“CODA” was the big winner at The 94th Academy Awards. The film about the children of deaf adults not only picked up Best Picture, it also earned a historic Supporting Actor award for Troy Katsur. Ariana DeBose’s Supporting Actress award was historic, too. Meanwhile, Jessica Chastain and Will Smith got Best Actress and Actor for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “King Richard,” respectively.
That being said, this night will forever be remembered as the one where Will smacked Chris Rock. More on that below. Hollywood’s biggest night had a number of highlights and historic moments…
- "CODA" took the honors for Best Picture, while Will Smith and Jessica Chastain won the top acting awards. Jane Campion ("The Power of the Dog") won the Oscar for Best Director. Click here for the full list of winners.
- Beyoncé opened the show with a performance of “Be Alive,” her Oscar nominated song from “King Richard.” The choir, band, and dancers – which included, but didn’t feature, Blue Ivy Carter – were all dressed in tennis ball yellow as the did their thing from Compton.
- Will Smith delivered the smack heard around the world. Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith that neither she nor Will liked. Chris said that Jada would be appearing in the next “G.I. Jane” movie, a clear reference to her haircut. When the camera cut to her, she didn’t look pleased. Next thing we knew, Will stormed the stage and slapped the comedian. Rock exclaimed, “Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me,” and tried to defend his joke. Will was NOT having it. While you couldn’t hear what he said, you could read his lips when he said, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.” Chris still managed to get the last word when he said, “That was the greatest night in the history of television.” For the record, Chris declined to press charges.
- Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall actually did a good job as hosts. They were funny and savage, setting the right tone for the kudofest. Jokes of note included Amy saying that Leonardo DiCaprio was working on climate change so he could leave a better world for his young girlfriends, and Wanda saying that they’d be having a gay night for the benefit of Florida.
- The show featured several cast reunions as presenters. Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez, and Woody Harrelson were there for “White Men Can’t Jump;” Jennifer Garner, JK Simmons, and Elliott Page were there to represent “Juno;” and Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta represented for “Pulp Fiction.” There was also a "Godfather" reunion with Al Pacino, Robert Deniro and director Francis Ford Coppola.
- Rachel Zegler – who got invited at the last minute – presented the Oscar for Visual Effects with Jacob Elordi.
- Mila Kunis introduced Reba McEntire’s Oscar nominated song, “Somehow You Do” before the Oscars took a moment of silence for Ukraine.
- Ariana DeBose made history as the first Afro Latina, openly queer actor of color to win Oscar. She picked up hardware as the Best Supporting Actress for “West Side Story.”
- Troy Katsur picked up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “CODA,” and made history as the second deaf actor to win. His co-star, Marlee Maitlyn was the first.
- The "New York Times" picked up their first Oscar for “The Queen of Basketball” for best documentary short subject – and mentioned Britney Griner in the acceptance speech. For the record, she’s currently being detained in Russia.
- Liza Minnelli came out in a wheelchair as she and Lady Gaga presented the Best Picture award, which went to “CODA.”
photo: Getty Images Source: Dr. Dave’s Ultimate Prep