Oscars 2024: All of the biggest moments from the Academy Awards

The Academy Awards always deliver some notable moments and this year was no different.

Lyndsey Rodrigues
·Head of Yahoo Lifestyle and Entertainment
·7-min read

The Oscars have given us some pretty memorable moments over the years - from viral selfies with the biggest stars of the moment to the epic mispronunciation of Idina Menzel's name (will the real Adele Dazeem please stand up?).

Of course, not all of the moments have been as lighthearted. See: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and La La Land being incorrectly announced as Best Picture winner when the recipient was, in fact, Moonlight.

In 2022 Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and was banned from the Oscars for ten years as a result. Credit: Getty Images.
In 2022 Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and was banned from the Oscars for ten years as a result. Credit: Getty Images.

This year, Hollywood's night of nights did not disappoint. Here are the biggest moments from the 2024 Oscars.

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Vanessa Hudgens reveals pregnancy

Starting with some exciting news, Vanessa Hudgens debuted a baby bump at the 2024 Oscars, revealing that she is going to be a first-time parent with her husband Cole Tucker.

The High School Musical star showed off her gorgeous bump in a Vera Wang evening gown paired with a Chopard necklace set in 18-ct. white gold featuring a 10.06-ct. pear-shaped yellow diamond and 29.88 carats of diamonds.

Vanessa was co-hosted ABC's The Oscars Red Carpet Show alongside Julianne Hough.

Vanessa Hudgens revealed she is expecting her first child in a custom Vera Wang gown. Credit: Getty Images.
Vanessa Hudgens revealed she is expecting her first child in a custom Vera Wang gown. Credit: Getty Images.

Jimmy Kimmel's opening monologue fell flat

Jimmy Kimmel returned to host the Oscars for the fourth time but despite being no stranger to the gig, the comedian failed to impress with his opening monologue.

Between cracking jokes about Robert Downey Jnr's past struggles with drugs (and a weird question about his penis) to quipping about the length of Killers of the Flower Moon and comments about Bradley Cooper dating his mum, viewers were less than enthralled with Jimmy's performance (although it was, arguably, better than Jo Koi's run at the Golden Globes).

“Congratulations to Cillian Murphy’s costar Robert Downey Jr.," Jimmy said. "This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.’s career...well, one of the highest points,” he added, referencing Robert’s previous addiction.

John Cena's naked cameo

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Robert Opal running across the stage naked as actor David Niven was about to present the award for Best Picture, John Cena and Jimmy Kimmel opted for a reenactment, of sorts.

As Jimmy reminisced about the 1974 incident, John peeked out from behind the set expressing his reluctance to recreate Opal's actions. After being jokingly chastised by Jimmy, John finally crept out from behind the set, in nothing but his Birkenstocks, to present the award for best costume design.

In an act of 'movie magic', by the time the package of the nominees was finished, John was in a ball gown - thanks to some helpers, including Jimmy himself.

Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling ribbing each other

Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling had the audience cackling as they honoured stunt people in Hollywood.

The two actors - who starred in Oppenheimer and Barbie, respectively - joked about the rivalry between their two movies which dominated the global box office in 2023.

"I'm just happy we can finally put all of this 'Barbenhemier' rivalry behind us," Ryan said.

"That's right, here's Ken and Kitty just leaving all that fodder in the dust. And the way this award season's turned out - wasn't that much of a rivalry" Emily retorted to laughs.

SHOP:

"I think I kinda figured out why they called it 'Barbenhemier' and not 'Oppenbarbie'" Ryan replied. "You guys are at the tail end of that because you've been riding Barbie's coattails all summer!"

Messi the Dog stole our hearts

Perhaps the most A-list guest in attendance at the Oscars was Messi the Dog - the adorable border collie from Anatomy of a Fall.

The handsome hound even got his own seat at the ceremony and delighted viewers when he was shown 'clapping' as Robert Downey Jnr accepted his award for Best Supporting Actor.

"The cutaway to Messi clapping at the #Oscars is already a top 10 all time #Oscar moment," one user wrote and, truly, we couldn't agree more.

Slash joined Ryan Gosling for 'I'm Just Ken'

In an epic cameo, Ryan Gosling took to the stage to perform 'I'm Just Ken from Barbie and was joined by none other than Guns n Roses guitarist Slash.

The pair were also joined on stage by Mark Ronson who co-wrote and co-produced the track as well as all of the other Kens from the film including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa and Scot Evans.

The song was nominated in the Best Music (Original Score) category but lost to the main song from Barbie - 'What Was I Made For' by Billie Eilish and Phineas.

Al Pacino's anti-climatic delivery of Best Picture

It came as a surprise to no one that Oppenheimer took out the top award of the night but what was surprising was Al Pacino's delivery of the news.

Despite being a huge achievement and intended to be the climax to mark the end of Awards Season, Pacino seemed a little confused as he announced the final nod.

Instead of reading out the other nominees - which included American Fiction, Past Lives and Killers of the Flower Moon, the legendary actor went straight to the winner saying, "My eyes see Oppenheimer.”

"That was one of the worst Oscar win announcements maybe ever," wrote one underwhelmed person.

"Al Pacino was one small step away from "Anyway Oppenheimer or whatever" in that delivery," wrote another viewer.

"I’m so embarrassed for Al Pacino," said someone else. "It’s not like he said the wrong movie (*stares at Faye*) but yikes how anticlimactic was that?"

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