'm Gonna Love You #CMAawards #CarrieUnderwood #CodyJohnson#StunningVocals pic.twitter.com/tjPujg6zma

— Hilary ~ MollyVegas ミ☆ (@MollyVegas) November 21, 2024

While performing at the Carolina Country Music Fest in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in June 2024, Carrie Underwood experienced an embarrassing fall. In a moment that was supposed to be epic, the Grammy winner sang her biggest hit "Before He Cheats" while rain poured down hard all around her. The stage must have been soaked and, as she walked down a staircase leading off stage, Underwood slipped in front of the entire audience. TMZ shared footage of the embarrassing tumble, in which concerned concertgoers can be heard speculating about what happened.

In an Instagram post, Underwood shared a series of photos from her set at Carolina Country Music Fest, and the post's caption poked fun at it. "Well, last night sure was fun! And though the ending was quite unexpected, it made for a night we'll never forget!" it read. While the moment was most certainly awkward, at least the "Mama's Song" hitmaker was a good sport about the mortifying mishap. 

In August 2024, Carrie Underwood appeared on "Good Morning America" to announce herself as a new judge on Season 23 of "American Idol," which will begin airing on March 9, 2025 on ABC. The country star is replacing Katy Perry as a permanent judge on the long-running show. Underwood hosting "American Idol" is an exciting full circle moment because it obviously made her a superstar back in the day, but the moment of joy that the "All-American Girl" hitmaker experienced while making the exciting announcement was cut short when she experienced an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction, flashing her underwear to the audience while performing on the talk show.

As the above photo demonstrates, Underwood was wearing tight-fitting shorts for the occasion, which were most likely the catalyst for the wardrobe malfunction. However, the Grammy winner either didn't notice or simply refused to let the incident ruin her performance on the show, with Underwood continuing on as though nothing had happened. While these situations may have been awkward and embarrassing for the "Somethin' Bad" hitmaker, she was always able to show some grace, which naturally helped the public to move on just as quickly from these incidents. However, Underwood may lose fans permanently after she performs at Donald Trump's inauguration.