Manbraceable, you: Celebs caught on camera in awkward dude-hugs

It’s been quite the week for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Not only has his love for the Dallas Cowboys been politically refereed from sea to shining sea, but the televised “bro hug” he shared with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during the game last Sunday has become the butt of jokes, tweets and GIFs everywhere.

And, it’s no wonder. The high five-turned-full-on-embrace can only described in one word: awkward.

It’s not the first time a weird and gawky dude-hug has been caught on camera. Plenty of professional athletes, politicians, movie villains and Hollywood celebs have been caught on camera in awkward manbraces. For your enjoyment (and let’s be honest, ours too), we’ve compiled some of our favorites.

John Mayer and Kanye West

Long before he married Kim Kardashian, rapper Kanye West collaborated with singer (and former Katy Perry boyfriend) John Mayer on a 2005 song called Bittersweet. With the MTV cameras documenting the entire recording process, Mayer jokingly recounted how his first meeting with West started off awkward when he accidentally botched the “bro hug” West offered him. As if looking for another opportunity to make things more uncomfortable, Mayer then took it upon himself to clumsily recreate the weird handshake/hug combo.

Dontari Poe and Roger Goodell

Our next awkward man hug comes courtesy of the 2012 NFL Draft. When University of Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe was called by the Kansas City Chiefs as the 11th overall pick in the draft, it came as no surprise to football fans who had followed Poe’s impressive college career. What did come as a surprise was how awkward his congratulatory hug from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would turn out to be. While it started out as seemingly normal, the bear hug-style embrace took an extremely uncomfortable turn when the two men found themselves in a near lip lock. If ever there was a good time to pop a breath mint, this would have been it.

Bono and P. Diddy

Proof that even the biggest celebrities in the world have their share of awkward moments, the man hug shared by U2 front man Bono and rapper P. Diddy at last year’s Golden Globes won our award for most uncomfortable moment of the 2014 awards season. Much like the Poe/Goodell embrace, the hug quickly turned sour when both parties went in for the hug on the same side and almost found themselves lip to lip. Luckily for the duo, disaster was averted thanks to Bono’s cat-like reflexes, which allowed him to pull quickly away from the embrace.

President Barack Obama and Jay Carney

Calling it “the most awkward hug in White House history,” social media outlets had a field day with President Barack Obama’s farewell hug to outgoing press secretary Jay Carney. Proof that lack of communication (and difference in height) can make any manbrace go awry, the hug got off on the wrong foot immediately when Obama went in for a handshake only to have Carney go in for a hug. The result was an awkward, long embrace highlighted by Carney burying his head into the president’s shoulder.

Lord Voldemort and Draco Malfoy

When you’ve lived a life full of evil and darkness, chances are you might not have had a lot of practice hugging people (or even socializing). Case in point: the awkward bro hug between bad boy Draco Malfoy and the villainous Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. After Malfoy accepts his offer to join the Death Eaters, Voldemort embraces him with an awkward hug that is so downright creepy and strange that we couldn’t help but cringe throughout the entire scene.

This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Manbraceable, you: Celebs caught on camera in awkward dude-hugs."