Plummeting ratings and dwindling viewer interest in the Oscars over the last few years has had the Academy scrambling to revive interest in the ailing ceremony. The result, this year, was a set of changes aimed to increase viewership, some of which (the return of hosts) worked better than others (the Fan Favourite   contest). Little did anyone expect though that an appalling physical confrontation would end up becoming the most talked about moment of the evening.  Here’s a quick look at the main highlights of the 94th Academy Awards…

The return of hosts

The trio may have seemed like they were chosen by drawing names from a hat, but it was still a delight to see three funny women – Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer – in charge of the big night. Their act wasn’t quite as seamless as the ceremony merited and some of their bits (Hall’s single-and-looking routine, Schumer’s seat fillers joke) didn’t quite work, but it was nonetheless refreshing to have hosts enliven the proceedings once again after three emcee-less years.

CODA’s victory

Netflix’s The Power of the Dog may have been the favourite throughout the award season but the film had started to lose momentum over the last few weeks, with Apple TV+’s CODA emerging as the frontrunner to take home the night’s biggest award. Widely predicted to win the Best Picture trophy, it did not come as a surprise at all when the Sian Heder drama about a deaf family and their hearing daughter emerged victorious. The project also yielded prizes for Troy Kotsur (Best Supporting Actor) and Heder (Best Adapted Screenplay), and marked the first time a movie from a streaming service was honoured with a Best Picture Oscar.

Beyonce’s performance

Dressed in tennis ball green, Queen Bey along with a sea of dancers wowed the audience when she opened the 94th Academy Awards with a performance of her Oscar-nominated song, ‘Be Alive’ (off the soundtrack of King Richard) from the tennis courts of Compton. Uplifting and vocally powerful, the clip featured appearances by Blue Ivy Carter and King Richard actresses Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton. And while it may have seemed a little too socially distanced for 2022, it still worked better than the mess that was the performance of ‘We Don't Talk About Bruno’ that featured way too many unnecessary artists, instead of focusing on the Encanto cast as it should have!

The slap heard
around the world

It’s a given that comedians will, without fail, roast celebrities at award shows. So it wasn’t exactly shocking when Chris Rock made a joke – as uncouth as it may have been – about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss. Her husband’s reaction – to walk on stage and slap Rock across the face – was, however, both shocking and unforgivable; a joke in bad taste does not, in any way, shape, or form, justify assault. Just as controversial was the fact that not only was Smith not escorted off the premises but was allowed to receive the Best Actor award and then use his speech to attempt to justify his inexcusable actions. Facing backlash, the Academy has announced it will review the situation and decide whether Smith will be stripped of his win and barred from future ceremonies.