SAG Awards viewers spot very awkward encounter between Zendaya and Paul Mescal

After she made her long overdue return to the red carpet, Zendaya had a very awkward moment with actor Paul Mescal.

It happened during the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards last night (26 February), as they were on their way to present the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series.

Although the pair had exchanged smiles at their table, the Euphoria actress appeared to reject Mescal as he offered to help her up the stairs (eek!).

If that wasn’t awkward enough, the Normal People actor then tried to hang on to her arm as he escorted her on to the stage - despite Zendaya moving away.

To make matters even worse, the pair then had to present the award together as Jessica Chastain won a SAG award for her role in the Showtime mini-series, George & Tammy.

As the glitzy ceremony was streamed live around the world on Netflix, fans quickly began discussing the embarrassing moment on social media.

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While many of us may still be cringing, Mescal’s fans have defended him on Twitter saying that he was nervous and trying to be a ‘gentleman’.

One tweeted: “I relate to Paul Mescal cause I too would be nervous to be next to Zendaya."

Another gushed about the actor as they shared a clip of the moment and wrote: "Zendaya best girl got Paul Mescal blushing nervous giggle and shit. I too would have the same reaction as Paul, fr."

However, not everyone was as impressed with Mescal and wondered whether the actress’s snub was actually accidental.

Some even wondered whether her refusal had something to do with the fact that she is currently dating her Spiderman co-star Tom Holland, with one fan writing: "Paul Mescal tried to escort Zendaya and she wasn’t into it."

While fans might still be debating the awkward encounter, others have been focusing on Brendan Fraser’s win for his role in The Whale.

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The 54-year old gave a tearful speech as he accepted the SAG award and urged other actors to just ‘stay in there’ if they struggle to make a name for themselves.

He also spoke about the Darren Aronofsky directed film, telling the audience that it was the role of his life and that he had ‘incredible’ castmates.

The Mummy actor beat out stiff competition for the SAG award, including Austin Butler, Bill Nighy and Colin Farrell who was nominated for The Banshees of Inisherin.