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Here are all of the 2025 Oscars controversies, explained
Negative stories have emerged about four of the Best Picture nominations within days of the Oscars announcement.
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It’s a time-honored tradition that goes back decades.
Within days of the Oscars announcement for Best Picture nominations, unflattering stories of intrigue and scandal about the movies begin popping up.
True to form, as soon as the 2025 nominations were announced in January, negative stories emerged about four of the frontrunners: “Anora,” “Emilia Perez,” “The Brutalist,” and “I’m Still Here.”
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In an era where a story can bubble up from seemingly anywhere, it’s harder to distinguish between a bitter studio executive planting a story about a rival’s movie and a random social media user who understands that outrage and attention are the only currency.
It’s also hard to predict whether a rough news cycle will have any impact. When “Green Book” was put through the wringer in early 2019, for example, it still won Best Picture.
With Oscar voting now closed, here is a brief summary of the 2025 Oscars controversies, and how damaging I believe each controversy has been for the movie’s awards hopes, on a scale of 1 to 5 sirens.
A rundown of the 2025 Oscars controversies
The “Anora” intimacy coordinator controversy, explained
“Anora,” which features nudity and sex scenes between stars Mikey Maddison and Mark Eydelshteyn, did not use an intimacy coordinator, a person who helps choreograph intimate scenes in a safe and healthy manner.
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The explanation:
Though they were offered a coordinator by producers and director Sean Baker, Madison said she and Eydelshteyn “decided that it would be best just to keep it small. We were able to streamline it, shoot it super quickly.”
The impact: 🚨
Intimacy coordinators told Variety that their role should be mandatory so that actors don’t feel any pressure to request one, lest they be seen as “difficult.” But “Anora” has continued to rack up wins at other awards shows, and the question of whether intimacy coordinators should be mandatory on set remains up for debate.
The “Brutalist” AI controversy, explained
This 215-minute epic, lauded for its artistry and craft, used AI in two small ways: To tweak snippets of Hungarian dialogue spoken by actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones to sound more authentic, and to create architectural renderings shown in a video playing in the background of one scene.
The explanation:
Director Brady Corbet detailed the small and precise changes made by the Respeecher software, and said his “aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity’s performances in another language, not to replace or alter them.”
The impact: 🚨🚨🚨
Corbet’s use of AI seems well-intentioned and relatively small. But on the heels of a SAG-AFTRA strike partially predicated on reigning in the use of AI, knowing the technology aided the authenticity of two nominees’ performances could sway some votes.
The “I’m Still Here” blackface controversy, explained
Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres donned blackface while appearing in a 2008 comedy sketch on a TV show in her native Brazil.
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The explanation:
Torres apologized for the sketch, saying that while “the awareness of the racist history and symbolism of blackface hadn’t yet entered the mainstream public consciousness in Brazil” in 2008, she understood that “blackface is never acceptable.”
The impact: 🚨🚨
As the “SNL” 50th anniversary special pointed out, use of blackface in comedy was common until quite recently. There may be some voters who draw a hard line and omit Torres from their ballots, but her apology seems genuine.
The “Emilia Perez” controversy, explained
Another Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón made dozens of incendiary social media posts across a broad range of topics, many of which she posted just a few years ago. Targets of her ire included Muslims, the Oscars, George Floyd, COVID vaccines, and even her co-star, Selena Gomez.
The explanation:
Gascon issued several statements that ran the gamut from contrite to combative. While she said she was “deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” she also claimed to be the victim of a “campaign of hate and misinformation.”
The impact: 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
Netflix removed Gascón from its awards season press tour, and everyone else involved in the film — from director Jacques Audiard to fellow nominee Zoe Saldaña — have distanced themselves from her. Prevailing wisdom says “Emilia Perez” will only win one or two of the 13 awards for which it was nominated, and Gascon’s chances of making history as the first trans performer to win Best Actress are all but dead.
Play or Skip
Press play on these new movies and shows:
- “Flow”: Nominated for two Oscars (Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature), this wordless Latvian movie is a Noah’s Ark tale with no Noah, in which a cat and several other animal pals navigate the planet after a great flood. (Max)
- “Reacher” Season 3: One of Amazon’s most successful shows is back with more beef, brawn, and an occasional knowing look from star Alan Ritchson that makes you feel better about enjoying its junk food thrills. (Prime Video)
- “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” Season 12: You already know whether you like John Oliver’s show or not at this point, so instead I’m sharing the news for non-Max subscribers that HBO has gone back to posting the show’s main segment to YouTube on Mondays instead of Thursdays. (Max)
But go ahead and skip this one:
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“The Gorge”: I’m mixed on this Apple action-adventure-romance, which drops American and Russian snipers (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, respectively) in the woods together. If you’ve seen everything else, it’s not the worst option, but it’s still a skip. (Apple TV+)
End Credits
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Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!
— Kevin
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