Times Hollywood Award Acceptance Speeches Left Fans Reeling

From glamour to fashion and drama, Hollywood award shows never fail to deliver — especially on the drama. For instance, amongst other things, we will now always remember Will Smith's infamous attack on Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. And of course, how could we ever forget Miley Cyrus' twerk on Robin Thicke at the 2013 VMAs or Eddie Murphy at the 1988 Oscars, fearlessly calling out the Academy for not giving Black actors and directors enough recognition? Then there is Marlon Brando's refusal of his best actor award at the 1973 Oscars as a way of protesting how Hollywood films portrayed Native Americans.

While the red carpet and winners of each category are the defining moments of the shows, the audience is also treated to interesting acceptance speeches that vary from witty to emotional to inspirational. "May this remind you that no matter where you are from, your dreams are valid," Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong'o said in her speech after winning the best supporting actress award at the 2014 Oscars, per The Washington Post. British actor Daniel Kaluuya, on the other hand, had the audience reeling at the 2020 Oscars after thanking his parents for having sex and conceiving him.

But while a lot of these speeches have left us at times entertained and at other times, inspired, many more have simply left us confused. From Kanye West's antics at the 2009 VMAs to Patricia Arquette's call for gender equality at the 2015 Oscars, here are Hollywood acceptance speeches that stirred controversy in the aftermath.

At the 2022 Critic's Choice Awards, Jane Campion beat Hollywood greats like Steven Spielberg and Kenneth Branagh to win the best director award. A monumental win no doubt, but Campion, unfortunately, managed to make the night just as controversial for herself. Taking to the stage, Campion delivered an acceptance speech that left fans feeling upset rather than inspired. After shouting out the "many incredible women" present at the event and thanking her fellow nominees, Campion singled out tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams, implying that they had not faced as much sexism as she had. "Venus and Serena, you're such marvels. However, you don't play against the guys, like I have to," she said. But while Campion's comment was met with loud cheers from the audience, it, unsurprisingly, was not well-received by fans on the internet.

"That Jane Campion clip at Critics Choice Award re: Venus & Serena Williams has got me so confused this morning," one Twitter user wrote. "There was no need to disrespect and diminish Serena and Venus Williams by Jane Campion," a second fan tweeted while a third fan noted that it was disturbing that Campion not only thought about her comment but went ahead to say it as well. In response to the uproar, Campion eventually apologized to the Grand Slam winners, noting that she had not intended to diminish their achievements. "Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you," she added, per Variety.

Austin Butler might have won best actor at the 2023 Golden Globes for his titular role in the biopic "Elvis," but his acceptance speech was the true star of the night. "Oh, man, all my words are leaving me. I just am so grateful right now. I'm in this room full of my heroes. I cannot believe I'm here right now," he began, per ET. Butler then went on to thank a slew of people, including his fellow nominees, director Baz Luhrmann, co-star Tom Hanks, and legendary actor Denzel Washington, whom he credits for helping him land the role. 

But while the speech was great in itself, the delivery was questioned as fans could not get past Butler's voice — which sounded eerily like Presley's. "Is this really how he talks or is he still in character?" one person asked. "Austin Butler taking 'method acting' WAY further than it needs to with this voice in his acceptance speech. #GoldenGlobes," another viewer tweeted. "Has Elvis' ghost taken over Austin Butler? Sir blink twice if you need help #goldenglobes," a third person quipped.

Despite what appeared to have been an intentional impersonation of the late rock n' roll star, Butler explained that it would be difficult to rid himself of the accent, given how long he prepared for the role. "I had three years where that was my only focus in life, so I'm sure there's just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked to him," he said, per Billboard.

After winning the best actor in a mini-series or TV motion picture award at the 2017 Golden Globes, Tom Hiddleston thought it would be nice to bring awareness to the civil war that was going on in South Sudan at the time. During his speech, Hiddleston recounted visiting the North African country as a spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund and meeting some health workers from the Médecins Sans Frontières, who had apparently seen "The Night Manager" — the same show he was receiving an award for. "The idea that I could, or that we could provide some relief and entertainment for people who work for Unicef and Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Food Programme, who are fixing the world in the places where it was broken, made me immensely proud," he added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But despite what appeared to be noble intentions, Hiddleston was criticized for the speech, which many perceived to be self-indulgent. "Good on Tom Hiddleston for telling that long, boring, completely unrelated to his award story about how he's a good person," one fan tweeted. "That was a long story Tom Hiddleston told to pay himself a compliment," a second person quipped. Taking into account the criticisms, the "High-Rise" actor eventually offered a public apology, admitting in a Facebook post that his speech was "inelegantly expressed."  

Ahead of its 42nd edition, organizers of The Brit Awards announced that they would be merging the male and female categories to make for a more gender-neutral environment. So, instead of the best male and best female solo artist awards, both categories were placed under artist of the year. Similarly, the best international male and female solo artist categories were merged into one -– the international artist of the year award. Therefore, after winning artist of the year, Adele said, according to Page Six, that "I really love being a woman," several accused her of being a trans-exclusionary radical feminist, better known as TERF.

"So ... Adele's a bit terfy then?" one user wrote. "Lost a lot of respect for Adele, wish her the best of luck but will not spend a cent on her music and what sux I really liked her, sad but life goes on tyvm," another aggrieved fan tweeted. "Who'd have thought #Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community," a third user wrote on Twitter.

And while Adele never publicly addressed the backlash, a Twitter user alleged via The Independent that the "Hello" singer fired back at critics who misinterpreted her words. "You're all women who identify as women," she reportedly said. 

Patricia Arquette's win as best supporting actress at the 2015 Academy Awards was marred by her acceptance speech, which started off with a shout-out to some of her favorite people, including boyfriend Eric White and her family. However, things took a passionate turn when Arquette touched on the subject of gender and pay equality. "It's time to have wage equality once and for all. And equal rights for women in the United States of America," Arquette said, concluding her speech. In her backstage interview, the "Boyhood" actor reiterated her point, this time calling out to other minority groups. "And it's time for all the women in America and all the men that love women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color that we've all fought for to fight for us now," she said.

But what Arquette might have thought to be well-intentioned comments soon landed her in the black books of many. "People of colour have enjoyed freedom for so, so long, and yet we continue to ignore the plight of downtrodden Patricia Arquettes," one fan tweeted sarcastically. "Other than disappearing women of color, trans women, and lesbians, Arquette was great," another wrote. Despite the backlash, Arquette has no regrets. "You can't go back in time. But, I guess I would have chosen my words a little more carefully. I think the way people perceived it is not the way at all I intended," she told The Wrap.

There is weird, and then there is James Franco and the antics he pulled at the 2018 Golden Globes. Upon winning the best actor award for his performance in "The Disaster Artist," Franco took to the stage with director Tommy Wiseau, whose life was the subject of the award-winning film. Despite bringing Wiseau on stage, though, Franco intentionally shielded the ace director from the microphone, thereby refusing him a chance to make a speech. This apparently did not go down well with a lot of people. 

"I really would have liked it if James Franco let Tommy Wiseau speak," one person tweeted. "But James Franco, in a single gesture, at the microphone, reminded all of us it's really just a fantasy." Another fan wrote: "If it wasn't for Tommy making The Room, The Disaster Artist wouldn't exist and therefore Franco wouldn't have won that award, so Franco should of let him say something like 'oh, hi Golden globes.'" Many others, including Seth Rogan, also criticized Franco for robbing Wiseau of his chance at the spotlight. And if he were allowed to talk on stage, Wiseau told the Los Angeles Times he simply would have said: "If a lot of people loved each other, the world would be a better place to live." 

Over the years, rapper Kanye West has racked up more than enough controversies to last him a lifetime — one of the earliest being at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Taylor Swift won the award for best female music video. As Swift gave her acceptance speech, West stormed the stage, rudely interrupting her to share his opinion about who should have won. "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!" he said to the then-19-year-old, per Billboard.

Barely a day later, West offered a public apology to Swift, admitting on "The Ellen Show" that he had been wrong. "It's actually someone's emotions that I stepped on. It was very, it was rude, period. I'd like to be able to apologize to her in person," he explained. Despite the apology, however, fans have yet to forget the rapper's apparent disrespect. "Here's a fact. Kanye west going up on stage and stealing the mic from Taylor swift during her speech in the VMAs was wrong," a fan tweeted in 2017.  Another disapproving person once took to Twitter, noting that while West has acted in questionable ways on several occasions, the biggest was his decision to humiliate Swift. "He needs to go to rehab for doing that," the fan added.

If there is one thing actor Joaquin Phoenix will do, it is advocate for animal welfare — even at award shows. Back in 2020, when Phoenix won his first Oscar, the "Joker" star opted to talk about animal rights during his acceptance speech. "We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable," Phoenix said in his speech. "Then we take her milk that's intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal." While stars like Ellen DeGeneres called Phoenix "brave," a few other fans though he was out of line.

"Funny, I grew up on a farm and we never did this to our cattle," one person tweeted. "Joaquin Phoenix is a great actor, but he's #notafarmer." Many farmers called out the actor for what they perceived to be insensitive comments. "If he [Phoenix] studied the commitment of dairy farmers to animal welfare ... he might have a different perception of the value that dairy contributes to global health and the importance of the dairy sector to global livelihood," a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation told FOX News.