So, what exactly went down at the 2025 Oscar Awards? Would you believe that a movie about a stripper’s wild antics would dominate with the most award wins of all?
Did you expect Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to captivate the live audience with one of the best musical medleys of all time?
And did you expect Selena Gomez to strut along the red carpet as the best-dressed celeb of the entire evening? Let’s dive into the evening’s most unforgettable fashion moments, wins, losses, and controversies.
Anora Brought Magic to the Oscars
Anora tells the story of a stripper living in New York City who connects with the extremely wealthy son of a Russian oligarch. After spending about a week together, she’s convinced she’s experiencing her very own Cinderella story.
Unfortunately for her, everything comes crashing down around her when she realizes his high-brow parents are disgusted by their son legally marrying a sex worker. Anora is jampacked with some of the wildest highs and lows ever.
It was pleasantly shocking that the $6 million indie film swept the Academy Awards taking home 5 in total! It won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Some would argue that the movie deserved even more wins than these.
Let’s Talk About Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Medley
Ariana and Cynthia both have incredible singing voices, and they thoroughly proved that fact in Wicked. Neither actress snagged an award directly for themselves. Although Wicked successfully nabbed two wins for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
However, Ariana and Cynthia still hit the stage to perform for an appreciative Oscars audience, combining a handful of lovely songs. They belted out the lyrics of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, “Home” from The Wiz,” and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.
Their performance was so powerful that they received an instant standing ovation. Truth be told, they left everyone wanting more! Movie-goers are more excited than ever for Wicked: Part Two, which hits theaters later this year.
Selena Gomez Stole the Show in Her Dazzling Gown
Who was the best-dressed celebrity to arrive at the Oscar Awards? There’s no argument to be had that it was everyone’s favorite star of Only Murders in the Building.
Selena Gomez wore a pale pink glittering gown from Ralph Lauren made of 16,000 drops of glass. The “Love You Like a Love Song” singer decked herself out with Bulgari jewelry and wore her hair in a simple, yet classic style. Her makeup looked clean, pristine, and flawless.
Selena faces constant criticism about her fluctuating body weight due to her various health conditions and medication use. On the Oscars red carpet, she shut down any hater who could possibly have a single bad thing to say about her.
The gown — which revealed her smashing décolletag — gave the vibe that Selena’s feeling completely confident in her skin these days.
Conan O’Brien Teased Karla Sofía Gascón About Her Scandalous Tweets
During his opening monologue, Conan O’Brien didn’t hold back from joking about actress Karla Sofía Gascón. Conan’s known for ribbing just about anyone in good fun. This time around, Karla was the center of his attention.
At one point, Conan said, “Anora uses the F word 479 times. That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist.” His joke was in reference to resurfaced tweets from Karla that have been deemed racist.
Karla’s tweets undoubtedly affected the world’s perception of her performance of Emilia Perez. Known for his sharp humor, Conan didn’t pass up the chance to add a lighthearted spin to this awkward situation.
Adam Sandler Showed Up in… Basketball Shorts
Generally, celebs dress to the nines for an event like the Oscars. Seeing women in fancy dresses while men rock dapper tuxes is the norm. But last night, Adam Sandler decided to go against the grain — completely.
He showed up wearing the most casual fit ever… Basketball shorts, a Hawaiian T-shirt, abnd a hoodie. Of course, Conan O’Brien took the opportunity to give Adam a hard time. He outright asked, “Adam, what are you wearing?”
Adam snapped back, “Nobody even thought about what I was wearing until you brought it up!“
Adam’s background in comedies like Grown Ups, That’s My Boy, and 50 First Dates suggests he was simply aiming for a laugh with his laid-back attire. He wasn’t nominated for anything, so maybe he did it for the publicity?
Some Oscar Losses Were More Brutalist (cough-cough) Than Others…
While it’s true that some of the most deserving films came out on top with Oscar wins, there were also a handful of devastating losses. The films that lost out on Best Picture to Anora, were The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked.
Directors who lost out against Sean Baker for Anora include Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez
Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
BTW, Adrien Brody won best actor for The Brutalist against some super-talented men. He beat out Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
Mikey Madison was a force to be reckoned with in Anora, winning Best Actress. She beat out Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez), Demi Moore (The Substance), and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here).
Kieran Culkin won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for A Real Pain. That means he stomped out Yura Borisov in Anora, Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce in The Brutalist, and Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice.
Zoe Saldana won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Emilia Perez. Her win meant losses for Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Ariana Grande (Wicked), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave).
