Cena shocks, Gosling rocks! Biggest highlights from the Oscars
The Academy Awards have always consistently fueled the gossip mill, generating both positive and negative buzz since its inception. Consider the notorious moment when a naked man sprinted across the stage just before Elizabeth Taylor presented the award for Best Picture in 1974, or Robin Williams's heartfelt rendition of "Blame Canada."
Recent incidents have added to the chatter, such as Ellen DeGeneres's star-studded selfie or the Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident at the 94th Academy Awards. This mega event has consistently captivated and stirred its audiences over the years.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. This year, the 96th Academy Awards hasn't been any different with celebrities bringing their best and worst to keep the audiences at edge for another mishaps to take place on the world's biggest stage.
You can finally 'see' John Cena
The costume design award presentation at this year's Oscars will be particularly memorable, courtesy of John Cena's unconventional approach. Cena recreated the sketch inspired from then incident of an infamous streaker running across the stage while Elizabeth Taylor presented the award for Best Picture in 1974.
Following Kimmel's prompt, Cena, a wrestler and actor, made a bold entrance on stage completely naked, except for a pair of Birkenstocks and a strategically positioned envelope containing the winner's name.
The audience erupted in laughter as Cena humorously shuffled on stage, engaging in a quick and amusing exchange with Kimmel, making it one of the standout sketches of the evening. "The male body is not supposed to be funny," Cena said. "Mine is," Kimmel replied.
Messi the dog attends the Oscars
The best picture-nominated "Anatomy of a Fall" boasted a four-legged break-out star: Messi, the black-and-white border collie who plays "Snoop the dog" in the French courtroom drama.
Following days of speculation over whether he would show, Messi appeared at the ceremony, sitting in a plush red seat with a black bow-tie around his neck.
Messi even got some screen time later in the evening. The camera panned to him to show his paws up in applause for Robert Downey Jr's best supporting actor win.
Gosling also looked delighted to see Messi again, having previously made his acquaintance at the Oscars Luncheon last month.
Ryan Gosling brings "Kenergy" to the stage
Ryan Gosling's most anticipated performance of the Barbie hit, "I'm Just Ken," exceeded expectations at the Oscars. He started out the Oscar-nominated original song sitting just behind Barbie co-star Margot Robbie, who could not seem to control her laughter as Gosling crooned into her ear.
Donning an all-pink tuxedo, Gosling moved to the stage, dancing with cowboy-hat-wearing Kens, turning the evening into a lively concert. Even guitar legend Slash joined for a guitar solo. The energetic atmosphere led to singalongs from the star-studded front row, including Emma Stone, who had a wardrobe malfunction due to excitement. Stone shared backstage that her dress needed quick fixing after being enthralled by Gosling's performance.
Celebs 'rep' Gaza with red pins
Whilst the streets of Hollywood were flooded with demonstrators protesting Israel's genocide in Gaza, there were reminders of the conflict inside the ceremony too, with several big-name stars including Billie Eilish, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef sporting red pins in support of a ceasefire (Artists 4 Ceasefire) between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli-American founder of Marvel Entertainment, Avi Arad, wore a yellow ribbon, to raise awareness of the hostages who are still being held by Hamas since the October 7 attack on Israel.
And the war was noted from the Academy Awards stage itself, as the British director Jonathan Glazer accepted the best international film statue for his film "The Zone of Interest", which follows the domestic life of a Nazi officer and his family.
Glazer, who is Jewish, said he rejected his "Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people". "Whether the victims of October 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?"
Da'Vine Joy Randolph moves us to tears
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, the first time winner of the night at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, expressed gratitude to the audience, saying, "Thank you for seeing me." The Oscars brought joy to super-fans with a return to the old presenting format, featuring past winners announcing nominees for the four acting categories.
The heartfelt introductions, like Lupita Nyong'o's for Randolph, added moments of genuine emotion from the stars. Randolph, moved to tears by Nyong'o's introduction, later accepted the trophy for Best Supporting Actress, marking her first win after her initial nomination.
"I didn't think I was supposed to do this as a career," she said in her speech. "For so long, I've always wanted to be different, and now I realize I just need to be myself. And I thank you. I thank you for seeing me."
Backstage, she spoke about encouraging creatives from under-represented backgrounds to keep going: "The beautiful thing that erupts is your imagination and creativity because you don't have much…. Something I think as black people, we are very good at, is making a lot out of very little. It's our superpower."
Al Pacino and an awkward announcement
A notable but confusing moment of the evening happened when veteran Hollywood star Al Pacino hesitated, before announcing Oppenheimer as the best picture winner. Speculations were high anticipating the 2017 infamous "La La Land/Moonlight" mix up again and then when Al Pacino uttered his announcement so casually - there was a sharp intake of breath in the auditorium. Thankfully, no-one rushed on to the stage to correct him.
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