Acceptance speeches are a cornerstone of the Academy Awards ceremony and have provided their share of tears, laughter, and controversy over the years. The Onion looks back at the most memorable Oscars acceptance speeches of all time.
Tom Hanks (Best Actor, 1995):
Landed in hot water while thanking his high school drama teacher during his acceptance speech for Philadelphia when he inadvertently outed the film’s main character as gay.
James Cameron (Best Picture, 1998) :
Accepting the award for Titanic, an emotional Cameron stated, “I figured the rubes would turn out to watch this fucker, but I never expected this.”
Some Sound Department Nobody (Best Sound Mixing, 1994):
Really took their sweet time.
Jennifer Hudson (Best Actress, 2006):
Was booed offstage after accidentally thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press instead of the Academy.
Roman Polanski (Best Director, 2003):
Didn’t give a speech for some reason.
Jack Palance (Best Supporting Actor, 1992):
The 73-year-old veteran actor memorably conveyed his exuberance by dragging a locomotive onto the stage with his testicles.
Adrien Brody (Best Actor, 2003):
Kissing Halle Berry during his acceptance speech is renowned as one of the most memorable sexual assaults of an awards presenter in Oscars history.
Roberto Benigni (Best Foreign Language Film, 1999):
The Italian actor-director famously climbed over the seats to accept his award, and then awkwardly climbed back over them after receiving it.
Sally Field (Best Actress, 1984):
Many people famously misremember a quote in her speech as “You like me, you really like me,” when in reality she said “Socialism is the future, to fight it is folly.”
Marlon Brando (Best Actor, 1973):
Oscars attendees booed Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who declined the award in Brando’s place, for drawing attention to the fact that they are assholes.