Rude on the red carpet! Expert reveals the unforgiving etiquette rules stars MUST abide by – and who got it wrong

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By CHLOE THOMAS, DIARY REPORTER Updated: 19:34 10 Oct 2026

It may just seem like a few minutes of glamorous postering, but there is far more to red carpet choreography than meets the eye.

Every pose, glance and meticulously timed arrival, is part of a highly organised machine and celebrities who fail to observe the codes and customs of the carpet, can find themselves, moved along, upstaged or worse, becoming the story for the wrong reasons.

Just ask Vampire Diaries actress Nina Dobrev, 37, who looked nothing short of crestfallen, when she was hurried along at the Venice Film Festival last month.

Her dismissal at the hands of security personnel, served as bitter reminder that even for the most successful starlets, there is always someone more famous ready to nail their stiletto onto your patch of carpet.

This week, a heavily pregnant Anne Hathaway went viral for breaking her cool and waving her arms around at the Verity film premiere.

The 44-year-old appeared to take charge of the press pen directing photographers and those around her while her co-stars, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, appeared less than impressed.

Hathaway’s headmistress-like approach shows that there is a subtle art to working the red carpet, one that can elude even the most experienced of A-listers.

So, from knowing when to move on, to never assuming the cameras have stopped rolling, here brand expert Rebecca May, reveals the etiquette every celebrity should know…

If a much bigger star is coming up behind you, know when to move before an organiser or security guard has to intervene.

If you know you are about to cross paths, stay in the car and circle again, or hover until it is safe to make a sleek entrance rather than arriving while looking over your shoulder, rushing or being interrupted.

It isn’t personal. The A-lister is likely to be a lead cast member and the event will have been organised around them. No one wants to be standing in a queue, so be mindful of the people around you.

Dakota Johnson demonstrated just how easily an innocent remark can become a headline this week when she went viral for appearing to say: ‘Then I’m going to leave.’

The cameras are filming constantly and, as lip-reading content has become a global social-media obsession, users will slow down footage and attempt to work out exactly what their favourite celebrities are saying.

Save the off-the-cuff jokes, private conversations and irritated comments until you are safely away from the cameras. People are watching even when you don’t realise it.

Don’t hover. Know when photographers have what they need and move on. You are unlikely to improve upon a shot by endlessly repeating the same pose, and you risk looking as though you have outstayed your welcome.

Give photographers the front shot, your preferred angles, the outfit and the look- then be confident that you have done your job.

There may be a queue behind you and photographers eager to move on to the next celebrity.

Learn the choreography and know when to disappear gracefully from the frame. This is particularly important when you are on the carpet with your partner.

Think Dua Lipa and Callum Turner: photographers may want the couple together, followed by individual shots, particularly when one person has a major fashion look to capture.

If your other half is the bigger star, don’t awkwardly linger when they are being photographed alone. Let them have their moment.

And don’t do an Amy Schumer. At the 2015 TIME 100 Gala, the comedian famously threw herself to the floor in front of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West while they were having their photographs taken.

It was a joke, but deliberately stealing another star’s picture opportunity is not a good look.

A red carpet is essentially a very glamorous production line – and it moves fast. Stopping to grab your phone, film content or take a selfie can block photographers, disrupt the flow and hold everyone behind you up.

If social-media footage is important, get someone from your team to film it and wait for the right moment to take your own selfie.

Some of the most revealing footage is captured in the seconds between the official poses.

Fixing your hair, checking your phone, tugging at your clothes, looking nervous or dropping your smile because you think the shot is over can all end up online.

In the age of video and social media, a five-second candid moment can become the story. The interview isn’t simply the interview – it is before, during and after.

Anne Hathaway made headlines this week when she appeared to take charge of the photographers at the Verity premiere.

She may simply have been trying to be helpful, but there are professionals whose job it is to manage the press pen.

The trick is to move your gaze along the line of photographers, from one side to the other, subtly changing your angle and expression to give everyone the shots they need.

Use eye contact and body language. Photographers are professionals and will understand what you are doing without needing to be directed by hand.

Don’t arrive too early. It can look overly eager to be posing on an empty carpet with nobody else around. But don’t go rogue and arrive too late, either.

There is a sweet spot: enough activity for your arrival to generate interest, but not so late that the carpet is winding down.

Once photographers start filing and sending images to picture desks, the press line can become noticeably thinner – and your opportunity for coverage may disappear with it. On the red carpet, timing really is everything.

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