The Oscars or the Academy Awards are the most prestigious awards ever as it celebrates and awards the best of the best in the film industry. The awards are grand, there is the creme de la creme of the Hollywood film fraternity who walk down the red carpet putting on their luxe finer smiling and pouting for the paparazzi.
This year, the ceremony became a headline-grabbing event thanks to the good and the not-so-good moments. The show was peppered with some altercations (yes, no less!) a few mind-blowing performances and stellar front rows that gave us a sneak peek of the event that we wait for the entire year. All we can say is that it is certainly worth the wait.
The Slap That Caused a Stir
This year, the Oscars were all about the altercation between Chris Rock and Will Smith. Social media has been rife about the tussle between the presenter, Chris Rock, and Will Smith, who got an award for his biopic King Richard.
A tearful Will Smith took the award, almost joking about the fact that he was invited back on stage after things got pretty bad on stage. It all started with a tasteless joke falling flat where Chris made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair condition.
Will Smith walked right up to the stage purposefully and slapped Chris, which almost looked like an assault. The whole hall was hushed into an eerie silence. Presenter Amy Schumer later said that the vibe was completely different after the incident. While nobody knows who was right and who was wrong. but an assault like that could go down in history as one of the most discussed episodes in the Oscar awards history.
Tweaking A Song’s Lyrics to Make it Oscar-Worthy
Apart from the many special moments that made the Oscar event, the way it was, there were also certain things like the live performance of Encanto spoke about the Oscars awards dictum. Oscar is all about celebrating the movies, but it wants it to be all about the Oscars. The Song, We Don’t Talk About Bruno was conveniently tweaked to make it all about the Oscars. A rap song from Megan Thee Stallion became the highlight of the evening.
Billie Eilish’s Rocking Performance
Billie Eilish knew exactly how to set the tone right for the evening, as she sang with all her heart a beautiful song, No Time to Die. She rendered the song teaming up with her brother Finneas. She also won the award for the best song, rounding off a beautiful evening for her. It was one of the events that hit the right notes for the evening. It just goes to show that when it comes to music Billie can do no wrong.
The Sterling Speeches
The acceptance speeches were truly memorable. Right from the Best Supporting Acting winners like Ariane DeBose and Troy Kotsur. Ariane expressed how it is difficult for her to find her way as an out-of-closet queer woman of color who found her way and strength through art. Troy had a rousing yet funny speech that moved everyone. He special mentioned his dad calling him his hero, he had special words for the deaf community, and also spoke about Joe Biden swearing on ASL when he visited the White House. Another wonderful speech was delivered by Jenny Beavon who won for Cruella. It was sweet revenge as her earlier accomplishments were downplayed by some of the big names in the industry.
The Impressive Double Act by Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli
The night was not short of some touching events, and one of them certainly turned out to be a wonderful act by Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli. They were there on stage to present the award of Best Picture to CODA. When Minnelli, was having trouble as she was in a wheelchair and was almost stumbling over the autocue, Gaga was the one who was there right beside her telling her she had her back as Liza said that she knew. We were sure most of the audience was moved to tears by the tender scene happening right before her.
There you go, if you want to describe the Oscar Awards 2022, it was certainly happening! We just hope the controversial events do not override the many beautiful events of the evening.