The end of the road when it comes to Award Season is the Academy Awards, known to many as the Oscars, and while it wasn’t as amazing as the Grammys – I still enjoyed it for the most part. Even without having a horse in the race, it was nice to giggle at Conan O’Brien. However, the Ginger God wasn’t the only thing that made Oscars 2025 a watchable treat; from exceptional acceptance speeches to the June Squibb of it all.
The ‘Wicked’ Opening
Because absolutely no one wanted the cast of ‘Emelia Perez’ to perform, the leads from ‘Wicked’ did what they do best and performed a medley from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ cinematic universe, with Ariana Grande looking at Cynthia Erivo during “Defying Gravity” the same way I look at a fresh pack of Oreos.
Best Costume Category & Win
Having someone from each of the movies nominated for Best Costume was fun, and they did this once more later for Best Cinematography. The latter didn’t really win more over as much though as Paul Tanzelle delivered a highlight of the night with his speech and historic win. He is the first Black man to win in that category, and chances are he earns another with the second half of ‘Wicked’ dropping in Fall 2025.
Sean Baker’s Love of Theaters
Sean Baker, writer and director of ‘Anora,’ won a lot during the 2025 Oscars, but it was his speech for Best Director that stole my heart. Read more about that here.
Conan From Start to Finish
Conan O’Brien is my all-time favorite late-night host, so again…80% of me tuning in was because of him, and I’m glad he did well!
LAFD Jokesters
Conan was smart enough to know he couldn’t get away with the spicier jokes, so the show had some fun, all while honoring the LAFD, by having the firefighters deliver a few jokes. All in good fun.
Kieran Culkin’s Genuine Words
I talked about it when I recapped the show (listen here), so I’ll just say – there was one speech that felt off, fake even – and then there was one that felt like a regular human being won an Oscar. Kieran Culkin was the latter.
Selena Gomez’s Sparkles
Selena Gomez’s dress was damn near perfection.
June Squibb, Best Dressed
June Squibb was absolute perfection.
‘No Other Land’s’ Win
‘No Other Land’ took home Best Documentary Feature Film, and rightfully so. However, it was the acceptance speech that really got me as they spoke of peace and called out the bullshit going on with leadership in this world, especially America.
Mikey Madison’s Shocking Win
Throughout Award Season Demi Moore has been the frontrunner for Best Actress. Until that point, she’d taken home every other award for her role in ‘The Substance,’ so when it came time for Emma Stone to reveal the 2025 winner, almost everyone was shocked Mikey Madison won….including Mikey Madison. Very cute moment for her!
Crushgasm 