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Actress Zoe Saldana bagged her first Oscar award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2024 film Emilia Peréz on Sunday, March 2, 2025. A segment from her award acceptance speech was posted on X by @ABC on Monday morning and has since gone viral.
In the clip, the Avatar actress is seen repeatedly calling for her mother as she tears up before telling the audience, "My mom is here. My whole family is here." The clip has since gone viral, receiving over 80K views within hours of it being uploaded.
Netizens took to X to react to the clip, with many wondering why Saldana was referring to her mother as "mommy," as they claimed that it was "weird."
"why kind of grown woman still says "mommy"?"
Netizens said that they wouldn't be able to look at Saldana the same again after finding out that she called her mother "mommy," despite being an adult.
"It really are only morons right? Damn what a sh*tshow" - commented an X user.
"If you're an adult do not call your mother mommy it's weird as f**k" - added another.
"holy sh*t zoe saldana is a weirdo. i'll never see her the same again after that wacko a** speech LMAOOOOO" - posted a third netizen.
Meanwhile, others praised her for it, pointing out how parents were our biggest cheerleaders. Some even defended the actress, stating that she didn't say, "mommy," but "mami," instead.
"Parents are usually your biggest cheerleaders" - wrote a fourth user.
"Such a beautiful, emotional moment Zoe's love for her mom is timeless!" - replied a fifth one.
"She didn't say "Mommy", she said "Mami" LOL" - added a sixth netizen.
Zoe Saldana won the award for the 2024 Spanish musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez, which stars Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramirez.
Zoe Saldana remembered her grandmother in her Oscar acceptance speech
As Zoe Saldana arrived on the stage to accept her award, she expressed her gratitude towards the Academy as well as her fellow nominees. She stated that she was "floored by this honor."
"Thank you to the academy for recognising the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita and talking about powerful women. My fellow nominees, the love and community that you have offered to me is a true gift, and I will pay it forward," she said.
The actress also thanked Jacques Audiard - the director of Emilia Pérez - for being curious about those women to tell the story of Perez, and calling him "forever a beloved character" in her life.
Zoe Saldana continued to speak about her grandmother, revealing that her grandmother came to the US in 1961. She added that she was the "proud" child of immigrant parents with "dreams and dignity and hard-working hands."
"The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish, my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted," she said.
In her speech, the actress also highlighted that she was the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, adding that she knew she wouldn't be the last.
Audiard's Emilia Perez has been nominated in several other categories at the 2025 Academy Awards, including:
- Best Picture
- Best Actress - Karla Sofia Gascon
- Best Director - Jacques Audiard
- Best International Feature
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Original Song - Mi Camino
- Best Original Core
- Best Make-up and Hairstylng
- Best Sound
- Best Film Editing
- Best Cinematography
Zoe Saldana was in the running for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress against Monica Barbaro from A Complete Unknown, Felicity Jones from The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini from Conclave, and Ariana Grande from Wicked. In the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor category, Kieran Culkin bagged the honor for his role in A Real Pain.
While Selena Gomez - Saldana's co-star in Emilia Perez - wasn't nominated in any category at the 2025 Oscars, the singer-actress attended the ceremony. She was dressed in a hand-embroidered, blush pink off-shoulder satin cuir evening gown designed by Ralph Lauren.
