Travolta still ribbed for last year’s name flub

LOS ANGELES — John Travolta still can’t live down his mangling of Idina Menzel’s name from last year’s Academy Awards when he called her Adele Dazeem.

At this year’s Oscars, host Neil Patrick Harris mentioned Benedict Cumberbatch, then said, “It’s not only the most awesome name in show business, it’s also the sound you get when you ask John Travolta to pronounce Ben Affleck.”

Harris added that the next presenter had “been on the receiving end” of Travolta’s pronunciations, and Menzel took the stage. She then introduced “my very dear friend Glom Gazinga.”

“I deserved that,” Travolta said as he nuzzled her onstage, calling her “my beautiful, my wickedly talented Idina Menzel.”

Menzel responded, “It’s not like it’s going to follow me around for the rest of my life.”

“Tell me about it,” Travolta countered.

As he was about to read the winner of the best song award, she said, “You want me to do it?”

Menzel did read the winner: “Glory” from “Selma,” composed by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn. The song was performed during the show by Common and John Legend.