More often than not, it seems, if there’s a story to tell about the way celebrities interact with paparazzi or red carpet photographers, it’s not very positive. Oftentimes, actors are berated by these folks, and at times, they’ve gone viral for calling them out. Well, recently, the 2026 Oscar nominee, Michael B. Jordan, was at an event for The Academy, and he kind of had the opposite thing happen with the folks snapping his photo on the carpet.
In a video from the Oscars Nominees Luncheon, you can see Jordan walk up to his mark for the photos, and the photographers aren’t really saying anything. Then, in the clip posted by On The Red Carpet, you can hear the actor say:
It’s too quiet.
Right after that, one photographer can be heard yelling, “Michael over the shoulder,” which was followed by them saying, “How’s that?” Well, add that to the list of things that probably don’t happen on the carpet very often.
Clearly, the Creed star was thrown by it too, as the photographers joked that they could yell at him if that’s what he preferred. In response, he said:
I’m so used to it. It’s too quiet. It’s throwing me off.
Michael B. Jordan is a fashionable man who has been in some amazing and high-profile movies. So, yes, when he walks on a carpet, people want photos of him. So, I get why he said he was “used to” being yelled at by photographers.
Now, going back to the video, right after he noted how thrown he was by the quiet camerapeople, the photographers got louder, yelling his name and directions for him to look in. Playing into it all, the Oscar nominee said:
There it is. That’s right!
Well, this was all quite delightful! First of all, I love that the photographers weren’t yelling at Jordan to look at them, and I find it funny that he joked with them about it.
Plus, I love that it goes totally against the stories we tend to hear about photographers and celebrities.
I’m used to stories about obscene comments paparazzi made at people like Keira Knightley or reports about how someone like Justin Bieber confronted photographers on the street. Also, I don’t think I’ll ever forget Chappell Roan calling out loud photographers on the carpet.
Overall, there’s a long and storied history of photographers yelling at celebs and them occasionally clapping back. So, to see Michael B. Jordan stunned over how quiet the people with cameras were was hilariously shocking. It also left me hoping that maybe the tides are turning, and the relationship between paparazzi and celebrities will become a little calmer and more respectful.
I guess we’ll see if that’s true in Jordan’s case when the Oscars air on the 2026 TV schedule on March 15. His movie, Sinners, has a historic number of nominations, including one for his performance. So, I’m sure he’ll be posing for photos on the carpet with Ryan Coogler and co, and I hope the people taking his pictures are as nice as the folks at the luncheon were.
