What happens when you gather Hollywood’s biggest stars in the same room for one night a year? The possibilities are endless.
Since its debut in 1929, the Oscars have become one of the most prestigious — and unpredictable — nights in Hollywood. With the industry’s biggest actors, filmmakers and crew members dressed to the nines, the ceremony serves as a celebration of the year’s best films and honors those who brought them to life.
But over the years, it has proven to be more than just a night of accolades — it’s a show that’s often filled with moments that leave both attendees and viewers in shock, long after the ceremony ends.
From the jaw-dropping La La Land/Moonlight mix-up for Best Picture to Will Smith’s slap heard around the world, the Oscars have delivered some of pop culture’s most unforgettable controversies.
Ahead of the 97th annual Academy Awards, here’s a look back at 11 of the biggest Oscars controversies.
Hattie McDaniel’s plaque for her groundbreaking win went missing
Hattie McDaniel made history in 1940 when she was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1939’s Gone With the Wind, becoming the first-ever Black actor to win an Oscar. With strict segregation rules at the time, the actress was forced to sit at a separate table on the far side of the room.
But the shock didn’t stop there. When McDaniel died in 1952, she willed her plaque (trophies were not awarded to supporting actors at the time) to Howard University. However, it was lost shortly after, disappearing from the school’s fine arts building, per NPR.
According to the outlet, the Academy replaced the award in 2023, and the school held an accompanying ceremony to honor her life and career.
Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tying for Best Actress
In 1969, audiences were shocked when the Oscars had its first tie: Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn had both won the award for Best Actress. Streisand was nominated for her debut performance in Funny Girl, while Hepburn earned a nod for for The Lion in Winter.
However, only one actress — Streisand — took the stage to accept the award. Hepburn hadn’t shown up in the past to accept her awards, and this time around was no different.
Marlon Brando declining his award for Best Actor
Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his role in 1972’s The Godfather in 1973. But when it came time to accept the honor, Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather stood in his place and explained that Brando was boycotting the event and rejecting his trophy.
In place of what would have been his acceptance speech, the actor had written a 15-page letter for Littlefeather to read about his objections to Native American on-screen representation.
Robert Opel running naked across the stage
In 1974, the Oscars went from PG to R-rated when English teacher Robert Opel ran across the stage naked while host David Niven was presenting.
Years later, his nephew opened up about Opel’s streak in the documentary Uncle Bob, sharing that it was a demonstration of performance art and “a social comment,” per Entertainment Weekly.
Angelina Jolie thanking her brother — with a kiss
Angelina Jolie made headlines when she shared an intimate — and controversial — moment with her brother, James Haven, at the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000.
Ahead of the ceremony, Jolie kissed Haven on the lips while walking the red carpet. When she won her Oscar for Girl, Interrupted, she said in her acceptance speech that she was “in shock” and “so in love with my brother right now.”
“He just held me and said he loved me and I know he’s so happy for me, and thank you for that,” Jolie continued.
The actress reflected on her acceptance speech in an interview with Vogue two years later, clarifying, “Saying I’m ‘in love’ with him is just an expression.”
Jolie continued, “What I meant was, in this moment, with all this s— going on, all that matters to me is that guy sitting right there who has stood by me and is so f—— happy for me.”
Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry onstage
Things got steamy at the 75th Academy Awards. In 2003, while accepting the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Pianist, Adrien Brody famously kissed presenter Halle Berry.
“I bet they didn’t tell you that was in the gift bag,” he joked.
During a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Berry revealed that the moment was “not planned” and she “knew nothing about it.”
“I was like, ‘What the f— is happening right now?’ That is what was going through my mind,” Berry said. “And because I was there the year before and I know the feeling of being out of your body, I just f—ing went with it. But I was like, ‘What the f— is going on right now?’ ”
Eight years later, Brody reflected on the moment in an interview with Variety.
“We live in a very conscious time, which is a wonderful thing,” the actor said. “And nothing that I ever do or have done or would’ve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad.”
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty accidentally announcing ‘La La Land’ as Best Picture
The 2017 Best Picture mix-up — a.k.a. envelopegate — will forever go down as one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Oscars history!
When Bonnie and Clyde stars Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were invited to announce the award for Best Picture in 2017, they were accidentally given the envelope for Best Actress, which had gone to Emma Stone for her starring role in La La Land.
The mix-up sparked confusion, leading Beatty to announce La La Land as the Best Picture winner.
Producer Jordan Horowitz was in the middle of his acceptance speech when someone backstage yelled, “Oh my God, it’s not La La Land, it’s Moonlight!”
The cast of Moonlight then took the stage where Horowitz passed off the award to director Barry Jenkins who proceeded to give a speech of his own.
The 2015 Oscars nominations leading the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to go viral on Twitter
The Academy Awards has faced a lot of backlash for lack of diversity over the years, but perhaps the height of it came in 2015 after all the acting nominations went to White actors.
Social media user April Reign then coined the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on X, calling attention to the lack of nods for people of color in the award ceremony (and in Hollywood as a whole).
The hashtag was revived again the following year when, again, no actors of color were nominated, leading academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs to release a statement in which she said the organization would be “taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership.”
Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage
Among the most startling Oscars moments came in 2022, when Smith angrily responded to a joke made by host Chris Rock with a slap.
Rock was introducing the award for Best Documentary and joked to Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith in the audience, saying, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya.”
Just moments later, Smith walked on stage and slapped him across the face. “Oh wow,” Rock said shortly after. “Will Smith just smacked the s— out of me.”
Once Smith made it back to his seat, he yelled up to the stage, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth!”
While Rock deemed it the “greatest night in the history of television,” Smith later called it a “horrific night.”
The incident also led Smith to be banned from the Oscars for 10 years.
Andrea Riseborough’s Oscars nomination reviving the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite
The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite resurfaced again in 2023 due to the controversy around Andrea Riseborough’s Oscars nomination for her starring role in To Leslie.
The independent film flew under the radar until high-profile stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow began publicizing their support and hosting screenings. After being snubbed at the SAG, Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards, people were shocked to learn that Riseborough had been nominated for Best Actress at the most prestigious ceremony of all.
The Academy launched an investigation into campaign procedures around the nominees, though didn’t specifically mention the film or actress, and ultimately decided Riseborough would keep her nomination.
With no Black actresses nominated in the category, despite The Woman King‘s Viola Davis and Till‘s Danielle Deadwyler having made waves that year, Riseborough’s nomination re-sparked the conversation surrounding the Academy’s diversity problem.
Karla Sofia Gascón attending the Oscars following her controversial tweets
The latest scandal to hit the Oscars has been in talks before the ceremony has even started.
Ahead of the 97th annual Academy Awards, a source told PEOPLE that Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón planned to attend the ceremony, despite skipping several major awards shows following the backlash of past offensive tweets, which included comments about Muslim culture, George Floyd, diversity at the Oscars and more.
She had previously vowed to sit back during the award season, writing on Instagram that she hoped her “silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.”
Gascón is nominated for Best Actress for her leading role in Emilia Pérez, making history as the first openly transgender star to be considered for the category.
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