2025 Oscars: Every Viral Moment & Best Memes of the Night

Broadcasting coast-to-coast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the opening took us across the rainbow and across the history of cinema from the era of the original to a live Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wiz, and Wicked medley from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo that truly defied gravity. Oh, what a world!

Leading the pack this year is Emilia Pérez, with Zoe Saldaña amongst the group's 13 total nominations, followed by Wicked with 10 amid a surprise nod for Ariana Grande for Supporting Actress alongside Cynthia Erivo for lead. Adrien Brody and The Brutalist also picked up 10 total nods, while Timothée Chalamet helped catapult A Complete Unknown to eight total nominations, including a nod for Monica Barbaro, and Best Picture.

Also picking up a Lead Actress nomination is Demi Moore for The Substance, which was also up for Best Picture among its five total nods. Sebastian Stan is a favorite Sunday night as well, earning a nomination for his role as Donald Trump in The Apprentice.

Leading up to the Oscars and the close of this awards season, there was no real clear-cut winner among any of the major awards, as different performers and films have taken home top honors at the shows leading up this one, like the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice, BAFTAs, and the DGA, WGA, and SAG Awards.

As such Oscar enthusiasts were looking forward to some surprises on the night, as well as a fun evening hosted by Conan O'Brien for the first time ever. Known for his unpredictable and irreverent humor -- Conan also proved absolutely fearless, not only taking on this Oscar season's most controversial film and star, but one of the biggest feuds in music, too!

Not just paying tribute to their own Oscar-nominated film, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took the time to pay tribute to the explorations of Oz that came before.

From The Wizard of Oz through Wiz and into their latest iteration of the iconic musical brought to the big screen, it was a tribute that speaks to the timelessness of great storytelling, as well as the vast world of reinterpretation that exists in art.

Ariana kicked it off with her best Judy Garland on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" before Cynthia stepped into the shoes of Stephanie Mills and Diana Ross for "Home," before the costars brought it home with their own iconic "Defying Gravity" that wrapped Part 1 of Wicked this past year.

The moment had the audience on their feet, with several in tears including Michelle Yeoh and even Ariana as she stood off to the side to let Cynthia have that big moment. Read all about the magical moment below!

For the first time in many, many years, the Oscars delivered an absolutely stellar monologue, without having to make any mean jokes about anyone. Conan O'Brien even managed to joke about Karla Sofia Gascon's controversies, without attacking the actress herself.

"I loved Anora. A little fact for you, Anora uses the f-word 479 times. That's three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón's publicist," he joked. "And Karla if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel."

After climbing out of Demi Moore's body in a Substance tribute, Conan had some great jokes about nominees like The Brutalist and Ralph Fiennes -- with a lot of poking fun at Timothée Chalamet from him and one of two monologue MVP, Adam Sandler.

Talking about proper attire, Conan hilariously called out Sandler, who was in his usual super-casual style. This led to a hilariously outraged Sandler, who shouted down Conan, before dropping another "Chalamet!" at the actor as only he can.

Another favorite moment was definitely when Conan (before singing a song about wasting time) said the show would hurry people up by showing us a not-mad-but-disappointed John Lithgow and Lithgow just nailed this moment!

It wasn't necessarily part of the official plan -- or at least it appeared to be off-script -- but Andrew Garfield wasn't going to miss the opportunity to pay tribute to his co-presenter for feature and short animated films, Goldie Hawn.

Before Flow got their moment in the spotlight as the winner, Andrew took a moment to tell Goldie how much she meant to his mother, and how she exemplifies and represents the power of movie magic.

"You've given us movies full of joy, you've lifted our spirits, and you've made us feel that all is right with the world over and over and over again," he told her, as Goldie visible teared up. It was such a sweet and genuine moment -- and much better than most scripted presenter banter!

Proving that the Oscars is a truly international experience, Conan O'Brien took a moment to show off his own multi-lingual skills by speaking to some of the billion viewers around the world.

Speaking in Spanish, he said, "Good evening,a nd welcome to the Oscars. I am your host, Conan O'Brien and I hope you enjoy the show."

Then, to the people of India, he added, "Greetings to the people of India. It's morning there, so I hope you enjoy your breakfast with the Oscars."

These are, of course, translations that were displayed on the screen -- so we've no idea how accurate the Mandarin was when he shifted to speak to the people watching from China, when he said, "And for those of you watching from China, 'I am in serious financial debt. Please consider using me in your many films. I beg you.'"

In a hilarious bit before the Costume Design award presentation, presenter Bowen Yang clearly didn't get the memo about how he and his fellow presenters were going to go about this. Each of them was representing their respective films, with images of the art design for their characters showed behind them.

But only Bowen also showed up in full costume from his Wicked role. "Guys, I thought we were all doing this," he said, to which Elle told him they'd all changed their minds. "Well that would've been helpful to communicate in the group chat, Elle Fanning!"

Thankfully, his extra effort proved worth it as Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to ever win the Oscar for Costume Design.

If you were wondering how the Oscars could pay tribute to more than 60 years of James Bond films? Well, it's not that different than how the Grammys might do it, with Halle Berry introducing a musical medley of some of the franchise's most iconic signature songs.

Margaret Qualley kicked the performances off with a dance number that morphed into Lisa taking on "Live and Let Die." That was then followed by more subdued perforamnces from Doja Cat taking on "Diamonds Are Forever" and Raye on "Skyfall."

It would have been great to have some of the former Bonds join in, but it was still a beautiful love letter to one of the most iconic film franchises of all time as it prepares to enter a new era under Amazon's stewardship.

Fans were both loving it ... and maybe a little bit confused why it was happening at all. And a few were a little unsure about some of these covers.

It's been more than 20 years since Adrien Brody arguably sexually assaulted Halle Berry when he took her in his arms and playfully kissed her after his Oscar win for The Pianist.

This year, the actress was able to get her revenge in a red carpet moment she shared to her own social media. "I had to get some payback," she declared of the moment where she planted a kiss of her own on the actor, nominated again this year for his work in The Brutalist.

Social media was loving the turnabout -- and maybe this moment can finally put to rest speculation about how much she might have been disturbed about that moment back in 2003. Or at least, how she feels about it now.

Her revenge 22 years in the making was perhaps appropriate as it also came on the night of Adrien's second Oscar win, so both kisses were punctuated by Oscar gold ... and in a way, the whole moment came full circle.

After an emotional introduction for all the nominees by Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Zoe Saldaña emotionally called for her "mommy" in the night's first emotionally-wrought acceptance speech.

Clearly emotional as she thanked her way through her team and everyone involved with Emilia Pérez, Zoe lost it altogether when it came time to honor the love and support from her family.

"To my mom, my dad, and my sisters,' Zoe said, breaking down emotionally. "Everything brave, outrageous and good that I've ever done in my life is because of you! Thank you so much!"

"And to my husband, with that beautiful hair," she continued, turning to Marco Perego in the audience. "The biggest honor of my life is being your partner. You hung the moon in our beautiful, perfect sons, Cy, Bowie, and Zen. They fill our skies every night with stars."

The newly-minted Oscar winner went on to talk about being the "a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands. And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know it will not be the last!"

Unfortunately, while everyone seemed to agree Zoe was amazing in the film, the problematic past tweets from star Karla Sofía Gascón -- and the controversies surrounding the film -- left some of them unwilling to look past it as a win for Zoe is a win for that film is .. a win for Karla?

It wasn't just Zoe Saldaña, either, as there was an audibly uncertain sound in the theater any time one of Emilia Pérez's 13 nominations was announced, and with every victory. But for all that there was a somewhat tepid -- but still supportive -- reaction in the room, there was a very loud and very negative response online (including celebrations for its losses).

Karla Sofía Gascón's racist tweets were but one of the controversies that have been circling the Spanish-language French film, with criticism covering everything from Selena Gomez's Spanish speaking to having a transgender villain, with GLAAD calling it a "profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman."

Perceived stereotypes and what many considered subpar music and musical performances helped catapult the film into becoming one of the most controversial Best Picture nominees since 2006's winner Crash. Some of these hot takes are unsubstantiated, but that's not slowing down those saying them.

As always, gracious in defeat, Diane Warren has certainly had plenty of practice at it. This year marked her incredible 16th Oscar nomination, and it also marked her 16th loss. If not for each individual musical mark she's made on cinema, where's the love for this icon?

Well, it was all over social media, as fans continued the ongoing outcry that Warren keeps getting overlooked, despite an entire career of incredible music that has helped shape and define every film she's been part of.

It was a brief moment, but a powerful one amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and perhaps even more so, particularly, after President Volodymyr Zelynskyy's confrontational visit with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office this past week.

Daryl Hannah took a brief moment before presenting an award for just two words.

She spoke loudly as she said in the country's native tongue, "Slava Ukraini!" The message translates to "Glory to Ukraine!" per the Associated Press, and is a "watchword" used for those showing their support for the country amid the war.

If we thought poking fun at Karla Sofía Gascón for past tweets was fearless, Conan saved the most shocking -- and bold -- joke for the midway point (appropriately enough).

Kicking off the back half of the show, the host opened the segment by saying pointedly, "Well, we're halfway through the show, which means it's time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile." He added quickly, "Don't worry, I'm lawyered up."

Knowing that controversial jokes can be a challenge -- though he'd not shied away from them to that point, Conan enlisted the aid of some of Los Angeles' firefighters. After earning the biggest ovation of the night for battling LA's wildfires, they then prepared a totally different challenge.

LAFD Captain Eric Scott was first up, joking, "Our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their homes, and I'm talking about the producers of Joker 2."

"Best delivery of the night," Conan quipped.

LAFD helicopter pilot Jonith Johnson, Jr said, "To play Bob Dylan, Timothee Chalamet learned how to sing. In fact, his singing was so good, he almost lost the part."

Pasadena Fire Department Captain Jodi Slicker wrapped the bit with her joke, "It's great to be back with Conan. Usually when he calls, he's stuck in a tree."

Once again, Adrien Brody had plenty to say as he took to the stage for his second Oscar win. It was a well-earned win, but his speech started to feel like it was longer than the film he was nominated for, The Brutalist, and perhaps all the films he was up against.

Talking about the message of his film, Adrien said, "It speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others. There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism."

It was a strong sentiment which was heartfelt and beautifully expressed, but social media was struggling to stay with him after he cut the playoff music and then went on and on and on some more! Some say if you listen real heard, you can still hear him talking.

It was a big night for Mikey Madison, who joined the Top 10 list of youngest all-time Best Actress winners when she surprised most everyone with her big win less than a month shy of her 26th birthday. But Anora wasn't done yet.

As she's done throughout the awards season, Mikey took a moment to "recognize and honor the sex worker community." She continued, "Yes. I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this incredible experience."

The night then wrapped with a leading fifth win for the independent film, which also put writer/director Sean Baker in rarefied company. After taking Best Director and Picture, Baker actually had his name on four wins (including Original Screenplay and Film Editing). That was a feat not seen since 1953.

70 years ago, Walt Disney won four Oscars on the night, but his was a different kind of feat, as he did so for four different films (The Living Desert, The Alaskan Eskimo, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Bloom, and Bear Country). So Baker is the first person to win four Oscars for a single film.

Baker took his time at the close of the night to thank the Academy for recognizing a true independent film, and urging filmmakers, production companies and fans to continue to support independent filmmaking.