The 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday was the least-watched broadcast since 2022, attracting just 17.86 million viewers on ABC and Hulu, marking a 9% decline from last year.
Hollywood’s biggest night was emceed once again this year by former late-night host Conan O’Brien. He mostly avoided hot-button political topics as promised, but did make some subtle political references, including a dig at the TPUSA Halftime Show.
Other presenters were more direct. Jimmy Kimmel, predictably, attacked President Donald Trump during the show, joking that Trump must be “mad” that “Melania” wasn’t nominated in the documentary category despite the film not being eligible this year. He also described “Melania” as being about “[walking] around the White House trying on shoes.”
Presenter Javier Bardem took a moment to virtue signal from the stage, saying, “No to war and free Palestine,” while wearing buttons with identical messaging on his jacket.
Documentary filmmaker David Borenstein also had some thinly veiled criticisms of the Trump administration, which he expressed during his Best Documentary win for his critique of the Russian regime, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.”
During his acceptance speech, Borenstein said the film is about “how you lose your country,” which happens “when we act complicit when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything when oligarchs take over the media and control how we produce it and consume it.”
The blatantly political “One Battle After Another” was the night’s big winner, taking home six Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson.
“Sinners,” a horror film that tackled the Jim Crow-era South, also performed well, winning four golden statuettes, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan.
It was announced at the end of last year that the Oscars will move from ABC, its broadcast home since 1976, to YouTube beginning in 2029, as part of an effort to reach younger and more global audiences.
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