Jimmy Kimmel set everyone straight right at the start of the show: anyone misbehaving this year will have to pay the consequences—immediately. There will be no repeat of last year’s debacle when Will Smith jumped up out of the audience to slap Chris Rock and no one did anything about it.
“We can’t let bad behavior slide anymore,” said Kimmel. “The world is watching us.”
Kimmel called the show “a night for positivity.” However, this year the Academy had anticipated any such occurrence and put in place contingency plans to prevent them.
Kimmel then touched on the other issue that has become a sore point in all awards ceremonies: actors of color being recognized for their work.
“I remember a time when the major studios didn’t believe a woman or a minority could open a super hero movie — and the reason I remember that time is because it was March of last year,” said Kimmel.
This year either Angela Bassett or Stephanie Hsu were expected to take home the golden statuette for best supporting actress, but instead it was Jamie Lee Curtis who walked away with it for her work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Despite predictions that finally, the award would be going to a woman of color, once again a white woman won it for what has been perceived to be all the wrong reasons. This unleashed waves of surprise, anger and what has now become standard: calls of racism.
Some fans were particularly frustrated that Angela’s role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was overlooked, where she played the grieving mother of T’Challa while grieving the real loss of her costar Chadwick Boseman.
ErinMPeyton declared on Twitter, angrily typing in caps:
“THEY GAVE JAMIE LEE CURTIS AN OSCAR FOR A MOVIE SHE WAS BARELY IN BECAUSE THAT STUPID INDUSTRY BEEN IGNORING HER HER WHOLE CAREER…ONLY TO ALSO IGNORE ANGELA BASSETT WHO IS BEYOND DESERVING OF THAT AWARD.”
Curtis did have some support from her fans: SavageBeast88 argued: “Everyone mad because Jamie Lee Curtis won well tough she deserves it and please stop making it that she’s white and a nepotism baby. That s**t gets old quick.”(sic)
The disappointment was visible on Bassett’s face as she did not stand with the rest of the audience and applaud when Curtis’ name was called out, and her reaction was noted and commented on. “Regardless of who won that Oscar … Angela Bassett could have clapped for the winner,” one Twitter user wrote. “To just sit there and not clap because you didn’t win…it’s just rude.”
Here is the list of winners in the major categories:
Best Picture
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, producers)
Best Director
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Best Supporting Actress
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Supporting Actor:
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Original Screenplay
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert)
Adapted Screenplay
“Women Talking” (Sarah Polley)
Original Song
“Naatu Naatu,” by M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose (“RRR”)
Original Score
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Volker Bertelmann)
Animated Short
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” (Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud)
