Michelle Yeoh Says Those Supposed Oscars ‘Snubs’ Weren’t What They Appeared to Be

While public discourse has been consumed with the supposed “snubs” committed by Emma Stone and Robert Downey, Jr. during the Oscars, Michelle Yeoh has spoken out to confirm that viewers’ perceptions of an awkward interaction do not reflect the reality of what happened on stage.

It is becoming a bit of a pattern for viewers to over-analyze the body language of celebrities accepting awards. Recently, Taylor Swift faced much vitriol after viewers accused her of snubbing Celine Dion when she went to accept her historic fourth win of Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys. The current conversation about Stone and Downey strongly echoed the one about Dion and Swift.

During the 96th Oscars, Stone took home Best Actress, while Downey won Best Supporting Actor. To make the night extra special, last year’s Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, presented the awards. However, viewers were infuriated after Stone and Downey both appeared to ignore the awards’ presenters. Stone’s acceptance was a bit chaotic, as she was dealing with a wardrobe malfunction, and there were multiple past winners on stage. Hollywood icon Jessica Lange was fiddling with Stone’s dress as Stone approached her best friend, Lawrence, for a hug while trying to accept the award from Yeoh. In a confusing handoff, Lawrence took the award from Yeoh and presented it to Stone while Sally Field appeared to try to hold Lawrence back.

Meanwhile, when Downey accepted his award, he took the award from Quan without making eye contact or shaking hands. He appeared a bit dazed as he rather unceremoniously grabbed the award from Quan’s hand while approaching Tim Robbins for a handshake. Both incidents sparked intense backlash, with some viewers accusing Stone and Downey of racism for their perceived snubs. The backlash even extended to Lawrence for allegedly trying to take the award from Yeoh.

Michelle Yeoh clears the air about Best Actress presentation

Yeoh didn’t directly address the backlash but published a post directed at Stone, clarifying the situation on stage. She explained that she was the one who decided to hand the award over to Lawrence because she wanted Stone and Lawrence to be able to share the moment, given their friendship, but admitted that she likely “confused” Stone at that moment. The actress also paired the post with a photo of her and Stone embracing, which strongly contrasts the narrative that Yeoh was ignored.

Yeoh’s statement aligns with what many users online tried to point out in response to those who read a deliberate slight into the interaction. If you watch the scene closely you can clearly see Stone initially reaching to take the award from Yeoh, but Yeoh holds on and drags it over to Lawrence to present.

Some commenters on Yeoh’s post insist that she’s only being polite and that Stone and Lawrence were still rude but few seem to understand how pressed for time actors and actresses already are to accept the award and make their speeches. It’s not as if there was time for Yeoh to explain onstage why she was handing the award to Lawrence or for Lawrence to refuse it. It’s also unclear how viewers expected Lawrence or Stone to react. Should there have been a game of hot potato or tug of war with the statue?

So far, neither Downey nor Quan has publicly addressed their interaction, but Yeoh’s statement is relevant to their situation as it reminds viewers that they may not see or understand the context of every single moment on stage. Additionally, backstage photos show Quan and Downey embracing, shaking hands, and posing with their arms around each other.

If this were a scripted TV show, Swift, Stone, and Downey all would’ve given their legendary award presenters the respect and appreciation they deserved at the same moment they were accepting one of the biggest honors of their lives. However, this is real life, and not everyone is perfect. Most winners walk up to the stage looking dazed when they win instead of poised and prepared, and it’s possible some don’t even realize what their facial expressions or body language are saying during such an emotional adrenaline-fueled moment. It’s also understandable that the winners would make a beeline to the person onstage to whom they have the closest connection, and it’s something the Oscars should’ve been prepared for when having multiple people onstage, each of whom had a special connection and message for the individual nominees.

There have been multiple occasions where clear disrespect has occurred at awards shows, such as Kanye West snatching the microphone from Swift at the VMAs or Jimmy Kimmel lying sprawled out on stage while Quinta Brunson tried to accept her Emmy, and these instances absolutely should be called out. However, viewers could try to understand that there’s a difference between being a human and making a slight breach of etiquette in an overwhelming moment before correcting oneself and being outright and unapologetically disrespectful.

(featured image: Kevin Winter/Getty)