As one of Hollywood’s biggest event of the year began, celebrities were also getting in on the social media game, sharing the view from their privileged vantage points. Or, like last year’s Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres, from their living rooms.
The talk show queen tweeted her live, hilarious, commentary of the event as it unfolded.
“Congratulations Graham Moore. That speech was so beautiful. You should think about being a writer,” she posted when Moore won Best Adapted Screenplay for historical drama The Imitation Game.
Then, to her Oscar successor Neil Patrick Harris, she said: “What a night. Congratulations @ActuallyNPH on doing a wonderful job. Not to mention those tighty whiteys.”
Meanwhile, former Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, who performed her soul-stirring rendition of the Smash song I Can’t Let Go, for the show’s ‘In memoriam’ segment, Instagrammmed photos of herself with Oscar powerhouse Meryl Streep.
“She’s just as sweet as she is gifted! Us clicking our Oscar heels wow! What a night!” she captioned the photo.
Also from the audience, Jennifer Lopez, one of the presenters of the night, posted a selfie, photobombed by Jennifer Aniston and fiance Justin Theroux. “Photo bombed by my favourite couple... Jennifer and Justin!!” she captioned the photo.
There was more celebrity love: Rita Ora, another performer of the night, tweeted a photo of herself with Scandal star Kerry Washington: “I love this woman @Kerrywashington #itshandled #gladiator4eva!”
Anna Kendrick, who joined host Harris for the opening song, posted a photo of herself backstage with Jack Black, who also featured in the opening: “We did it,” she said. “Now it’s time for some brown liquor!”
On the fashion front, things got a bit catty as reality star Khloe Kardashian, who joined the E! panel, faced some flak for her looks and her rather limited input. So much so, that she tweeted later in frustration: “Always something. Ya’ll make a mountain out of a mole hill. Can I live?”
Her more famous sister, Kim Kardashian West, didn’t really get involved but offered her own commentary: “Margot Robbie looks so gorge! She’s my fave so far!!!,” she tweeted of the Wolf of Wall Street actress and one of the presenters of the night.
Fashion Police panellist Kelly Osbourne expressed her (rather misplaced?) disappointment at not seeing the late Joan Rivers not included in the ‘In Memorium’ segment.
“Am I missing something or was @Joan_Rivers really left out of the #Oscars memorials?” the purple-haired fashionista asked.
Washington, one of the presenters of the night, congratulated John Legend and Common for their Oscar win: “That acceptance speech from @johnlegend and @common for #glory was EVERYTHING!,” she tweeted.
Legend, who is heading to Dubai on February 27 to perform at the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival, later posted a photo of himself with his wife Chrissy Teigen and the Oscar statuette on Instagram, simply captioning it “#Glory”.
For a night full of socially-relevant messages, Sean Penn’s attempt at humour, while presenting the Best Motion Picture of the Year Oscar to Birdman’s Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, didn’t go down very well, many terming it racist.
“Who gave this [expletive] a green card?” Penn screamed, before announcing Innaritu’s name for the night’s biggest and final prize.
Penn’s name briefly trended on Twitter following the off-colour joke.
Later, TV star Mario Lopez expressed his disappointment: “Great job Sean Penn ruining a fantastic moment with a green card “joke.” #Tacky,” he tweeted, adding: “Sean Penn talking about a Mexican dude to a room full of British & Australian people... [he] should’ve said Beyonce if he was going for funny after that long pause.”
But the night didn’t end on a bitter note. Following her almost-flawless tribute to Julie Andrews for the Sound of Music 50th anniversary, for which she’s received rave reviews, Lady Gaga posted a photo of herself sprawled on the floor: “What a night,” she said. “Congratulations to all the nominees, performers, and winners! Let’s party!”
