Chloe Zhao Wins Best Director, Making History
The ceremony halfway through when Chloe Zhao made Oscars history, taking home the award for Best Director for her work on Nomadland. The win made her the second woman and first woman of colour to ever win the category.
In her speech, the director recalled an expression that she used to guide herself through filming: “People at birth are inherently good.”
“When I was growing up in China, my dad and I would play this game. We would memorise classic poems and text and try to finish each other's sentences... I have always found goodness in the people I met,” she continued, adding that “this is for anyone who has the faith and courage to hold onto the goodness in themselves.”
The win was celebrated on Twitter, and the monumental moment will certainly go down in history.
Daniel Kaluuya's NSFW Dedication To His Parents
Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at this year's ceremony, but it wasn't his acceptance speech dedicated to the inspiring Fred Hampton, who he played in the film, that grabbed Twitter's attention, but his NSFW tribute to his mum and dad's sex life, all while his mum Damalie Namusoke and sister watched on from the audience.
"My mum and my dad... they had sex—and now I'm here!" he said at the podium, with the camera immediately cutting to his mum's very confused face.
"What's he talking about?" she can be seen asking her daughter, who has her head in her hands.
"You understand, I'm here. You know what I mean? I'm so happy to be alive," Kaluuya continued. "So I'm going to celebrate tonight. I appreciate everyone in the room, everyone watching at home. You know, peace, love, and onwards, we go again!"
The exact moment was caught on camera, and it's honestly one of the best things to come out of the Academy Awards to date.
Yuh-Jung Youn Fangirling Over Brad Pitt
Legendary Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn made history at the 2021 ceremony, becoming the first Korean woman to win Best Supporting Actress following her role as grandmother Soon-ja in Minari. But that wasn't the highlight of her night—meeting Brad Pitt was.
Pitt, who won Best Supporting Actor in 2020, presented the award, and when he handed Youn the microphone she seemed immediately star stuck by the Once Upon A Time actor.
"Mr Brad Pitt, finally," she told him as he stood to the side. "Nice to meet you. Where were you while we were filming in Tulsa? Very honoured to meet you."
"Let me pull myself together," she added, turning back toward the crowd.
The 72-year-old actress also gained praise when she thanked her children, who she says "made me go out and work."
"This is the result," she said. "Because mummy worked so hard."
The moment didn't slip by without getting Twitter's attention, and as one person noted, the actress ended the night with an Oscar in her left hand and Brad Pitt in her right. What an icon.
Regina King Makes A Powerful Political Statement
Opening the ceremony was One Night In Miami's Regina King, who used her speech to make a statement about Derek Chauvin's recent conviction. The actress told the crowd that she would have "traded in her heels for marching boots" if the result had been different the week prior, where the former police officer was charged with the murder of George Floyd.
“Now, I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you," she said. "But as a mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with and no amount of fame or fortune changes that."
While she might have been snubbed in the Best Director category this year, her custom Louis Vuitton and power walk to start the show earned King honourable winner for the people watching at home.
