Obama And The 8 Other Sobbing Celebrities You Have To See

Obama isn't the only one who has shed a tear during a speech

Obama crying
Andrea Thompson
By Andrea Thompson
last updated

Obama isn't the only one who has shed a tear during a speech

The Internet is divided over President Obama’s crying incident while discussing gun crime this week with supporters applauding his outward show of emotion and critics criticizing his ‘crocodile tears’. The President, who was surrounded by gun crime survivors and the families of victims was clearly moved by emotion and openly broke down, wiping away tears as he spoke.

During a speech at the White House about tighter restrictions on the purchasing of weapons, Obama wept as he spoke about the deaths of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.

'Each time I think about all these kids it makes me mad,' he said. 'And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.'

Some may have slated him for his display of emotion, but the support for his heartfelt speech far outweighed the haters. And anyway, he’s in pretty good company.

We bring you, our top 8 mid-speech breakdowns of all time. Gwyneth Paltrow 1999 – The star sobbed right the way through her entire Oscar acceptance for Shakespeare in Love prompting criticism and jibes about her being over the top the following day in the press.

Hilary Clinton

George W Bush

Margaret Thatcher

Tom Hanks

Angelina Jolie

Charlize Theron 2004 – The actress struggled to hold it together during her Oscars acceptances speech film Monster.

Andrea Thompson
Andrea Thompson
Editor in Chief

 Andrea Thompson is Editor in Chief at Marie Claire UK and was recently named by We are the City as one of the UKs top 50 trailblazers for her work highlighting the impact of Covid on gender equality. 

 

Andrea has worked as a senior journalist for a range of publications over her 20 year career including The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, Channel 4, Glamour and Grazia. At Marie Claire Andrea is passionate about telling the stories of those often marginalised by the mainstream media and oversaw a feature about rape in the Congo that won the title an Amnesty Media Award. She also champions women's empowerment, sustainability and diversity and regularly chairs panels and speaks at events about these topics. She sits on the committee of the British Society of Magazine Editors where she acts as Vice Chair and looks after Diversity and Inclusion. She regularly mentors young women from under represented communities trying to break into the media industry.  

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