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The Oscars, aka the Academy Awards, are no doubt one of the biggest events within the American film industry. It has even amassed an international reputation.
With the kind of reputation it has built up over the years and the prominent personalities gracing the red carpet at the event, it is bound to attract some controversy, given that celebrities and gossip almost go hand in hand.
Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, we commemorate some of the biggest controversies that have taken place at the revered award ceremony. Some of these go as far back as the 1940s, giving us a peek into the world of scandals that the Oscars have been embroiled in over the years.
The streak, the mistakes, and more of the biggest controversies that occurred at the Oscars
1) The slap
Will Smith's slap was undoubtedly (and unfortunately) the highlight of the 94th Academy Awards Ceremony. When host Chris Rock was smacked across the face by actor Smith, the audience as well as viewers back home were stunned into silence. Rock, however, handled the situation pretty smoothly and kept on playing his part as the host.
The entire ordeal happened because Chris Rock cracked a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Upon hearing the same, Will Smith unexpectedly came onto the stage and slapped Rock across the face. He then went on to resume his seat and ended up screaming profanities at Rock for talking about his wife.
People from different industries extended their support to Rock and condemned Smith's unprofessionalism and violent outburst on national television.
While Smith's action was unanimously looked down upon, Rock's calm and composed behavior was praised by many.
The moment itself has undoubtedly made a place for itself among the biggest controversies within the industry in the last few years.
2) The envelope mishap
The 89th Academy Awards, or the 2017 Oscars, was another prominent ceremony in the history of the Oscars because of the major mix-up that happened that year.
Owing to a mistake in the envelope carrying the details of one of the most important awards of the night, the wrong film ended up being announced as the winner for the Best Picture category.
When Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty went to present the final award for the night under the Best Picture category, the production team mistakenly handed them an envelope that read "Emma Stone" as the winner under the Best Actress category.
This led to the presenters announcing La La Land as the winner of Best Picture.
However, the acceptance speech by the La La Land team was cut short when officials quickly corrected their mistake and announced Moonlight to be the Best Picture for 2017. Jordan Horowitz then went on to present the Oscar statuette to the Moonlight team.
3) The streaker
The 1974 Academy Awards was one of the more eventful Oscars. Although Tatum O'Neal set a record that year by being the youngest person to receive the golden statuette at the age of 10, this achievement was overshadowed by the frenzy caused by a streaker.
When David Niven got up on stage to invite Elizabeth Taylor to present the final award of the night, i.e. the Best Picture award, Robert Opal, a street photographer and art gallery owner, ran across the stage naked.
This caused quite an uproar in the audience who watched in disbelief. However, Niven stayed composed throughout and even cracked a joke to lighten the situation and distract the audience:
"Ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen. But isn't it fascinating that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings."
There have been controversies and theories which believe that the streaker was planted by the Academy itself, in hopes of increasing the viewership.
4) Adrian Brody kisses Halle Berry
In 2003, Adrian Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor for his moving performance in The Pianist.
In his excitement, Brody rushed to the stage, grabbed Halle Berry, who was presenting the award, and gave her a long passionate kiss. This left many baffled in the audience, including Berry herself, who later gave her candid opinion on the incident.
According to Berry, Brody's kiss was completely spontaneous and she was taken aback when it happened.
During an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Berry talked about how she did not even remember how the kiss was because of the abrupt nature of it:
"I don't know. I was too focused on 'What the f**k is going on right now?'"
5) Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar
The Oscars of the bygone days saw their own fair share of controversies and incidents. In 1973, when Marlon Brando won the Best Actor award, he refused to attend the show and nominated Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American actress, as his representative.
When Brando won Best Actor, Sacheen Littlefeather came up to the podium to deny the award on his behalf and relay his message to the audience. She talked about how Brando was unable to accept the award because of his stance against the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry, and also in view of the events at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
The audience responded to Littlefeather's speech with both boos and applause. Moreover, while it was not caught on camera, John Wayne reportedly tried to rush onto the stage, but was restrained by six security personnel. This proved to be one of the more darker moments of the Oscars and gave rise to multiple controversies.
6) John Travolta introduces Adele Dazeem
The 2014 Oscars had its own moments of fame, but one, in particular, stands out.
At the event, John Travolta was sent on stage to present Idina Menzel before her performance of the Oscar-winning song, Let It Go, from Frozen. However, it led to an embarrassing moment that has been etched into the history of the Oscars.
Travolta began with talking about his love for musicals and how the songs create amazing cinematic moments. But when he went on to introduce Idina Menzel, he got the name wrong and mistakenly called her Adele Dazeem, making it one of the biggest blooper moments of the 2014 Academy Awards.
Menzel, however, took the error very sportingly and also credited Travolta for her immense fame that followed the incident.
7) The wrong image for late costume designer Janet Patterson
One of the biggest embarrassments for the Academy Awards happened in 2017. The ceremony has a regular segment called In Memoriam, where they remember and pay homage to the biggest names in the film industry, who have passed away in a given year.
In 2017, when the In Memoriam segment was being played, the Academy paid homage to one of the most famous costume designers in the world, Janet Patterson.
However, they got the image accompanying the name wrong, and instead showed a picture of Australian film producer, Jan Chapman, who was very much alive. The mishap caused quite an uproar and led to an official apology from the Academy for their mistake.
8) Angelina Jolie's love for brother James Haven
The 72nd Academy Awards became the origin of the biggest controversy to plague one of Hollywood's biggest actress.
When Angelina Jolie won her first Oscar under the category of Best Actress for her role in Girl, Interrupted, she thanked her brother, James Haven, for his unending support, adding that she loved him.
However, she later went on to kiss Haven on his mouth, which began a slew of controversies. Many believed that the two had an incestual relationship. People also talked about how Brad Pitt was unsettled about the relationship and how it was causing problems in their own marriage.
Jolie later addressed the issue and clarified that their relationship was purely sibling love and nothing more.
9) Citizen Kane did not win Best Picture
Citizen Kane is undoubtedly among the greatest of films ever made. However, you may be shocked to know that it did not win an Oscar under the category of Outstanding Motion Picture, now dubbed Best Picture. Although the film did receive a nomination, it lost out to How Green Was My Valley.
The film received nine nominations but ended up winning only one, for Best Original Screenplay. Audiences had initially thought that Citizen Kane would have a clean sweep at the awards ceremony, but the completely different outcome sparked rage among fans.
Given that the film is still considered as one of the greatest films of all time, the early legitimacy of the Oscars does indeed come under scrutiny.
These were all the controversies that the Oscars have seen over the course of its 94-year run. With so many major artists in one place, the award ceremony has always been a hotspot for gossip and controversies.
The 95th Academy Awards will be presented at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, on March 12, 2023. You can expect to see some interesting things this time around as well, so be sure to catch it live on ABC at 6:30 pm ET.
