Topline
Hereâs a timeline of the political protests and outbursts at the Academy Awards, including plenty of anti-war statements (from Vietnam to Iraq to Ukraine) and booed speeches.
Timeline
rejected his Best Actor victory for The Godfather and sent Native American woman Sacheen Littlefeather to deliver a speech on his behalf, in which she announced his disapproval of the industryâs treatment of Native Americansâshe was met with some applause, as well as jeers from the crowd and a near-outburst from John Wayne, who had to be restrained by security.
Marlon Brando famouslymessage from Viet Cong official Dinh Ba Thi thanking those fighting for peace, prompting host Frank Sinatra to read a statement from the Academy later in the show distancing itself from political remarks made by winners.
When the anti-Vietnam War film Hearts and Minds won documentary feature, producer Bert Schneider read awon best supporting actress for Julia, in which she played an anti-Nazi operative, and in her speech rebuked âZionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world,â sparking controversy and criticism from a presenter later in the ceremony: Pro-Israel screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky said Redgrave âwinning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple âThank youâ wouldâve sufficed.â
Vanessa Redgraveurged the U.S. government âto admit that HIV is not a crimeâ and admit HIV-positive Haitians being held Guantanamo Bay into the country.
Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, who took the stage to present best film editing,received an honorary Oscar, nearly 50 years after testifying to the House Un-American Activities Committee in which he listed names of alleged communists, and was met with protests, actors including Ed Harris and Nick Nolte refused to stand or applaud and sat with their arms folded while protesters picketed outside.
When screenwriter Elia Kazanfirstâand to date, onlyâBlack woman and woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Monsterâs Ball, delivering an emotional speech dedicated to âevery nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.â
Halle Berry became theyelled, âshame on you, Mr. Bushâ to boos from the audience.
Michael Moore, in his acceptance speech for documentary feature, slammed President George W. Bush for entering the Iraq War for âfictitious reasonsâ andcriticized the Iraq War, comparing it to Vietnam, this time to applause from the audience.
The next winner for documentary feature, Errol Morris, alsospoke passionately in favor of gay rights, with Penn criticizing those who voted for Californiaâs Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage.
Sean Penn and Dustin Lance Black won lead actor and original screenplay, respectively, for Milk, the biopic of assassinated gay rights icon Harvey Milk, and bothbanner reading âText DOLPHIN to 44144â to support a protest against a Japanese huntâbut the cameras cut away immediately.
When The Cove, a documentary about dolphin hunting in Japan, won documentary feature, one of the producers onstage held up aspeech to calling for action on climate change, which he called âthe most urgent threat facing our entire species.â
Leonardo DiCaprio dedicated his leading actorurged the audience to make the âmoral choice between love versus hateâ in the 2020 presidential election.
Spike Lee won adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman andTangent
The Oscars itself has been the source of politically controversial moments in its history, from when Hattie McDanielâwho became the first Black actor to win an Oscar in 1940 for supporting actress in Gone With The Windâhad to sit at a segregated table, to its history of not nominating artists of color, or women, for major awards, sparking more recent protests like #OscarsSoWhite.
What To Watch For
How political will Sundayâs Academy Award ceremony be? Plenty of celebrities have spoken out about political topics in recent days, particularly against the ongoing wave of anti-trans and anti-drag state legislation, including Jamie Lee Curtis (whoâs up for Best Supporting Actress this year), Melissa McCarthy, and RuPaul. Some awards observers are also predicting (and hoping) that Michelle Yeoh will take home the Best Actress award to become only the second non-white winner in history. In previous speeches this awards season, sheâs dedicated her victories to other Asian actors.
Surprising Fact
Oscars producers reportedly denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an opportunity to appear on this yearâs telecast after also passing over him last year. Zelenskyâa former actorâhas made appearances at major telecasts and film ceremonies throughout the Ukraine war: Heâs delivered messages at the Golden Globes, the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, and the Grammy Awards. Last year, the Oscars denied Zelensky airtime after discussing the prospect for weeks to keep the show about film and avoid becoming too political. The Academy declined to comment on why Zelensky was passed over this year, Variety reported.
Chief Critics
The Academy has tried to save its ceremony in recent years from declining viewership, and some inside and out of the Academy reportedly fear the ceremonyâs political moments have been a turnoff for viewers. Oscar winner Goldie Hawn criticized the ceremonyâs politicization in a March Variety cover story: âIâm not old-fashioned, but sometimes jokes are off-color. And Iâm missing reverence. Things have become politicized,â she said. A 2022 YouGov survey of American attitudes toward the Oscars found three-quarters of Republicans and just over one-third of Democrats find it inappropriate for Oscar speeches to be political.