By Lilah Nick

By now you have probably heard about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock over a joke involving Jada Pinkett Smith looking like G.I. Jane. You’ve probably also heard that Will Smith went on to win Best Actor for King Richard. I have watched the video of The Slap at least 20 times. It’s all my family and friends could talk about the next day. Despite this crazy interaction between Smith and Rock, so many other things happened at this year’s Oscars–from outlandish outfits to the first deaf man to win Best Supporting Actor. 

Best of the Red Carpet 

Let’s start with the beginning of the night, the Red Carpet. So many beautiful gowns and tuxedos were worn–but also some really bad ones that make you question, “Who’s idea was that?” We’ll start with the best of the night.

Lena Waithe

Lena Waithe wore a neutral tone suit. It was my favorite suit presented on the Red Carpet. It looks so good on her. It’s classy, looks amazing, and isn’t just a plain black tux. 

Lily James 

Lily James, who you may know from playing Pamela Anderson in the new show Pam and Tommy, wore one of my favorite dresses on the red carpet. It’s so beautiful, elegant, and looks incredible on her. I love all the embroidery and the added train in the back. 

The Worst

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart, nominated for best actress for her performance in Diana, was wearing Chanel. I totally get that her outfit was much more than a fashion statement, but it definitely could have been . . . better. I don’t think she should have worn shorts for a red carpet event. The jacket would have been classier with a pair of pants. Her hair is also not my favorite. I just don’t like it. The deep side part is not in right now. It’s not 2012 anymore.

Amy Schumer 

Amy Schumer, one of the hosts of the Oscars, was wearing Oscar de la Renta. Whoever decided she was going to wear this seriously did her dirty. I hate the bow; it’s so unnecessary, and it could be so much better for being The Oscars. This looks like something that’s sold at Macy’s for six year olds. Her dress also received a lot of backlash on Twitter. People were calling it “Hideous,” “God awful,” “so ugly,” and “unnecessary.” 

Firsts

• Ariana Debose won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and was the first openly queer woman of color to win.
• Troy Kotsur won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and was the first deaf man to win an Oscar. 
• CODA was the first movie from a streaming platform to have debuted at Sundance to win an Oscar.

The Jokes

After The Slap, everyone stopped making the kind of jokes that might have made things less awkward. Everyone was waiting for someone to get on stage and make a joke to release the tension in the room. Amy Schumer finally came back out and relieved that tension, but it was about an hour after the incident. She came out and said, “There’s like… a different vibe in here,” and there was a roar of laughter. 

There was absolutely no way that everyone would have forgotten about The Slap. But, more jokes to ease the tension would have made watching the rest of the Oscars more comfortable.

On that note, there were a few jokes that worked. These from co-host Amy Schumer:

“I’m Amy Schumer or as they know me in Hollywood, ‘Melissa McCarthy said no.'”

Independent

“After years of Hollywood ignoring women’s stories, we finally got a movie about the Williams sisters’… dad.”

Independent