The 98th Academy Awards officially wrapped up last night, and while Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners walked away with the lion’s share of the gold, the actual broadcast was anything but predictable. Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the 2026 ceremony managed to walk a razor-thin line between celebrating cinematic achievements and confronting the reality of global politics and celebrity PR disasters.
If you missed the three-hour-plus broadcast, or if you simply want to process the chaos with the rest of the internet, here is a breakdown of the biggest controversies, snubs, and viral moments from Hollywood’s most talked-about night.
The Timothée Chalamet Roasting Session
The most uncomfortable recurring theme (turned boring and unnecessary) of the night was the collective roasting of Timothée Chalamet. Going into the ceremony, the actor was already facing massive online backlash for a recent interview.
The Academy’s voting body—which leans heavily traditional and reveres the performing arts—clearly took it personally. Host Conan O’Brien immediately addressed the elephant in the room during his monologue, joking about tight security at the Dolby Theatre due to threats from the “opera and ballet communities.” The night only got worse for Chalamet as his highly anticipated sports dramedy Marty Supreme went entirely shut out, losing all nine of its nominations. He sat in the front row and gamely took his lumps, but it was a brutal reminder that Oscar campaigning requires flawless PR.
Unapologetic Political Statements
After years of attempting to keep the broadcast politically neutral, the 2026 ceremony saw presenters and winners taking the microphone to address global crises directly.
Other notable political moments included:
- Documentary Winners Speak Out: The team behind the winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin used their time to condemn Russian propaganda, while also pointing the mirror at the United States.
- Sean Penn’s Absence: Penn won Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, but presenter Kieran Culkin awkwardly accepted it on his behalf, joking that Penn “couldn’t be here this evening – or didn’t want to.” It was later confirmed Penn skipped the ceremony to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
The Brutal “Play-Off” Music Backlash
The Academy is always trying to keep the telecast under three hours, and last night, the orchestra was absolutely ruthless—sometimes to the fury of viewers at home. The most controversial cut-off happened to the team behind KPop Demon Hunters, who won Best Original Song for “Golden.” Just as they began their historic acceptance speech, the microphone actually retracted into the stage and the lights went black, sparking immediate outrage on social media.
However, Alexandre Singh, co-director of the winning Live Action Short Two People Exchanging Saliva, fought back. When the orchestra tried to drown him out, he simply kept talking at the top of his lungs.
A Historic Tie
Ties at the Academy Awards are incredibly rare—this was only the seventh in the institution’s 98-year history. Presenters opened the envelope for Best Live Action Short to reveal an exact dead heat between the moody bar-room drama The Singers and the surrealist queer thriller Two People Exchanging Saliva.
The Incomplete Bridesmaids Reunion
Fans were thrilled to see the core cast of the 2011 comedy classic Bridesmaids reunite to present an award, but the internet immediately noticed a glaring absence: Wendi McLendon-Covey was nowhere to be found. While rumors of a cast feud immediately started trending, McLendon-Covey quickly took to social media to shut down the gossip, stating, that she had a neck lift so she couldn’t attend, “No drama. Everything is fine,” she cited.
