Excruciating moment Venus Williams brutally snubs Sunrise host Natalie Barr live at the Oscars

Natalie Barr was left embarrassed after a very awkward encounter with Venus Williams at the Oscars on Sunday.

The American tennis star, 41, brutally snubbed the Sunrise host as she attempted to interview her on the red carpet.

After Venus arrived at the event, Natalie, 54, repeatedly yelled her name and said she was from Australia in a bid to get her attention.

‘I can’t wait to see if we can talk to her. We will try,’ Natalie said before calling out her name.

After several failed attempts, the TV presenter held out a packet of Tim Tams and tried to offer her a chocolate biscuit.

But Venus walked off before eventually returning to chat to the Entertainment Tonight hosts, who were standing right next to Natalie.

This is the first time Natalie has hosted Seven’s Oscars coverage.

She described herself on air as a ‘rookie’ but said covering the Oscars red carpet was something she’d ‘always wanted to do’.

Last week, Natalie said she was excited to report on the star-studded event.

‘I’ve covered floods, fires, elections and terror attacks,’ she said.

‘So to frock up and head to the biggest red carpet of them all is going to be different, exciting and a whole lot of fun!’

Natalie was criticised by media insiders for her coverage of the Oscars, with some labelling her performance ‘awkward’.

The feedback on online forum Media Spy, where TV professionals like to share their unfiltered opinions on industry matters, was generally negative, with several insiders saying the news veteran was out of her depth on the red carpet.

However, others defended Natalie, saying she did her best in difficult circumstances and pointing out that red carpets can be notoriously tricky for foreign media.

One forum user said it was obvious from her reporting for Sunrise and The Morning Show that ‘she’s not a die-hard movie fan’.

The same insider suggested Sunrise’s NYC-based showbiz reporter Nelson Aspen should have been centre stage with Natalie anchoring the show from Sydney.

‘If they must have her there, she should be co-hosting with Nelson Aspen. Nelson has better relationships with celebs,’ they added. 

Another user added: ‘Her segments this morning really gave off the “fish out of water” vibes. She just seemed really awkward and didn’t know how to handle presenting in a red carpet situation.’

One critic questioned the decision by Seven management to send Natalie to the Academy Awards in the first place, asking: ‘Do we really need to have an anchor of any shows go to LA for the Oscars?’

Another added: ‘It just feels weird having their main host (a journalist who’s known for major breaking news coverage) to cover fluffy entertainment stuff.

‘Surely they could’ve let Ashlee Mullany [Seven’s U.S. bureau chief] cover it or just let Nelson Aspen do it all?’

However, she also had plenty of supporters, with several noting how difficult red carpets can be, even for seasoned journalists like Barr.

‘I don’t doubt she’s a quality broadcaster and interviewer but on this occasion for whatever reason, it just looked like she wasn’t in her best form,’ one said.

‘Perhaps it’s her first time at the Oscars and they usually send Eddy [Edwina Bartholomew] over so I guess it’s fair that she might not be accustomed to everything right from the get go.’

Another agreed, writing: ‘Those red carpet slots would be a bloody nightmare I reckon – squished in and still early in the day LA time as well…’ 

Ratings have been steadily worsening for the Oscar TV broadcast over the last 10 years, with 2021 hitting an all-time low of just 10.4 million viewers globally.

This isn’t the first time a Sunrise host has been ignored on the red carpet at the Oscars.

Back in March 2016, Edwina Bartholomew lost her composure upon catching sight of Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence at the 88th annual Academy Awards.

She was heard screeching at the Oscar winner as she made her way towards The Dolby Theatre ahead of the prestigious ceremony. 

‘Jennifer, wave to Australia!’ she yelled off-camera. ‘Wave to Australia – PLEEASE!’

While the American star did offer a good-natured wave in the direction of those gathered in the press pit, it did not appear to be aimed at hapless Edwina, who later conceded Jennifer ‘almost’ looked in her direction. 

The following day Edwina described her efforts as ‘desperate’, telling The Kyle and Jackie O Show how the event’s biggest stars shuttled down an ‘express lane’ to avoid being interviewed. 

Jackie ‘O’ Henderson asked whether she had noticed the section of the red carpet which was reserved for the biggest names and if it made the process difficult. 

Edwina jokingly said ‘It got desperate!’ before mimicking herself shouting: ‘Jennifer, Jennifer! Please, please!’