The Oscars: Top 10 Moments of All Time

By Beth Colmer

The 95^th Academy Awards aired on Sunday night and remained relatively scandal / violence free (the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will be breathing one whopping sigh of relief). The dresses were glamorous (and some barely there – Hunter Schafer at Vanity Fair, we’re looking at you), security was EVERYWHERE after ‘the slap heard round the world’, Hugh Grant cracked the funniest gag of the night, and despite critics slamming the Academy for a complete lack of women nominated for Best Director, there was one truly history-making moment, which has made it into our Top 10 round up of all time Oscar moments.

1. 2023: Michelle Yeoh becomes the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once. In her acceptance speech, Michelle, who is 60 years old, said, ‘ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re past your prime. Never give up.’
2. 1974: The Streaker. Men attend the Oscars suited and booted, but not in their birthday suits! At the 64^th Academy Awards, conceptual artist, Robert Opel, posed as a journalist, sneaked backstage and streaked flashing a peace sign during host, David Niven’s introduction of Elizabeth Taylor. The crowd gasped and squealed with glee. Niveen smiled and displayed some serious quick wit saying, “isn’t it fascinating that probably the only laugh man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings.”
3. 1973: Marlon Brando Refuses his Oscar. When Marlon Brando won the Best Actor award for his performance in "The Godfather," he refused to attend the ceremony in protest of Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans. Instead, he sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to speak on his behalf.
4. 2013: Jennifer Lawrence shows that even Hollywood actresses are human. Jennifer Lawrence stumbled up the stairs on her way to accept the Best Actress award for her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook". She quickly recovered and said, “you guys are just standing because I fell and that’s really embarrassing.”
5. 1985: ‘You like me!’ Sally Field won the Best Actress award for her performance in "Places in the Heart." In her emotional acceptance speech, she famously exclaimed, "You like me! You really like me!"
6. 2017: The biggest kerfuffle in Hollywood history – the La La Land / Moonlight Mix-up. For the last and biggest award of the night, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced "La La Land" as the winner of Best Picture. Moments later however, everyone realised that they had been given the wrong envelope and the real winner was “Moonlight” prompting La La Land’s producer, Jordan Horowitz (on stage to accept the award he hadn’t won) took the microphone and announced, ‘this is not a joke, Moonlight won Best Picture’.
7. 1999: Roberto Benigni jumps on the chairs. When Roberto Benigni won the Best Foreign Language Film award for "Life is Beautiful," he was so overcome with joy that he climbed over chairs and leapt onto the stage to accept his award.
8. 2014: John Travolta butchers Idina Menzel’s name. John Travolta had trouble pronouncing singer Idina Menzel's name when introducing her performance of "Let It Go" from "Frozen." He called her "Adele Dazeem," which quickly became a viral sensation.
9. 2020: Eminem's surprise performance. Rapper Eminem surprised the audience when he took the stage to perform his Oscar-winning song "Lose Yourself" from the movie "8 Mile." It was the first time the song had been performed live on television.
10. 2002: Halle Berry becomes the first black woman to win Best Actress for her performance in Monster’s Ball. In her emotional acceptance speech, she thanked those who had come before her and paved the way for her success.