People's Choice disruption laughed off as DeGeneres and Depp win big

Ellen DeGeneres, Johnny Depp and hit film "Furious 7" were among the top winners at Wednesday's People's Choice awards, which featured an on-stage incident that recalled Kanye West's Video Music Awards antics seven years ago.

As the team from "The Talk" accepted the favourite daytime TV hosting team award, a young man in a red biker jacket strode onto the stage and seemed to give his name and plug a project as Sheryl Underwood waved him off, intoning "uh uh".

"The Talk" co-host Sharon Osbourne kicked the interloper's backside as he was pushed away and held up her middle finger, while Underwood called "security, security!". The women then laughed off the encounter.

The disruption recalled West's 2009 stunt at the VMAs, where he pulled a microphone from Taylor Swift to complain that Beyonce should have won.

The rest of the live ceremony, which kicks off Hollywood's annual awards season culminating with the Feb 28 Oscars, went off without incident.

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres received a humanitarian award for her work for causes including children in need, the environment, animal rights and health issues.

Joking that she started out hoping "to make people laugh, and to get very, very rich", DeGeneres then struck a humble note.

"Would I call myself the Dalai Lama of daytime? No. But I'm sure someone out there has," she said.

An emotional Vin Diesel accepted the favourite film prize for "Furious 7", noting how hard it was to resume filming after the death of co-star Paul Walker in a car wreck.

Johnny Depp, named favourite male dramatic actor, called his storied career "a bizarre road for an actor".

Ellen Pompeo holds the awards for favorite dramatic TV actress and favorite network TV drama series for her work on "Grey's Anatomy" at the People's Choice Awards 2016 in Los Angeles, California January 6, 2016. Reuters

Ellen Pompeo (L) accepts the award for favorite network TV drama series as her fellow "Grey's Anatomy" cast members take a selfie at the People's Choice Awards 2016 in Los Angeles, California January 6, 2016. Reuters

Depp, who has had several box office failures since starring in the hit "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series, told fans "I'm very appreciative that you've stuck with me", sounding a familiar note among winners who singled out fans for thanks.

The People's Choice Awards are chosen by fans voting online in categories spanning film, television and music. More than 200 million votes were cast, said host Jane Lynch, the star of "Glee".

Dakota Johnson, star of the explicit "50 Shades of Grey", suffered an apparent problem with her gown while she accepted her favourite dramatic movie actress award but laughed it off as nothing people hadn't seen before.

Other winners at the Los Angeles ceremony included Sandra Bullock as favourite movie actress, "The Big Bang Theory" as favourite network TV comedy and "Grey's Anatomy", which was named favourite network TV drama.