Another year, another night spent not knowing any of the Oscars nominees! The 2022 Academy Awards may be, as Chris Rock said, “the greatest night in the history of television.” But more likely they’ll be the talk of the town for the next few days before everyone moves on to the next exciting announcement from Hollywood. That being said, the 3 hour and 40 minute broadcast included its fair share of memorable and meaningful moments.
Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes shared the spotlight as the evening’s hosts, managing to get the audience laughing from time to time. Accompanying them onstage throughout the night was a variety of celebrities. DJ Khaled introduced the hosts, Meghan Thee Stallion had a cameo in the live performance of Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” professional athletes Shaun White and Tony Hawk presented awards, and even Beyoncé’s ten-year-old daughter Blue Ivy made a brief appearance. Camera pans to the audience highlighted the numerous celebrity guests including music artist Billie Eilish, tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, and pop culture duo Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker. Of course, the audience was filled with award nominees and their colleagues as well.
As far as the actual Oscars themselves, a handful of recipients made history. Winning best supporting actor for his role in CODA, Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man and second deaf actor to win an acting award. Marlee Matlin, Kotsur’s CODA co-star, became the first when she won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for her leading role in Children of a Lesser God in 1987. Furthermore, Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer woman of color to take home an acting Oscar for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role.”
After three nominations, Jessica Chastain finally clenched the “Best Actress” award for her role as Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and she used her speech to comment on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being passed around the country. Will Smith went home with “Best Actor” for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena in King Richard. Underdog Apple TV original, CODA, won the coveted Oscar for “Best Picture,” and Disney’s Encanto took the spot for “Best Animated Feature.”
Certainly distracting from these feats of talent, however, was the bizarre and unexpected conflict between comedian Chris Rock and Oscar nominee (soon to be winner) Will Smith. After a joke Rock made at the expense of Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith that clearly made the actress uncomfortable, Smith marched onstage and proceeded to slap Rock across the face. Audio broadcasting in the U.S. was frantically censored, but viewers in Japan and elsewhere soon revealed the unedited altercation, including Smith yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.”
Notably shocking and a little bit concerning, this unfortunate moment has stuck out as the must-see from this year’s awards. Some have speculated the entire interaction to have been a staged media stunt, while others advocate for or against the justification of each man’s words and actions. In any case, we hope that this year’s celebration of film-making’s most talented is not forever tainted by such a squabble.