Against all odds, there were more mentions of Jeffrey Epstein than of Donald Trump at the Oscars 2026 ceremony, a circumstance that no one predicted for a night that the West dreamed of as rebellious. In this sense, in Europe there was disappointment at the absence of a common Hollywood clamor against the war: every gesture of disapproval toward the Trump administration is celebrated here as the Christmas prize. As compensation, Conan O’Brian, host of the gala, left a keen observation:
“This is the first time since 2012 that no British person is nominated in the categories of best actor or actress. A representative from the United Kingdom stated: ‘At least we arrest our pedophiles.’ This was not the only reference by a comedian to hotly controversial issues at the Oscars, as Javier Bardem and Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s late night, had minutes on the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles. The former exclaimed his ‘No to the war. Free Palestine’ and the latter provided an example of his acerbic humor.”
Kimmel was the only person who indirectly referred to Donald Trump and did so by mocking the most untouchable woman in the United States: his wife, Melania. “He is going to be furious because his wife has not been nominated,” he said when presenting the nominees for Best Documentary. And he added: “In some countries, their leaders do not support the freedom of expression. I do not have the freedom to say which ones. Let’s say North Korea and CBS,” he said, mentioning the American television network accused of censorship by the professionals who work there.
References to the problematic documentary about Melania Trump’s path to the White House, a production of Amazon Video, were not the only microhumiliation this film received. During the guests’ arrival on the Vanity Fair party’s red carpet, Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez, tried to pose with the composure and elegance required by the moment. Unfortunately for them, Nicole Kidman arrived at that moment and all the photographers swarmed onto her, leaving the couple posed and without a photo. The scene, of course, went viral on social media.
Paul Thomas Anderson, the Oscar winner
According to the Oscar lineup, there were more disappointments and humiliations than joys during the night. Yes, Paul Thomas Anderson finally took home his first statuette as Best Director for A Battle After Another, but Leonardo DiCaprio went away empty-handed: he did, however, receive the longest hug in the history from Michael B. Jordan, the winner with The Sinners. Anderson was another who did not want to completely detach from reality to celebrate the fiction: “I wrote this movie for my children, to apologize for the disaster of the world we are leaving them,” he said.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor, minutes before the Oscar 2026 ceremony began.
Sean Penn, who did win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for A Battle After Another, did not even appear. He never attends this ceremony: this time he chose to visit Ukraine instead of dressing up for the gala in Los Angeles. In compensation, the actress Teyana Taylor, also nominated for this film, became the happiest woman in the Dolby Theatre last night. Well, with the permission of Autumn Arkapaw, the first female director of photography to win an Oscar, for The Sinners. She asked all the women in the room to stand up to celebrate this historic moment: “Without you, I wouldn’t have made it,” she said.
Despite not taking home the statuette, Teyana Taylor was more explosive. Sitting next to DiCaprio, she did not stop dancing, clapping, and greeting. In fact, she leapt from her seat when she heard that A Battle After Another had won Best Picture. Indeed, when passing by, Paul Thomas Anderson hugged her, slid his arm around her neck and held her head in a celebratory gesture common on football fields. “He knew I would do it; I’m a very athletic girl,” she justified afterward. In a frenzy, she went on stage, snatched the Oscar from Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, and celebrated it herself amid cheers.
Kidman, Moore and Paltrow, astonishing and youthful
There was no shortage of admiration for the presence of three actresses doing immense work to maintain their vitality and unchanging looks: Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Gwyneth Paltrow seem to have frozen time in their hairstyles, though Moore’s is literally from another planet. The Academy struggles to recognize veteran status in female acting, hence the merit of Amy Madigan, the first to collect the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. “I was so nervous I shaved my legs, but I realized I’m wearing pants,” she admitted.
Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, at the afterparty following the Oscar ceremony.
Con todo, el más humillado de la noche fue el actor Timothée Chalamet, nominado a mejor interpretación por Marty Supreme. Chalamet pudo gafar al filme, que obtuvo 9 nominaciones y logró ninguna, con unas polémicas declaraciones unos días antes de la ceremonia. En ellas reconoció que no le interesa trabajar en ámbitos como la ópera o el ballet, a los que se refirió como disciplinas que algunos intentan mantener vivas «aunque nadie se preocupe ya por ellas». A resultas, se llevó la mayor cantidad de burlas de la noche, empezando por las del presentador.
Timothée Chalamet got a figurative beating
“There is a lot of security here tonight,” began his barb Conan O’Brian. “They tell me there is concern about attacks from the opera and ballet communities. They are angry because you left out jazz.” Moreover, later in the ceremony he brought out some bongos that recreated the actor’s butt, which were duly struck by a percussionist. On top of that, dancer Misty Copeland delivered one of the night’s best performances with a classical choreography to the soundtrack of The Sinners. Earlier she had harshly criticized the statements.
The 2026 Oscars left few joys and a lot of bloodless humiliation, even if they say Chalamet lost his statuette and even his reputation due to this misreading of high culture. However, the predominant note during the ceremony was sadness, due to the passing of enormous legends of cinema such as Diane Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Val Kilmer, Robert Duvall, Robert Redford. It was especially moving to hear Barbra Streisand sing with a cracked voice “The Way We Were,” in memory of Redford. It was also sad to note that Diane Warren did not win the Best Original Song Oscar this year either. After 17 nominations, this year the prize went to K-pop.
