The Oscars has been known as a night of recognition for all filmmakers and artists, but also been known to have many dramatic moments.
The 95th Academy Awards focused more on the prestige of filmmakers and artists and less on the controversial side following last year’s incident. However, there were still some highlights of spectacular moments from the Oscars—with emotional speeches, emotional performances and awkward jokes. Here were some of the biggest dramatic moments in and around the award show this year.
Following last year’s Oscars incident where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage, one of the trending drama stories surrounding the 2023 Academy Awards was about a fan calling for Ricky Gervais to host the Oscars this year instead of Jimmy Kimmel. The After Life comedian never hosted the Oscars before but had shown his hosting chops with five appearances at the Golden Globes—known for doing some savage roasts at the awards show.
Gervais responded to the fan’s tweet that read: “RT if you wish @rickygervais was hosting the #Oscars tonight.” He wrote, “F*** that,” while making a separate tweet of a clip of him at an award show addressing the crowd of film industry attendees. “Shut up, you disgusting, pill-popping sexual deviant scum,” he says in the clip. He additionally wrote with the clip, “Enjoy the Oscars,” along with a crying laughing emoji.
Everything Everywhere All At Once lived up to the hype and swept up almost every major Oscar award at the show. The awards were really everything and everywhere for the film and its creators and cast. During Michelle Yeoh’s acceptance speech for Best Actress In A Leading Role, she reiterated the message she has been trying to convey all year that she has been trying to be a “beacon of hope” for little girls who look like her. “Ladies, don’t let anyone tell you that you are past your prime. Never give up,” she added while also shouting out to her mom and other “superhero” moms out there.
A lot of emotions were flowing at this year’s Academy Awards. Brendan Fraser accepted an award for Best Actor In A Leading Role for his amazing performance in The Whale. He spoke about how grateful he was to Darren Aronofsky for “throwing him a lifeline” when he had spent many years out of the Hollywood limelight. He also mentioned his fellow nominees, which included Colin Farrell and Austin Butler, “It is my honor to be named alongside you in this category.”
Another tear-jerking moment was John Travolta’s speech ahead of the “In Memoriam” segment of the Oscars. He talked about his Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John, who died in August 2022. He said that they will always remember her, and that “we will remain hopelessly devoted to her.” Then, Lenny Kravitz performed for the touching segment.
Other emotionally-driven performances came from Lady Gaga performing her original song for Top Gun: Maverick, and Rihanna’s song for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Before beginning her song, Lady Gaga told the audience, “You might find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.” Her face was on the precipice of tears as she began singing, with fans saying how the performance was “very special.” Rihanna did not open with any remarks but had a powerful performance, first seen at the Super Bowl earlier this year, showing off her wonderful baby bump.
On the awkward side of the Oscars this year, Hugh Grant took the cake. First, he gave an interview with the ABC pre-show presenter Ashley Graham, but some fans said he did not look like he was having a good time in the interview. Fans were split on his behaviour, with one tweet that read, “hugh grant wants no part of this dumb s***.” Then, he led a strange bit with Andie MacDowall on the topic of “moisturizing” before presenting an award.
Adding to the peculiar choices of segments and bits at the Oscars this year, Kimmel referenced the “slapgate” incident quite a few times. All jokes and such aside, he also made some surprising shoutouts to Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler in his opening monologue for their respective roles in The Woman King and Till. He praised the movies and noted how they were not recognized by the Academy for the Best Actress In A Leading Role award.
His opening monologue also included topics of making fun of Nicole Kidman’s movie theatre advert, asking Seth Rogan about his drug use, and talking about how many Academy Awards Stephen Spielberg had won. Overall, the show went off without any controversial hitches. Kimmel ended with a “days without incident at the Oscars” bit where he flipped a number card from “0 days” to “1 days without an incident.”
