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From political proclamations to Neil Patrick Harris in his tighty-whities, the 87th Academy Awards had it all.
The occasion kicked off with women across Tinsel Town pushing red-carpet-reporters to forego the subject of fashion for more substantial questions about the work that got each actress her Oscar nomination.
#AskHerMore, a hashtag which prompts reporters to ditch the question ‘what are you wearing’, originally sprung up in 2014 but really took hold in the lead up to the big event, with the hashtag trending during the red carpet coverage.
“This is a movement to say we’re more than just our dresses,” Reese Witherspoon said of the campaign.
When Patricia Arquette won the award for best supporting actress, she too pushed for gender equality in the US.
“It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America,” said Arquette, receiving a fantastically passionate standing ovation from fellow-nominee Meryl Streep, who Arquette later dubbed “the patron saint of all actresses”.
Common and John Legend also had something to say in their acceptance speech following their win in the Best Original Song category for their song “Glory” in the Martin Luther King film “Selma”.
“Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now,” said Legend of the fight for racial equality.
John Legend: “We say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now.” http://t.co/f7W8Wtys8T
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 23, 2015
And with Arquette fighting for women’s rights and Legend supporting racial equality, “Imitation Game” writer Graham Moore spoke out for the “weird” ones among us. “Stay weird and stay different,” he advised in an emotional speech, admitting that at the age of sixteen he attempted suicide.
One lady who certainly understands ‘weird’ is Lady Gaga, who performed a tribute to a musical classic “The Sound of Music”. And may I say, the pop princess slayed it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibB4qaT4DQM
The night was not without a touch of controversy, however, with Joan Rivers noticeably absent from the memoriam segment of the show.
What do you have to say to that, Joan?
To: the Academy re: @Joan_Rivers not being included in the memorial #Oscars2015 pic.twitter.com/o7ypaXcX3R — Jamie Stone (@ItsJamieStone) February 23, 2015
Julianne Moore won the Best Actress gong for her role in “Still Alice”, using her speech to raise awareness for Alzheimers disease, and Best Actor winner “The Theory of Everything’s” Eddie Redmayne dedicated his award to the Hawking family (you must watch his adorable speech!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH9cK3qUrEg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM14BdfWQVc
Finally, a shout out to the formidable host of the coveted awards show Neil Patrick Harris, who graced millions of viewers in his tighty-whities for a “Birdman” spoof. Hats off to NPH!
