This year's Oscar ceremony was memorable for several reasons (we feel sorry for you dear Mr. Beatty, really) - here are some of the most remarkable speeches from the night.
Jimmy Kimmel, host:
Following last year's well-received turn from Chris Rock, late night talk show host Kimmel delivered the goods as MC for the evening.
As you know, I don’t have to tell anybody, the country is divided right now. […]I want to say thank you to President Trump. I mean remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? It has been an amazing year for movies. Black people saved NASA and white people saved jazz. That’s what you call progress.
Hey @realDonaldTrump u up?
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2017
He had a lot of fun in particular with President Trump's recent critique of Meryl Streep:
May I say, from her mediocre early work in The Deer Hunter and Out of Africa to her underwhelming performances in Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice, Meryl Streep has phoned it in for over 50 films over the course of her lackluster career. This is Meryl’s 20th Oscar nomination. Maybe even more amazing, considering the fact that she wasn’t even in a movie this year, we just wrote her name down out of habit. Meryl, stand up, if you would. Everybody please join me in giving Meryl Streep a totally undeserved round of applause, will you? ... Nice dress by the way. Is that an Ivanka?
Viola Davis, Winner for Best Supporting Actress
The mighty Viola Davis won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Denzel Washington’s Fences. Viola Davis knows how to make speeches. And she didn’t disappoint:
People ask me all the time: 'What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?' And I say, exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories.
"The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost.
"I became an artist, and thank God I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.
Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Winners for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay:
Following Moonlight’s message, the director and his co-screenwriter two artists gave a political speech full of hope :
Jenkins said :
You know, I tell my students that I teach sometimes: Be in love with the process, not the result. But I really wanted this result because a bajillion people are watching, and all you people out there who feel like there’s no mirror for you, that your life is not reflected, the academy has your back, the A.C.L.U. has your back, we have your back, and for the next four years, we will not leave you alone. We will not forget you.
McCraney added :
This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and non-gender-conforming who don’t see themselves. We’re trying to show you you, and us. So thank you, thank you, this is for you.
Mahershala Ali, Winner for Best Supporting Actor:
For his powerful role in Moonlight, American actor Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar - his touching speech and paid tribute to the people who taught him:
I wanna thank my teachers, my professors. I had so many wonderful teachers. And one thing that they consistently told me is - [his teachers] Oliver Chandler, Ron Van Lieu, Ken Washington - is that it wasn't about you. It's not about you. It's about these characters. You're in service to these stories, to these characters. I'm so blessed to have had an opportunity. It was about Juan. It was about Chiron. It was about Paula.
Asghar Farhadi (via Anousheh Ansari), Best Foreign Language Feature:
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi refused to attend the Oscars ceremony because of President Trump's travel ban. Instead, Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari accepted the award for Best Foreign Film on his behalf, delivering a powerful message from the filmmaker:
I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people in my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.
Dividing the world into the “us “ and “our enemies” categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between “us” and “others,” an empathy which we need today more than ever.
Gael García Bernal, presenting the award for Best Animated Feature Film:
Mexican actor Bernal took a moment to address another political elephant in the room - his outstanding speech caused a deserved round of applause :
““Flesh-and-blood actors are migrant workers; we travel all over the world, we build families, we construct stories, we build life, and cannot be divided,”
“As a Mexican, as a Latin American, as a migrant worker, as a human being, I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us.”
Gael García Bernal: "As a Mexican, as a Latin-American, as a migrant worker, as a human being, I am against any form of wall." #Oscars pic.twitter.com/3fiYgSV1AH
— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2017
Warren Beatty, host:
Before Mr Beatty‘s already legendary faux pas (come on, they gave him the wrong envelope) the 79-year-old screen legend gave a speech fulled with wisdom. Let's try and remember that for a moment:
“It could be said that our goal in politics is the same as our goal in art, which is to get to truth. So that’s like in the movies that we honor tonight, that not only entertain us and move us, they show us the increasing diversity in our community and a respect for diversity and freedom all over the world.”
Look at Warren Beatty check the envelope a second time. He knew something was wrong #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ko27lOetiB
— Hawkeye KSCS DJ (@HawkeyeOnAir) February 27, 2017
Watch edited highlights from The 89th Academy Awards on RTÉ 2 at 9.30pm tonight.
