The red carpet is a high-stakes ecosystem where one wrong tilt of the head can turn a million-dollar look into a decade of memes. We’ve all seen the Glambot—that massive, high-speed robotic arm directed by Cole Walliser that whips around celebrities to create those buttery, ultra-slow-motion clips. Usually, it’s the pinnacle of "slaying." But then there’s the Joey King glambot fail.
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok or Instagram Reels lately, you’ve definitely seen it. Joey, much younger and noticeably hesitant, attempts a spin that goes slightly off-axis and finishes the whole thing with a painfully earnest thumbs-up.
It’s the thumbs-up that kills me. It’s so "first day of school."
The Video That Won’t Die
Honestly, the wildest part about this "fail" is that it didn’t even happen recently. Most people think this went down at the Oscars or some huge 2024 gala. Nope. The original clip is actually from the 2019 People's Choice Awards.
Joey was only 19 or 20 at the time. She was still in that transitional phase from child star to serious The Act actress. In the raw footage, you can hear the E! correspondent telling her that "movement is good for this thing" and "the more movement you can give us, the better."
She was just following directions! She gave them movement. She gave them a spin. She gave them a thumbs-up.
Why It Went Viral Years Later
The internet is a weird, cyclical machine. A video can sit in a digital vault for half a decade before a random "Worst Glambot Rankings" video on TikTok pulls it out of the grave. Suddenly, everyone was obsessed.
Joey herself has been incredibly vocal about it lately, especially during her 2024 press tours. On the Not Skinny Not Fat podcast, she basically begged people to just "watch it and hate it."
"It sucks. It's gross. My favorite part is that people think it’s recent. I was like, 'Yeah, get her!'" — Joey King
She’s not even mad at the trolls. She’s leading the charge. She even pointed out the specific technical reason why it looks so jarring: the lighting and the angle made it look like she had no teeth. When you’re shooting at 1,000 frames per second, every micro-expression is magnified. If the light hits your gums a certain way while your mouth is slightly open, yeah, you're going to look toothless. It's just physics.
Redemption and the "Slay" Arc
You can't have a legendary fail without a redemption arc. That’s just the rules of celebrity culture.
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At the 2024 SAG Awards, Joey finally got her rematch. This time, she wasn't the hesitant teenager from the PCAs. She walked up to Cole Walliser’s mark in a stunning Givenchy look with lace gloves and didn't just spin—she delivered a high-octane, sultry hair flip that actually worked.
Cole even posted a "BTS" video of them reviewing the footage together. You can see the relief on her face when she sees the playback. She literally shouted "Slay!" at her own image.
The Andrew Garfield Connection
Recently, the Joey King glambot fail was dragged back into the spotlight because of Andrew Garfield. At the 2025 Golden Globes, Garfield had a bit of an awkward Glambot moment himself—a sort of confused, frantic energy that had fans calling it the new "worst ever."
Joey wasn't having it. She hopped on her Instagram Stories to reclaim her throne. "While I appreciate the recent submissions... sorry babes, mine is still the worst," she joked. There is something deeply likable about a star who is so secure in their career that they can gatekeep their own embarrassment.
Lessons From the Red Carpet
What can we actually learn from a robotic camera arm and a misplaced thumbs-up?
- The Glambot is a trap. It’s not just a camera; it’s a performance. If you aren't ready to act like you're in a mid-2000s shampoo commercial, you will fail.
- Lighting is everything. High-speed cameras like the Phantom (which the Glambot uses) require an insane amount of light. If you aren't positioned perfectly, the shadows will do you dirty.
- Don't do a thumbs-up. Ever. Unless you're a 1950s sitcom dad, just keep your hands by your side or in your pockets.
If you're ever in a situation where a $200,000 robot arm is swinging toward your face at 40 miles per hour, take a page out of the 2024 Joey King playbook: Keep it simple, trust the hair flip, and for the love of God, don't spin if you haven't practiced it in the mirror.
Next Steps for You
- Watch the 2024 SAG Awards clip to see how Joey corrected her posture and timing compared to the 2019 version.
- Follow Cole Walliser on TikTok if you want to see how he coaches celebrities through these shots—it’s actually a fascinating look at the technical side of red-carpet "magic."
- Check out the Andrew Garfield 2025 clip and decide for yourself: Is it actually worse than Joey’s, or is she still the reigning champ of the Glambot fail?