Every year we see the same thing happen at the Oscars. Hollywood’s finest turn up in their glad rags, ready to use their moment on the world’s biggest showbiz stage to wax lyrical about everything wrong with the world.
Do me a favour and keep your acceptance speeches to exactly that!
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The Academy Awards is one of Hollywood’s longest traditions. It should be a night to celebrate the success of the movie world and the incredible talents of some of the world’s biggest stars both on screen and behind the camera, but instead it’s arguably become a global platform for celebrities to push their own political agendas and polish their reputations while they do.
Sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, believe me I have plenty of my own, but watching Joaquin Phoenix chastising the world for daring to add a splash of milk to their coffee and banging on about artificially inseminating cows for three and a half minutes, quite frankly, has me turning off.
Another Ceremony Of Personal Views
Sadly, this year’s Oscars were no different. It became its very own political campaign, with its speeches and monologues littered with references to gender discrimination, climate change, bigoted legislation and, of course, the war in Ukraine.
Fundamentally, these are all important issues that of course need to be addressed, but when it’s Hollywood’s elite telling us everyday people how to solve the world’s problems, it simply just falls flat. Much like Gal Gadot serenading us all with a rendition of Imagine in the peak of a pandemic.
And, let’s be honest, any attempt this year’s winners made to voice their views was well and truly overshadowed by a furious Will Smith storming the stage to slap Chris Rock around the face, after the host made a joke about his wife’s shaved head. After all, there’s nothing like an unexpected brawl on live television to make you immediately forget an early gag from Amy Schumer on the gender pay gap.
DiCaprio Hypocracy
These stars, who own sprawling mansions in Beverly Hills we could only dream of buying, who dress up to the nines in their designer wardrobes and rock up to the Dolby Theatre in their flashy cars, are the epitome of privilege - they couldn’t be more out of touch with the real world.
Take Leonardo DiCaprio, no one would question that he’s an amazing acting talent, but when you call on world leaders to act on Climate Change and you’re still flying around the world on your private jet, it all becomes a little self-indulgent and hypocritical.
Straight Talking Gervais
Ricky Gervais had it right when he called out stars ahead of the Golden Globes in 2020 and argued their political speeches fall on dead ears. The comedian argued that, in reality, they have the ‘opposite effect’ to what was intended and Ricky, I couldn’t agree more.
Addressing the star-studded audience on the night of the awards, he gave them some sound advice: ‘If you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god and f*** off.’
Brad Pitt's Acceptance Speech
While awards season might be over for 2022, maybe next year our A-listers can take a leaf out of Brad Pitt’s book when it comes to accepting their trophies. In his SAG Awards speech in 2020, Brad - who was mid-divorce with ex Angelina Jolie at the time - mercilessly mocked himself as he joked about adding the accolade to his non-existent Tinder profile, thanked Margot Robbie’s feet and teased how it wasn’t a ‘big stretch’ for him to play a guy who ‘doesn’t get on with his wife’.
Now that’s the kind of acceptance speech I want to see. Not a star trying to prove they’re woke, or shamelessly putting themselves forward as the person to solve the world’s issues because they took it upon themselves to urge people to change their ways, all while clutching onto their Academy Award.
No, I’d much rather have someone quite happily poke fun at themselves to give us all a cheap laugh and then move on with their night.
Save the lobbying for another time, because the Oscars, I dare to say, is most definitely not it.
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