Not long after Al Pacino noticeably made an error on stage at the 2024 Oscars, critics quickly took to social media to go after the legendary actor for his mistake.
While presenting the Oscar Award for Best Picture, Pacino skipped announcing the names of all nominees before declaring the winner.
Although Oppenheimer won, the film went up against other blockbuster productions such as American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest.
Instead of doing an introduction to include all the nominees, Al Pacino quickly opened the winner’s envelope and declared, “Only one will take the award for Best Picture, and I have to go to the envelope for that, and I will. Here it comes. My eyes see Oppenheimer.”
Oscar viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to speak out about Al Pacino’s mistake. “Wish Al would have read all of the nominees first,” one viewer wrote. “I was looking forward to seeing the sizzle reels, and a bit of tension.”
Another viewer also wrote, “What a weird anti-climatic way to reveal the winner. Everyone was like ‘WTF!’”
Other X users made comments about Al Pacino’s age as well. “The downside of elderly legends giving out the biggest award. Pair them with a younger star to make sure they do what they are supposed to do or tape the announcement of the ten nominees. Disrespectful to not give them their due.”
Along With Al Pacino’s Best Picture Error, Here Are Other Memorable Moments of the 2024 Oscars
Besides Al Pacino’s Best Picture error, there were other memorable moments from the 2024 Oscars.
After winning Best Actress for her role in Poor Things, Emma Stone took to the stage for her acceptance speech and admitted she was experiencing a wardrobe malfunction. Her dress ripped in the back.
“My dress is broken,” Stone declared on stage. “I think it happened during [Ryan Gosling’s performance of] I’m Just Ken.”
As she walked off the stage, Stone added, “Don’t look at it.”
Gosling performed an amazing rendition of his now popular song I’m Just Ken from the 2023 film Barbie. Slash from Guns N’ Roses performed alongside Gosling.
And, of course, no one can forget seeing John Cena completely naked on stage. This was a nod towards actor David Niven being upstaged by a streaker 50 years ago.
2024 Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel spoke about the historical moment and looked over to prompt a repeated streaker moment. When nothing happened, Kimmel walked over to the stage’s wings and brought out a naked Cena.
“I changed my mind,” Cena declared. “The male body is not a joke.” His private area was covered by a large envelope. “Costumes are really important.”
He then presented the Costume Award to Poor Things.