AnOscaris the greatest and most prestigious honor that can be bestowed upon an artistic or technical professional in the film industry. The very firstAcademy Awards ceremonywas held on July 07, 2025, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, rewarding the best pictures from August 1927 to July 1928. It was a dinner so private that only 270 people were in attendance, and it wasn’t even broadcast on the radio.
Today, it is a pompous event that is streamed live globally, andcelebrities from the entire entertainment industryflock to the red carpet and are interviewed and photographed in their most elegant –or appalling– attire. But their looks aren’t the only buzzworthy topic; some of the honorees make it a point to shock the audience with their acceptance speech, either to make a political or social statement, or because they’re a little buzzed, or simply out of sheer uneasiness.
From Jane Fonda in 1972 to Will Smith in 2022, these are the most memorable, provocative, and shocking Oscar-acceptance moments.
10Sally Field - Best Actress for Playing Edna Spalding in Places in the Heart (1985)
Written and directed by Robert Benton, the dramaPlaces in the Heartis set in the Great Depression and starsSally Fieldas Edna Spalding, the widow of a sheriff accidentally gunned down by a drunken teenager. Pestered by the bank to sell her farm, Edna takes in Moses Hadner (Danny Glover), who helps her compete for a cash prize for the season’s first bale of cotton.
What Happened at the Oscars
That was Field’s second Award for Best Actress afterNorma Raein 1979. In her 1985 speech, following the usual thank-yous, she mentioned her “unorthodox career” and concluded with, “The first time, I didn’t feel it. But this time, I feel it, and I can’t deny the fact that you like me right now. You LIKE me!”
That part was thought to be audaciously self-congratulatory, and “You like me!” became a catchphrase that would often be (mis)quoted to the actress by fans and journalists in derision, spoofed in movies likeThe Mask, or openly mocked by other artists, like Madonna at the 1989 MTV VMAs.
9Gwyneth Paltrow - Best Actress for Playing Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love (1999)
In John Madden’s period romantic comedyShakespeare in Love,Gwyneth Paltrowportrays Viola de Lesseps, the daughter of a rich merchant and the writer’s lover and muse. The film was produced by Harvey Weinstein and starred Joseph Fiennes as the titular lead.
Paltrow, who was nominated against Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep, mentioned in her speech that she didn’t “feel very deserving of this in [Streep’s] presence,” a sentiment strongly echoed by critics, celebrities, and the public.
“I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in Central Station. I thought, “What?” It doesn’t make sense. So, I think who wins has a lot of things to do with… whether it has traction or whatever. Publicity, how much money did they have to put it out in front of everybody’s sight.”
–Glenn Close Per Entertainment Weekly
Additionally, Paltrow’s excessive crying and shaking were thought to be staged, hypocritical, and over-the-top, and she was mocked for taking her sweet time in thanking almost every single person she was related to and worked with.
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8Jack Palance - Best Supporting Actor for Playing Curly Washburn in City Slickers (1992)
City Slickersis acomedy Western filmdirected by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern.Jack Palanceportrays Curly Washburn, a gruff trail boss with a soft side.
Palance, who was 73 at the time, not only started his speech with a tasteless paraphrase of a line from the movie, but he also ridiculed Hollywood for thinking he was too old for doing a Western, then dropped down for a few one-armed push-ups in provocation.
“Billy Crystal… I crap bigger than him. You know, there are times when you reach a certain age plateau where the producers say, “Well, what do you think? Can we risk it? Can we do it? Can we use him?” They forget, they forget to ask that you go out there, and you do all these…things. Like for instance, you know, you go out there, you do these one-arm push-ups.”
7Melissa Leo - Best Supporting Actress for Playing Alice Ward in The Fighter (2011)
In David O. Russell’s biographical sports drama,The Fighter,Melissa LeoplaysAlice Ward, the passive-aggressive mother of half-brother boxers Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale).
Leo’s award was presented to her by an aging and exhausted Kirk Douglas, who was relying on a cane to walk, and she dropped the Oscars’ very first f-bomb when she said, “When I watched Kate (Winslet) two years ago, it looked so f***ing easy!”
The actress was no stranger to the shock factor, as she had already sparked controversy with her rogue, sexed-up “for your consideration” pre-Oscar campaign. After her speech, Leo unceremoniously used Douglas’ cane to walk out, while he painstakingly tried to keep up.
6Sean Penn - Best Actor for Playing James Markum in Mystic River (2004)
In Clint Eastwood’s neo-noir crime dramaMystic River,Sean Pennportrays James Markum, a store owner and former convict whose best friend was kidnapped and sexually assaulted 25 years prior.
Penn opened with a joke about the missing evidence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, stating, “If there’s one thing that actors know–other than that there weren’t any WMDs—it’s that there is no such thing as “best” in acting.” This was met with an awkward silence, which prompted Penn to simply thank a number of people, including Eastwood and his then-wife, the actress Robin Wright. Penn had always been politically vocal, which often divided the press, and that moment was no exception.
5Vanessa Redgrave - Best Supporting Actress for Playing Julia in Julia (1978)
Fred Zinnemann’s WWII dramaJuliais based on Lillian Hellman’s 1973 semi-autobiographical bookPentimentoand featuresVanessa Redgravein the titular role of a medical student from a wealthy family who gets injured when her university in Vienna is overrun by Nazis and later becomes a resistance operative.
In her fiery political speech, while Redgrave saluted those who fought “Against fascist and racist Nazi Germany,” she also called out the Jewish critics and activists who had protested her pro-Palestinian documentary, refusing “To be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world,” and concluding with, “I pledge to you that I will continue to fight against anti-Semitism and fascism.” The actress, whose effigy had just been burned by the Jewish Defense League outside the venue, was then booed by some of the audience.
4Will Smith - Best Actor for Playing Richard Williams in King Richard (2022)
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green,King Richardis an autobiographical sports drama starringWill Smithas Richard Williams, the protective, stern, and relentless father and manager of tennis sensations Serena and Venus Williams.
Smith made three faux-pas at the ceremony. First, he slapped presenter Chris Rock onstage for joking about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia. The Academy then asked him to leave the premises, but he refused. And finally, in his acceptance speech, he compared himself to his character as a “fierce defender” and didn’t even apologize to Rock for humiliating him in front of millions of viewers. He did, however, apologize to the other nominees and to the Academy, who proceeded to ban him from the ceremony for 10 years.
3Michael Moore - Best Documentary Feature for Bowling for Columbine (2003)
Bowling for Columbineis a documentary movie written, produced, directed, and narrated byMichael Moore. It tackles the events leading up to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and similar acts of gun violence.
Moore was booed then asked to wrap it up before he was able to finish his speech, the gist of which was, “We live in a time when fictitious election results give us a fictitious president. We are now fighting a war for fictitious reasons. Whether it’s the fiction of duct tape or the fictitious Orange Alerts, we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you!”
2Jane Fonda - Best Actress for Playing Bree Daniels in Klute (1972)
In Alan J. Pakula’s acclaimed neo-noir psychological thrillerKlute,Jane Fondaplays Bree Daniels, a disillusioned and paranoid escort who develops a romance with Detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) while he is investigating the disappearance of a chemical company executive.
Known for being fiercelyoutspoken against the Vietnam War, Fonda made headlines once again, but for surprising those who were holding their breath for a scandal during her acceptance speech. With glaring body language and condemning eyes, she simply uttered, “There’s a great deal to say, and I’m not going to say it tonight. I would just like to really thank you very much.”
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1Sacheen Littlefeather on Marlon Brando’s Behalf - Best Actor for Playing Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1973)
In Francis Ford Coppola’s epic crime thriller,The Godfather,Marlon Brandoportrays Don Vito Corleone, the head of a mafia family who makes the controversial decision to turn over his empire to his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino).
Brando refused to attend the ceremony and sent actress and Native American civil rights activistSacheen Littlefeatherin his stead. She didn’t accept the trophy and declared that Brando’s rejection is due to the “Treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recenthappenings at Wounded Knee.”
While some of the audience applauded, many booed her for taking a political stand at such a prestigious ceremony; John Wayne, who was backstage, reportedly had to be restrained by six security guards for attempting to remove her.
