The countdown until the 97th Academy Awards is on, and with political tensions running high and celebrities on the losing side of the culture war, there are bound to be some interesting moments during Hollywood’s big night.
Ahead, here’s everything we can expect at the 2025 Oscars.
The host of tonight’s festivities is comedian and TV personality Conan O’Brien. It’ll be a first for him, and he’ll have lots of serious subject matter to make jokes about. There’s the fact that almost none of the nominees for Best Picture are big hits in the mainstream. The California wildfires, which are still fresh in everyone’s minds, forced many A-listers, including O’Brien himself, to evacuate. Most of Hollywood can’t stand President Trump, so it’s almost impossible to expect the night to progress without hearing his name.
O’Brien took over hosting duties from fellow comedian and late-night star Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the ceremony four times prior. Last year, Kimmel took aim at Trump by reading one of his Truth Social messages criticizing the awards show during the broadcast. “See if you can guess which former president just posted that?” Kimmel asked the audience. “Anyone? No? Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching, I’m surprised you’re still — isn’t it past your jail time?”
This year’s host addressed the topic of political messages, saying at a press conference, “I think as host, I cannot ignore the moment we’re in right now, but also it’s threading a needle.”
“I want to do it with humor and also make sure the night doesn’t drift into only about that,” O’Brien added.
While the Oscars have long been a platform where celebrities treat the stage like a soapbox to spew leftist propaganda, there has been speculation that the ceremony this year might include less overt political commentary.
“Sunday’s Academy Awards, arriving five weeks after the start of Trump’s second term, are poised to be less political,” CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister wrote on Thursday. “Make no mistake, the president likely has few fans in the room of A-listers who will gather in the Dolby Theater. But talk of Trump has waned at recent entertainment events.”
Still, many actors aren’t going to be able to keep their mouths shut.
For example, activist actress “Hanoi Jane” Fonda said during a speech at the SAG Awards last month that “empathy is not weak or woke” and further stated that being woke “means you give a damn about other people. Back to empathy.”
Alicia Keys also dove into hot button cultural issues while speaking at the Grammy Awards in February, saying, “DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift.”
The nominees themselves are also making headlines.
One film that’s been at the center of discussions is “Emilia Pérez,” which has garnered 13 nominations, including Best Picture. The film tells the story of a Mexican drug cartel leader who undergoes “gender-affirming surgery” to start a new life. While critics fawned over the film, there’s been a lot of criticism on both sides of the aisle due to its representation of Mexico and the fact that the film’s director is French and shot the whole movie in France. Also, several trans activists and organizations questioned the film.
GLAAD, a non-profit that advocates against defamatory coverage of gay, lesbian, “queer,” and transgender-identifying people, called it a “profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and “a step backward for trans representation.”
And there’s more. The film’s lead, Karla Sofía Gascón, was at first lauded for being the first “trans woman,” or biological male, to be nominated for the Best Actress award. But then old tweets were resurfaced which displayed some of Gascón’s critical statements on Muslims and George Floyd, to name a few. The Golden Globe-winning actor has made multiple apologies, but is still being ostracized in Hollywood.
“Emilia Pérez” director Jacques Audiard initially disavowed the actor, calling the offending tweets “inexcusable,” but later appeared to walk back his statements. Gascón was not invited to promotional events for the Academy Awards and also skipped the special dinner for nominees, which he automatically received a ticket to for being nominated.
It was already confirmed that Gascón will attend the Oscars and that Netflix will foot his bill for the event. But a Best Actress win seems unlikely, while prior to the tweet fiasco, it was a more real possibility.
We already know that the DailyWire+ documentary “Am I Racist?” was snubbed from the Oscar shortlist, despite the film’s record-breaking box office success and massive cultural influence. The winner of the Best Documentary Feature award is guaranteed to be a film with far fewer viewers and less relevance, but what else can be expected from an organization that rates movies based on politics rather than merit?
It’s almost time to grab your popcorn and get ready for Hollywood’s biggest night, a celebration of Hollywood, glamour, and woke talking points galore.
