Say what you want about the Academy Awards, but the ceremony always gives us something to talk about. It’s damn near impossible to fill a room with celebrities without something batshit happening—and this year did not disappoint.
The Oscars kicked off with a stellar monologue from Jimmy Kimmel. Rest assured, the comedian covered a ton of ground, including Greta Gerwig's snub, Madame Web's failure, and Robert Downey Jr.'s presumptive Best Supporting Actor win. (Spoiler: RDJ did, in fact, take home the award.) The ceremony began with Da'Vine Joy Randolph winning Best Supporting Actress for her turn in The Holdovers.
The star thanked everyone who encouraged her to act. "I didn't think I was supposed to be doing this as a career," she said. "I started off as a singer and my mother said to me, go across that street to that theater department. There's something for you there—and I thank my mother for doing that. I thank all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me, who have ushered me and guided me. I am so thankful to all you beautiful people out there."
Randolph's win was the first of many historic feats this year. For her work in Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone was the first Native American woman to earn a nomination for Best Actress. Meanwhile, for the first time in history, three of the Best Picture nominees (Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, and Past Lives) were directed by women. Elsewhere in the ceremony, Cillian Murphy won Best Actor for his performance in Oppenheimer, Emma Stone nabbed Best Actress for her chaotic turn as Bella Baxter in Poor Things, and Oppenheimer took home the Best Picture trophy.
So, what's the temperature of the fans at home? Thanks to Ryan Gosling's delightful rendition of "I'm Just Ken," a bit involving a nearly-naked John Cena, and a mercifully on-time ceremony, consensus is that the Academy put on damn good show. Here are the best reactions to the 96th Academy Awards.
