The 94th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre on March 27, was definitely one for the ages. The hosts were three comedians: Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer. From a performance of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by Megan Thee Stallion and the Encanto cast to Chris Rock getting slapped by Will Smith, there is a lot to uncover from this year’s Academy Awards. 

       The most shocking moment from the Oscars occurred when comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance. Rock was not aware that Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair loss. He jokingly compared her to a bald character from the 90’s war movie, G.I. Jane. While Will Smith was laughing and seemed to find the joke funny at first, his mood suddenly changed. He unexpectedly walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face. The audience was shocked, but not sure if this was part of a comedy bit until Smith started to shout profanities. Even more stunned was Chris Rock, but he nevertheless maintained his professionalism and composure and continued to do his job as a presenter. It is unknown why Smith was not removed from the venue for the assault. Soon after, Smith returned to the stage to receive his first best actor award for his role in King Richard. He gave an emotional speech where he compared himself to his character in the movie saying that he was “a fierce defender for his family”. He stated that “love will make you do crazy things”. He apologized to the Academy but did not apologize to Rock in his speech. Smith received a 10-year ban from the Academy as a result of his actions. This moment caused so much drama and as a result, many award winners were overshadowed. 

       Despite the slap drawing so much attention, there were many award moments worth mentioning. Jane Champion won Best Director for The Power of the Dog and was one of only three women to ever win this award. Belfast won Best Original Screenplay. Jessica Chastain won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Troy Kostur won the award for Best Supporting Actor in CODA. Kostur’s win is especially impactful because he is a deaf actor and played the role of a deaf man in the film. CODA won two other awards for best picture and best-adapted screenplay. Ariana DeBose won best supporting actress for her role in West Side Story. Encanto won best-animated feature. Dune won the most awards of the evening, winning six Oscars in the technical categories including best visual effects and sound.

       As well as presenting awards for the films, the Oscars included an award for music. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas won Best Original Song for No Time to Die which was the theme for the most recent James Bond movie, No Time to Die. The awards show also included musical performances throughout the show. Four of the five musical performances were all songs that were nominated for Oscars. Reba McEntire performed “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days, Sebastián Yatra sang “Dos Orguguitas” from Encanto, and Billie Eilish and Finneas performed their awarded “No Time to Die”. A popular performance was from the Cast of Encanto and Megan Thee Stallion. They sang “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and Megan added an Oscars-themed verse. This was the first time this song was performed for a live audience. Beyonce performed for the first time after a hiatus with a performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard. She paid tribute to the city where Venus and Serena Williams practiced by performing on a tennis court in Compton. This year’s Oscars ceremony was definitely entertaining for viewers and will be remembered for many years to come.