Overview

The 2018 Academy Awards, an awards show honoring the film industry, occurred on March 4th, 2018 and were hosted by late-night talkshow host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel.

Background

On May 16th, 2017, Jimmy Kimmel announced that he would be hosting the 90th annual Academy Awards. ^[1] The event would be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

The following year, on January 23rd, 2018, the 2018 Academy Award nominees were announced.^[2]

Development

#MeToo Presence

Ryan Seacrest

Following a report that television host Ryan Seacrest had been accused of sexual harassment and assault by ex-E! network stylist Suzie Hardy, Seacrest's appearance at the Academy Awards as a correspondent for E! was met with derision.^[4]

That night, Seacrest interviewed actor Taraji P. Henson. She said to him, “You know what, the universe has a way of taking care of the good people, you know what I mean?" Online, some believed that Henson's words were a subtle attack on Seacrest.

Twitter user @sarajeanhughes tweeted^[5] a video of the moment with the caption "Holy shit Taraji just put a curse on Ryan Seacrest 😂." The post (shown below) received more than 22,000 retweets and 66,000 likes in less than 24 hours.

Throughout the night, people online were tweeting about how the stars would react to Seacrest. New York Times editor Lauren Kelley tweeted, "E! just referred to Casey Affleck pulling out of his presenting duties amid sexual harassment allegations (“an awkward situation”), and then cut to Ryan Seacrest a few moments later. This is weird." The post (shown below, left) received more than 120 retweets and 630 likes in 24 hours.

Others expressed their disappointment in E! having Seacrest there on Twitter using the hashtag "#boycottE."

Kobe Bryant

During the ceremony, former NBA star Kobe Bryant won an award for his animated short film Dear Basketball. However, after his win, people online began to comment his win in the light of the #MeToo movement and Bryant's history of sexual assault allegations (example below).^[6] Bryant was charged with the rape of 19-year-old hotel staffer. He was never prosecuted and "maintains that he had consensual sex with the accuser," according to the Daily Dot.

Inclusion Rider

That night, Frances McDormand won the award for best actress for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. At the end of her acceptance speech (shown below), she asked every female nominated in every category to stand up. She then said, "I have two words to leave with you tonight: inclusion rider." An inclusion rider is a stipulation in ones contract requiring a minimum percentage of people of color, women and other under represented peoples to ensure gender and racial equity.

Online people commented on the speech. Many joked about how people would be googling "inclusion rider." Writer Mark Harris tweeted,^[11] "[frantically googles 'inclusion rider']" The post (shown below, left) received more than 230 retweets and 960 likes in 24 hours.

Merriam-Webster dictionary tweeted,^[12] "📈'Inclusion' is our top search on the night, followed by 'cinematography,' 'in memoriam,' 'feminism,' and 'rider.' #Oscars." The post (shown below, center) received more than 760 retweets and 2,400 likes in 24 hours.

Comedian Whitney Cummings tweeted,^[13] "an inclusion rider is something actors put into their contracts to ensure gender and racial equality in hiring on movie sets. We should support this for a billion reasons, but if you can't find a reason to, here's one: it will make movies better." The post (shown below, right) received more than 6,200 retweets and 23,000 likes in 24 hours.

Related Memes

Jennifer Garner Realization

Jennifer Garner Realization refers to a reaction video of actor Jennifer Garner clapping before stopping as if coming to an epiphany. The night of the event Twitter ^[3] user @bobbyfinger shared the video (shown below) with the caption "What realization did Jennifer Garner just come to?" The post received more than 19,000 retweets and 97,000 likes in less than 24 hours.

Following the post, people online began posting variations of the caption, joking about what the actor is realizing (examples below).

Meryl Streep Singing Update

In 2015, Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep was the subject of a meme in which she appears to be amplifying her voice using her hands and singing. The image is commonly referred to as Meryl Streep Singing. During the 2018 awards, people shared an image of her doing the same motion and considered an update of her previous meme.

That night, Twitter^[7] user @scarlettf4ncy tweeted a side-by-side image of both pictures with the caption "Some things never change. #Oscars." The post (shown below) received more than 4,800 retweets and 13,700 likes in 24 hours.

Several media outlets covered the meme, including Time,^[8] AOL,^[9] E!^[10] and more.

Armie Hammer Hot Dog Cannon

During the ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel brought several stars from the Oscars, such as Mark Hammill, Gal Godot and Ansel Elgort to a nearby movie theater to surprise moviegoers. (video below).^[14]

One of the stars, Armie Hammer, participated in the stunt and held a hot dog canon that fires hot dogs. A photograph of Armie holding the canon quickly became an image macro (examples below).

Search Interest

External References