I’m sure everyone and their dog has heard about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock over a bad joke about Will’s wife’s hair loss, which was caused by alopecia. We’ve all seen the memes, heard the debate, and made our decision about what happened. I thought it’d be fun to take a look at other Oscar drama that occurred in the past since we all apparently enjoy it.

This won’t be a full list, because we all know there is so much more going on in Hollywood then what the general public is aware.

1. 2019: There was no host after Kevin Hart stepped down once a group of homophobic tweets of his came to surface. 13 presenters shared the hosting duties instead. I’m glad he stepped down after all the backlash. Imagine if he had actually hosted. There would probably have been boycotts.
2. 2017: Honestly, this is the only other one I can remember offhand. La La Land was announced as the winner of best picture, when in reality it was Moonlight. Now, I don’t see this one as drama, so much as it was just a mistake. The presenters are handed the envelopes. It’s not their job to check if it’s the right one. Whoever gave them the envelope made a mistake, and mistakes happen. Still, it was an awkward moment for sure.
3. 2017: Casey Afleck winning Best Actor despite numerous sexual assault allegations. Brie Lawson was the presenter of the award and she didn’t applaud, and made it clear she was not pleased with the situation. It’s my opinion that anyone with sexual assault allegations should not be given an award at anytime. It’s a terrible thing for all involved and I applaud Brie Lawson’s response.
4. 2014: This one isn’t controversial but was very hilarious to witness. John Travolta was supposed to be presenting Idina Menzel, but completely flubbed her name and instead, called her Adele Dazeem. This one lives on in my memory and the internet.
5. 2012: Sasha Baron Cohen arrived to the Oscars, dressed as his character from the Dictator, and he was carrying an urn he claimed had the ashes of Kim Jong-il. Things took a turn when he spilled the “ashes” (actually pancake mix) on Ryan Seacrest during an interview. He was escorted off the red carpet, and yelled, ‘Now when people ask what you’re wearing, you will say Kim Jong-il!’ I never heard anything about this and clearly, didn’t watch that year. I generally don’t watch the red carpet interviews anyway. Sasha has always been very out there so I find this fitting for him.
6. 2003: Roman Polanski won the award for Best Director for the Pianist. Only he wasn’t there, and if he had been, he would have been arrested. He plead guilty to statutory rape and if he had entered the U.S., he would have been arrested. He wasn’t even removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences until 2018. Honestly, he should be in jail, and should have been removed in 2003 when this came to light.
7. 2003: The Pianist definitely had some controversial moments at the Oscars. After winning Best Actor, Adrien Brody planted a completely unexpected kiss on Halle Berry who presented the award. Consent is key, and this was in poor taste. Halle was completely caught off guard and Adrien was lucky she didn’t slap him. I would’ve.
8. In 1993, it was considered extremely controversial to discuss political topics during speeches, unlike today. Two presenters, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins were both banned for using their presentation time to remark on the poor treatment of Haitians with HIV, and Richard Gere was banned for discussing China’s invasion of Tibet. The bans weren’t enforced though. Can you imagine any award show without some mention of a political or controversial topic in a speech? It would be insane today.
9. 1974: A streaker took the stage when Elizabeth Taylor was being announced as a presenter. Robert Opel, a gay rights activist, raced across the stage, flashing a peace sign and everything else he was born with, causing quite a stir. Some people believe this was actually a stunt arranged by Oscars producer, Jack Haley Jr., but this hasn’t been confirmed. Hats off to Robert for going for it.
10. 1973: Marlon Brando won Best Actor, and did not attend the ceremony, but instead, Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather declined the award in his name. She read a letter written by Brando that explained his rejection was due to the mistreatment of Native Americans by the film industry. As of today, awards cannot be accepted by a proxy, and the presenter will accept on behalf of the winner if they aren’t present. I applaud Brando’s choice. It’s interesting though that he wasn’t banned for this, when the event in 1993 caused the banning of three people. I wonder if his popularity had anything to do with it.
11. 1940: Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Oscar for her work in Gone With the Wind. However, she originally wasn’t even allowed into the ceremony, and the movie’s producers had to intervene. Even then, she was seated at a segregated table. We’ve progressed past this for sure, but there’s still a lot of racism involved in Hollywood today. Which leads me to my last point.
12. The absolute lack of diversity in nominees, for just about every year the Oscars have taken place. This includes the boycott in 2016 after two years of almost all Caucasian nominees. There are so many talented people in the movie industry, and the Academy almost always snubbed those who weren’t white. While there are more people of color and diverse backgrounds represented, there’s still so much work to do, in the Academy, and in the filming of movies, pay, and opportunities to make things more equal.

Again, there are so many other controversial moments, and many that were probably controversial at the time, but aren’t anymore. Leave a comment with your favorite Oscars moment below.