“Finally, we’ll never have to talk about Emilia Perez ever again,” says one tweet. And true, the discourse this awards season has been exhausting, but it has also been such an exciting time. Yesterday, the final boss of award shows, the Oscars, was held, and I guess it was a pretty good ceremony.

It had a few weird choices, a considerable amount of gags, weird microphone levels, and some “why is she there though?” Pretty standard Oscar night, if you ask me. But here are some moments in the 97th Academy Awards that stood out the most:

Cynthia and Ariana’s Oz tribute

The besties from Wicked might not have won in any televised awards show, but they sure are a huge part of what made this awards season so fun. And what better way to end their run with one of the best Oscars opening in years? 

In a tribute to both Los Angeles and the iconic stories about the realm of Oz, Ariana sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, Cynthia sang Home from The Wiz, ending it with Wicked’s Defying Gravity, and my God was it incredible!   

Conan takes a jab at Karla Sofia Gascon

“Little fact for you, “Anora” uses the F word 479 times. That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofia Gascon’s publicist” – Conan at the #Oscars2025 pic.twitter.com/YBYnDGI3UE

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 3, 2025

Conan did quite well as a host, and he had a lot of really good moments. That John Lithgow joke or that one about Russia, for example. But it’s the one about Karla Sofia Gascon that really deserves a spot here. 

An early frontrunner in the Best Picture race despite a lot of people’s passionate hate for it, Emilia Peréz’s chances were perhaps ultimately destroyed when an X user exposed Karla Sofia Gascon’s racist and Islamophobic tweets. It’s a shame, truly, because what could have been a conversation about her historic nomination as the first trans woman nominated for Best Actress literally just turned into a joke.

Flow wins Best Animated Feature

Flow pic.twitter.com/7iEKJ15Wal

— tibúrcio (@Tiburcius1) March 2, 2025

Latvia just won their first-ever Oscar! The small group of independent animators behind Flow took five years to finish this film about animals coming together to navigate a changed world without humans.

And I love that it won against a juggernaut like Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot, one of the best-reviewed American animated films in years. With Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, and now Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow winning the last three years, it seems the reign of Disney is over, and this category has never been more exciting.

No Other Land wins Best Documentary Feature

Even though theater owners wouldn’t screen it and distributors wouldn’t pick it up, No Other Land, a documentary co-directed by Palestinians and Israelis that features the friendship between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist, won an Oscar and gave the most powerful speech of the night.

Together, co-directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham spoke onstage to call for an end to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people and how American foreign policy blocks their road to peace. All before a half-heartedly clapping showbiz crowd, and zionist Gal Gadot just backstage! 

Adrien Brody takes his time

when you want to present the award and go home but adrien brody is the speaker
pic.twitter.com/REgX3dLTNp

— gab (@kenobitrinity) March 3, 2025

Adrien Brody won his second Oscar for his incredible performance as Hungarian architect Laslo Toth in The Brutalist, and his acceptance speech was just painful to watch.

It felt just as long as his movie, but nowhere near as enjoyable. Did he really have to tell the orchestra to stop playing music? Did he have to subject poor Cillian Murphy to the nothing burger of a speech he made? He now holds the record for the longest Oscars acceptance speech ever! And for what? No wonder his director looked pissed in the audience.

Mikey Madison wins Best Actress

Am I just gay, or is the Best Actress race always just the most exciting? This year, in particular, was a nailbiter between three contenders in particular: Demi Moore, who had the career comeback narrative going for her; Fernanda Torres, a foreign actor whose performance is so incredible it brought her film to the Best Picture race; and Mikey Madison, the ingénue in a star-making film. 

Demi Moore was a clear frontrunner after winning the Oscar precursors, the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards. But Mikey Madison won the BAFTA, whose winners always tend to reveal who’s winning at the Oscars.

Also, while Demi Moore got the narrative, she literally shared The Substance with Margaret Qualley while Mikey Madison was in every scene of her movie. Anora was sweeping the night, after all. It would have been really weird at that point if Madison lost when she is the movie. 

In the end, Madison did win. She is now the only actor born in the 90s since Jennifer Lawrence to have taken the trophy home.

Harry and Sally Reunite

the When Harry Met Sally reunion !!!!! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/QGaFIpGPn8

— Natalie ❁ (@livelyackles) March 3, 2025

The night was bursting at the seams with duos. It started with Cynthia and Ariana. Then there’s the lovely Rachel Zegler and her talentless, zionist co-star. There’s also the original The Color Purple’s Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg (who looked like they exchanged wardrobes).

June Squibb and her next director, Scarlet Johansson, also had one of the best bits of the night. But I just wasn’t prepared for Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal and their When Harry Met Sally reunion!

Sean Baker wins 4 Oscars

Although already quite established as the independent filmmaker behind Tangerine and The Florida Project, Sean Baker hadn’t really received much love from the Academy over the years. But now he has just become the first artist since Walt Disney himself to have won four Oscars in one night! He won for original screenplay, editing, directing, and picture for Anora. 

In his speeches, he adorably sent much love to his mother, called for the industry to prioritize cinema screenings over streaming releases, and expressed his allyship to sex workers. Now, whether sex workers actually feel well-represented and served by this movie, however, is another thing.

Congrats, Sean Baker! And everyone, watch Nickel Boys!

Did we miss anything? What was your favorite moment from this year’s Oscars?

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