all that glitters

The 15 queerest and most iconic moments from the 2023 Oscars

By · 17 comments · Updated on January 2, 2024

Last night, Hollywood got all dolled up for a night out at the Dolby Theatre for the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best of the best from the past year in cinema.

And, mostly, it felt like a (deserved) coronation of Everything Everywhere All At Once, the little multiverse-hopping movie that could, taking home the show’s top prizes, including: Best Picture, Best Director(s), and Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh’s career-defining performance. The movie certainly made some history!

The whole thing was presided over by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel—returning to emcee for his third time—taking cracks at Tom Cruise, Ozempic, yes, even The Slap™.

While the ceremony was sadly lacking in any out, LGBTQ+ winners, there was still plenty to be gooped and gagged over.

So, without further ado, here are 15 of the most iconic moments from the 2023 Academy Awards:

1. “We come to this place for magic”

There’s no better way to kick off a night honoring the movies than a reference to Nicole Kidman’s iconic AMC ad, which we’re pretty sure single-handedly saved the theater-going experience? In his monologue, Kimmel noted how good it was to see Kidman—finally released from that “abandoned AMC”—thanking her for promoting the movie theater at the movie theater.

2. Jamie Lee Curtis really was all of us

The first big shocker of the night was Jamie Lee Curtis’ Best Supporting Actress win for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Though we were hoping to see Angela Bassett do the thing up on that stage, there’s no denying how wonderful this moment was for Curtis, who has always been a major ally to our community. She was truly humbled by the win, delivering a charming and gracious speech that had us beaming.

3. The sneaky Little Mermaid commercial

While we’d normally complain that an entire segment of the telecast was dedicated to promoting an upcoming movie (instead of, you know, honoring the films from the past year), we’ll give it a pass because it’s The Little Mermaid—and how stunning did both Halle Bailey and future Ursula Melissa McCarthy look?

4. Riz Ahmed shows cleavage

Wait, what awards did Riz Ahmed give out again? We were so distracted by his tasteful flash of pectorals that we lost track of everything else.

5. Jimmy Kimmel shows his ass

After a brief montage spotlighting Best Picture nominee The Banshees Of Inisherin, Kimmel came out on stage with the film’s breakout star, Jenny the donkey. Look, we don’t have to explain it—that donkey is queer, and we’re so thrilled she had her moment in the spotlight. We love you Jenny!

6. Best Original Song gets homoerotic

Even with some honest-to-goodness pop icons among the nominees, the Best Original Song performance of the night (and eventual category winner) was “Naatu Naatu” from the Indian action-fantasy epic, RRR. The electrifying song-and-dance number put the spotlight on two handsome performers who showed off some fancy foot/suspender-work and displayed fantastic choreo chemistry that had us swooning. We were shouting, “KISS!” at the screen the whole time. And a shout out to singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava who sounded great!

Related:

Indian action epic ‘RRR’ becomes instant gay classic for its unintentional homoerotic vibes

Streaming now on Netflix, American fans are loving the homoerotic undertones in this Indian blockbuster.

7. Let’s give it up for My Year Of D*cks

It may not have won the Best Animated Short category, but it definitely won our super-official award for Best-Titled Nominated Film, and we’ll be forever grateful to its filmmakers for making it so that we could hear Pedro Pascal announce it in front of a massive theater full of glamorous people.

8. Lady Gaga goes full Joanne

In a last-minute twist, it was announced Miss Stefani Germanotta would be performing at the Oscars after all, and our girl did not disappoint. After a heartfelt self-intro about heroes, the stripped-down nature of her “Hold My Hand” performance gave us a real Joanne/”Million Reasons” vibe. But the real gag? Those vocals were on point! She’ll never pass up a moment to remind us she can sing, and we’ll always love her for that.

Related:

The queerest and most iconic Oscar red carpet fashions that still have us gagging to this day

Before tonight’s Oscars, peep all these legendary lewks!

9. Bear Night

Cocaine Bear director Elizabeth Banks sounded rather hoarse—which we presume was the result of a night out partying with the Cocaine Bear? Anyway, that bear was getting into some mischief, even daring to mess with Malala, but how often to we get to see a bear on the stage of Hollywood’s biggest night? We’ll take our gay representation wherever we can get it.

10. Rihanna. Period.

From the Super Bowl to the Gay Super Bowl! When asked on the carpet how her voice was feeling, Rihanna responded, “Beautiful. God-given.” And you know what? She was right. Just listen to her bring it home while singing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther Wakanda Forever. Chills.

11. Mothers have arrived

Anyone playing the “try not to say mother” challenge at home likely lost it when Glass Onion co-stars Janelle Monáe and Kate Hudson walked on stage to hand out Best Sound and Best Original Song. Both looked drop-dead gorgeous (wait, these two should star in a Drop Dead Gorgeous remake!), but we’re especially fond of Monáe’s sexy black-and-orange look, proving they’ve left the Monopoly Man far behind.

12. The Daniels defend drag

Having already won Best Original Screenplay, Everything Everywhere All At Once filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—a.k.a. The Daniels”—took the mic again as our Best Directors (they’re only the third duo to do so). All of their speeches were so inspiring, but this was our personal favorite, with Scheinert thanking his mom for not squashing his creativity when he’d dress in drag as a kid, adding it’s “a threat to nobody,” prompting a roar of applause from the audience. Say that!!!

Related:

Stephanie Hsu on how ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is helping people come out

Stephanie Hsu on becoming a queer icon, a funny encounter with Jamie Lee Curtis, the history of “It’s Raining Men,” and Jackie Hoffman’s mistaken identity.

13. “Hopelessly Devoted” to Olivia Newton-John

Avoiding another “Adele Dazeem” moment, John Travolta gave an emotional intro to this year’s In Memoriam segment, which certainly had us choked up. “They’ve made us smile and became dear friends, who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to,” the actor said, referencing his late Grease co-star, Olivia Newton-John.

14. Bow down to Michelle Yeoh

For many gays, our lives revolve around the Best Actress race every year, and things were extra nerve-wracking prior to the penultimate award, as it was a true toss-up between Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Michelle Yeoh and Tár‘s Cate Blanchett—two legendary queens. In the end, Yeoh took home the gold, and we could not be more thrilled about this herstory-making win. She was the first Asian woman to win the award, ever, and only the second woman of color (following Halle Berry, who handed her the trophy). Such an incredible moment.

15. Everything Everywhere, All The Awards

As many predicted—becoming more and more clear with each successive win—Everything Everywhere All At Once claimed the night’s top prize, sending the crowd wild. With its seven-win haul, it’s the most-awarded Best Picture since 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire.

Yes, the film broke a ton of records last night, including becoming the first ever Best Picture winner to prominently feature butt plugs! But, in all seriousness, we’re over-the-moon to see such major wins for a movie with fantastic LGBTQ+ representation, one that (among many other things) gave us a thoughtful and authentic portrayal of the relationship between a mother and her queer daughter. Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s joyous big night truly felt like a bright spot in these dark times.

For a full list of winners, head to the Academy’s website here.

Related:

The best queer movies of 2022: Revisiting our favorite performances, romances, and more

To celebrate the year in film, Queerty Entertainment Editor Cameron Scheetz honors 2022’s Best Ensemble, Funniest Scene, Steamiest Man-On-Man Action, and so much more.

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