Halle Berry reunites with — and kisses! — Adrien Brody on Oscars 2025 red carpet

After 22 years, Halle Berry finally got Adrien Brody back for the controversial kiss he planted on her at the 2003 Oscars.

The two actors reunited Sunday on the red carpet for the 97th Academy Awards ceremony, and Berry loudly declared, "I've got to do it," before grabbing Brody and smooching him. The Brutalist Best Actor nominee smiled big after their kiss, and the pair hugged it out as onlookers cheered. (Watch a video of the moment that was more than two decades in the making below.)

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"That was one hell of a night for him, and for me as well. To be a part of his moment… tonight, I had to pay him back," Berry told Variety. "I've seen him out at parties, but this is the first time since that night that I've seen him on the red carpet somewhere. He's nominated this year. He deserved that."

There's a lot of history behind Berry, who's slated to present again during this year's ceremony, kissing Brody. Back in 2002, she won Best Actress for Monster's Ball, so she returned to the Oscars stage the following year to present Best Actor, which went to Brody. At the age of 29, he became the youngest Best Actor winner in Oscars history for his work in Roman Polanski's The Pianist, beating out previous Oscar winners Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson to take home the statue.

Brody celebrated his big moment by running onto the stage, embracing Berry, and giving her a passionate impromptu kiss on the lips that lasted several seconds. "I bet they didn't tell you that was in the gift bag," he said to Berry as he began his speech. The broadcast then cut to Berry looking slightly confused and wiping her lips, prompting criticism for Brody kissing Berry without consent.

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Years later, Berry did something similar — which some viewed as an intentional callback to the Brody incident — when she kissed Jamie Foxx as he presented her with with the Decade of Hotness award at Spike TV's 2009 Guys Choice Awards.

Brody briefly discussed the controversial kiss while reflecting on his Oscar win during a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair. "That sure was probably one of the most memorable moments ever," he said. "You could say time slowed down. That was that moment where I really, really felt it slow down. In fact, it must have, because by the time I got finished kissing her, and people kinda settled in, they were already flashing the sign that said, 'Get off the stage, your time is up.'"

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Two years later, Berry confirmed that she had been caught off guard by the kiss in interview with Watch What Happens Live. "That was not planned. I knew nothing about it," she said. "I was like, 'What the f---'s happening right now?' That is what was going through my mind. And because I was there the year before and I know the feeling of being out of your body, I just f---ing went with it. But I was like, 'What the f--- is going on right now?'"

More recently, Brody looked back at the incident in an interview with Variety published last month. "We live in a very conscious time, which is a wonderful thing," he said. "And nothing that I ever do or have done or would’ve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad."

The 97th Academy Awards are airing live on ABC and Hulu.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly