The most viral moments from the 2023 Oscars, from Ke Huy Quan's emotional win to Hugh Grant's irritated interview

Jamie Lee Curtis clutches her Oscar backstage, smiling with her eyes shut.
Jamie Lee Curtis clutches her first Oscar.Angela Weiss
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  • This year's Oscars were relatively drama-free compared to past broadcasts.

  • Still, from emotional speeches to awkward red carpet encounters, there were moments that got everyone talking.

  • These are the eight incidents that sowed the most discussion across social media.

While this year's Oscars were relatively short on drama compared to past telecasts — like announcing the wrong winner for Best Picture in 2017 and the startling slap heard around the world last year– fans on social media still forged and followed compelling narratives alongside the live show.

There were heartwarming moments, such as Ke Huy Quan's acceptance speech, and the actor and environmentalist Ed Bedgley Jr. taking public transportation to the ceremony with his TikToker daughter. But there were also incidents that stirred conversation, such as Hugh Grant's fraught interview with pre-show host Ashley Graham, and Jamie Lee Curtis's ebullient win (which many thought was a snub to both Angela Bassett and Curtis's costar Stephanie Hsu.)

Here are 8 moments from yesterday's show that ignited social media.

1. Kate Hudson defending her 2001 Oscars dress that everyone hated as she got ready for the 2023 event

@thekatehudson #greenscreen I still love this dress! @Stella McCartney 💎❤️💎 Should we try a redo at some point?? #oscars #almostfamous ♬ Nuthin But A G'Thang - Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre

In a March 12 TikTok, Hudson defended the slinky silver gown she wore to the 2001 Oscars.

The dress, designed by Hudson's longtime friend Stella McCartney, had an open back and a fringe cape. The outfit landed the actress on multiple "worst dressed" lists at the time.

Now, decades later, Hudson thinks the dress was just "way ahead of our time."

"It's a beautiful silhouette, the back is crazy, the cape is good, I even like the crazy hair that everyone didn't like — I think it looks super cute and different," she told viewers as she was getting her hair styled for this year's award show.

Many commenters agreed with Hudson and encouraged her to re-wear the gown, hypothesizing that the same dress could land her on "best dressed" lists now.

 

2. Jamie Lee Curtis finally winning an Oscar — although it was met with mixed reactions for her fellow nominees

@dailymail Jamie Lee Curtis’s reaction to winning her FIRST OSCAR! 🙌🏼😭 #fyp #oscars95 #champagnecarpet #oscars2023 #jamieleecurtis ♬ original sound - Daily Mail

Jamie Lee Curtis, who's been acting for more than 45 years, won an Oscar for her supporting role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." When her name was announced, Curtis appeared to mouth "Oh, shut up," in abject disbelief and excitement. Many viewers expressed excitement for Curtis finally "getting the recognition she deserves."

Others were quick to note that they believed Angela Bassett, a nominee for the same category for her role in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" who's been acting for more than 40 years, to look openly disappointed. While some criticized Bassett's reaction, others defended her, saying it was understandable and intentionally defiant.

Other fans of "Everything Everywhere" said they were also disappointed that fellow nominee and costar Stephanie Hsu did not win. Many believed her performance capsized Curtis's in the film.

3. Jessica Chastain appearing to be the only person in the crowd wearing a mask

@oracleofathena I got caught off, but props to her for being literally the ONLY person ive seen wearing a mask at this awards show #jessicachastain #oscars #oscars2023 ♬ original sound - Rachael

Jessica Chastain appeared to be the only person wearing a mask at the awards ceremony, and commenters praised her for it. Some joked for her to name the lipstick she wore because it "didn't budge" underneath the mask.

Users noted that Chastain, who's currently acting in the Broadway play "A Doll's House," likely felt an extra urge to prevent sickness given the theater's rigorous schedule.

The actress also wore a mask to the Golden Globes awards ceremony in January. She said her choice to wear a mask was, in part, so she didn't "let my cast down" by becoming ill, per the Hollywood Reporter.

"I love this!" one commenter wrote in a viral TikTok capturing the moment. "QUEEN," another added.

4. Ke Huy Quan's emotional acceptance speech

@joshhelfgott SOBBING🥺😭 Ke Huy Quan wins Best Supporting Actor and gives an extraordinary speech #oscars ♬ Inspirational Piano - AShamaluevMusic

Ke Huy Quan won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once," and his expectedly emotional acceptance speech has gone viral.

In it, Quan began with a shout-out to his 84-year-old mother who he said was at home watching: "Mom, I just won an Oscar!"

He described his journey from a year living in a refugee camp after his family fled Vietnam in 1978 to now standing on Hollywood's biggest stage.

"They say stories like this only happen in the movies," he told the crowd. "I cannot believe it's happening to me. This...this is the American dream!"

Among others, Quan thanked his wife, Echo, for her unfailing belief in him, who "month after month, year after year, for twenty years" told him his day would come.

TikTokers reuploaded the footage of Quan's speech and said they were "sobbing" in happiness for him.

5. Clifford Main and his daughter taking public transportation to the Oscars

As a culmination of her one-week experiment to exclusively take public transportation to get around Los Angeles, the TikToker Hayden Begley hopped a bus to the Oscars with her dad, Ed Begley Jr., a veteran actor known for his work in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Better Call Saul."

Both are environmental activists, Hayden explained on day two of the experiment, and she undertook the challenge to encourage others to lower their carbon footprints.

This is the third time that the father-daughter duo has taken public transportation to the Oscars, she said. On TikTok, they can be seen hopping a bus and then running to catch the subway.

Though she arrived with a hole ripped in the back of her dress, she had some help patching it up and quickly forged onward. On the way home, also via subway, they stopped in a souvenir shop to buy some sandals – which was easier than traversing across the city in heels.

"What an incredible day," she concluded.

Viewers commended the two for their impactful stunt. "Your dad is a great man, not just a great actor. I'm glad to see he's passed on his greatness," a commenter wrote.

6. Adam Levine's wife Behati Prinsloo appearing to dodge his embrace on the afterparty red carpet

At the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, model Behati Prinsloo and Adam Levine invited speculation with an awkward moment that was captured in a viral clip.

When Levine approached Prinsloo on the red carpet as she was posing and tried to put his arm around her, she appeared to wriggle out of his embrace, and could be heard saying, "No, no!" The video, shared by Vogue, has been viewed 4.6 million times.

Commenters surmised Prinsloo was dodging Levine in response to the explosive 2022 accusations by Instagram model Sumner Stroh that she had engaged in a yearlong affair with the Maroon 5 singer. Levine denied the affair, but conceded he "crossed the line."

"The amount of composure you have to have to go out w that man after everything went public," reads the video's top comment, with 33,000 upvotes.

7. Hugh Grant's curt interview with Ashley Graham, in which seemed annoyed

Before the Oscars even started, social media was abuzz thanks to an uncomfortable interview between pre-show host Ashley Graham and the actor Hugh Grant.

At one point, Graham asked Grant if he was excited to see anyone win, to which he replied, "No one in particular." When asked what he was wearing, he curtly replied, "Just my suit." And when Graham asked Grant whether he had fun making Netflix's "The Glass Onion," he answered, "Almost."

Grant's awkward responses were labeled "rude and dismissive" by some, while others placed the blame on Graham's questions. People speculated that Grant may have been particularly irked by Graham misunderstanding his "vanity fair" reference, which the model assumed to be the annual post-Oscars bash, while he most likely meant the 1848 novel satirizing British society.

 

8. Lady Gaga's impressive makeup removal before her barefaced performance

Lady Gaga made an unconventional choice to perform her Oscar-nominated song, "Hold My Hand," wearing shredded jeans, a black T-shirt, converse, and a barefaced look.

Given that Gaga had arrived at the Oscars with a full face of makeup, Twitter had a field day imagining how she'd managed to scrub everything off so quickly.

"How was Lady Gaga able to get all this makeup off so fast with no smears?" wrote Twitter user @NicoleConlan. "If I wash my face like 5 times I still go to bed looking like the Joker."

Others hilariously speculated about the emotional welfare of her makeup artist, or what the remnants of her makeup remover wipes might look like:

 

Read the original article on Insider