The Greatest Scandals in Oscar History: Nude Performance, Feminism, Politics and More

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In February 2020, the 92nd Academy Awards Ceremony for Achievement in the Field of Cinematography took place. The most famous film award among non-professionals has always attracted massive attention, and in recent years it has increasingly been associated with the scandals or awkward moments with which the Oscars are so rich.

Oscar -2020

The last ceremony was, in comparison with the previous ones, rather boring: no one fell when going on stage, not a single lucky one began to refuse the award, and even not quite dressed men ran around the stage (about all this - below). But, nevertheless, the journalists did not remain without them either. Joaquin Phoenix's speech is among the oddities of the Oscars this year. Receiving the undoubtedly deserved award for Best Actor, the new Joker movie did not traditionally give out numerous thanks, but started talking about the sad fate of the animals of our planet, especially cows suffering from human egocentrism. However, the views of this convinced vegan with an active lifestyle did not surprise anyone.

Even more anticipated was the artificially inflated scandal around the Oscars -2020, which was provoked by feminists and activists against racial inequality. Their claim is that this year's list of nominees is "too white and masculine." One of the honored members of the film academy, Stephen King, suddenly intervened in the discussion:

The venerable writer surprised his opponents with such views so much that he attracted a lot of indignant comments. Natalie Portman spoke on the same issue, stepping out on the red carpet in an outfit that everyone regarded as "feminist": black, a laconic raincoat with the names of eight women directors embroidered in piping, who, according to the actress, should have been in this day next to her, but were not nominated for the award … Both fashion critics and ordinary spectators were delighted to the core. It seems that King, with his outdated views of some kind, clearly lost this round.

1940 - skin color scandal

After all, the world has changed a lot! When, exactly 60 years ago, the Oscar was first presented to the black winner, everyone was amazed at this fact. Hattie McDaniel earned the coveted statuette for her brilliant supporting role in Gone With the Wind. The actress was even invited to the ceremony, which was a real shock for most spectators and participants, however, in order to avoid unnecessary noise, she was not sitting in the hall, like the whole team, but in the gallery. When McDaniel was summoned to the stage, the artist, distinguished by large forms, had to literally squeeze between the chairs.

1961 - a question of morality

In the early 1960s, the personal life of actors was considered by fans more fundamentally than it is today. So, for example, Elizabeth Taylor attracted at this time a lot of indignant voices from former fans by actually taking her husband (musician Eddie Fisher) away from her best friend (actress Debbie Reynolds). Against the backdrop of this scandalous story, she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as a lady of easy virtue in the film Butterfield 8. The outraged public discussed the moral character of the film star for a long time.

How and why you can refuse

Only about ten times in different years, the winners refused the most prestigious award or simply did not appear at the award ceremony. For the first time such an incident occurred back in 1936, when screenwriter Dudley Nichols abandoned the statuette for ideological reasons - this is how he expressed his position on the question of whether the Writers Guild should be recognized as a trade union. In 1971, when the actor George Scott, who played the role of General Patton in the film of the same name, did not receive the coveted statuette, the audience was shocked by his words. The artist said that he considers the policy around such awards "humiliating", and the solemn ceremony itself - "a two-hour parade of meat."

However, the most original rejection is still considered to be Marlon Brando's trick in 1973. Instead of the audience's favorite, a girl in an Indian outfit came up on stage for the award and said:. Interestingly, for a famous actor, this was the only performance on this problematic issue in life.

Awkwardness and acrobatics

Jennifer Lawrence - the youngest four-time Oscar nominee, distinguished herself in 2013 by falling in all her glory, right on the outskirts of the stage. The reason for the awkwardness was precisely the beauty - the girl got tangled in the hem of a chic pink dress from Dior. The audience gave a standing ovation to support the actress. - she said in response. Interestingly, from that moment on, falls on the red carpet became Jennifer's signature number. She probably appreciated the attention that the press paid to this case, and since then she even somewhat changed her image. Now, during her public appearances, everyone is eagerly awaiting what the actress will throw out this time.

But in 1999, 49-year-old actor and director Roberto Benigni, on the contrary, surprised the audience at the Oscars with miracles of dexterity. He was awarded two statuettes at once - for the best film in a foreign language and the best actor's work. When Sophia Loren announced his name from the stage, the emotional Italian ran towards her across the crowded hall, right on the backs of the seats. Those sitting in the armchairs, it seems, were not offended, especially when Roberto said from the stage that "I am so happy that I am ready to kiss everyone in the hall."

Let me speak

The most "promoted" event of the year in America, of course, always attracts massive attention of people around the world. Many stars use the platform provided to them to express their opinion on a particular issue. In addition to Joaquin Phoenix and Marlon Brando, many distinguished actors shared their "sore" in different years, but the most memorable was, perhaps, the speech of Richard Gere in 1993. The audience was surprised not even because the actor began to express his views, but because he did it instead of announcing the next nominee. Gere did not receive any awards that year (by the way, he still does not have a single Oscar), but was supposed to present the statuette in the category "Best Production Designer". Instead, the actor started talking about politics. He condemned the actions of the Chinese authorities and called on them to liberate Tibet.

This action could be considered the most unexpected performance at the Oscars, if not for the incident in 1974. Actor David Niven was giving the opening speech as he prepared to invite Elizabeth Taylor onto the stage to announce the winners when laughter broke out in the audience. It turned out that at that moment … an absolutely naked man ran across the stage behind him. The nude runner turned out to be conceptual artist, photographer and activist Robert Opel. With this act, he wanted to remind viewers about the rights of sexual minorities and expand the narrow framework of a conservative society. As Elizabeth Taylor then said when she did take the stage, Like any award in the field of art, "Oscar" constantly causes a lot of controversy: Because of what changed their minds to nominate for "Oscar" films by Chaplin, Coppola and other cult directors