‘Her body is almost nodding like she had to force herself to say it’
According to a lip reader, Demi Moore had a one-word reaction after losing the best actress Oscar to Anora’s Mikey Madison.
Despite Madison’s BAFTA and Independent Spirit wins, Moore was the perceived front-runner to take home her first Academy Award Sunday night for her role as an aging actress who undergoes an experimental treatment to try and recapture her youth in The Substance.
Moore, 62, had won a Golden Globe in January and in her speech she paid tribute to her 40-plus year career in Hollywood. So it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Oscar would go to the veteran actress.
“Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me I was a popcorn actress. And at that time, I made that mean that I wasn’t allowed to have this. That I could do movies that were successful and made a lot of money but that I wouldn’t be acknowledged and I bought in and I believed that,” Moore said in her Golden Globes acceptance speech.
“A few years ago I thought that this was it, maybe I’ve done what I was supposed to do and then I had this magical bold courageous out of the box absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance and the universe told me you’re not done.”
Moore had also been honoured for her performance in the acclaimed horror at the Critics Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
But Moore gritted her teeth when she heard Madison’s named called by Cillian Murphy from the stage.
“Demi says ‘nice,’ but she isn’t smiling when she says it,” lip reader Nicola Hickling told the Daily Mail. “Her body is almost nodding like she had to force herself to say it.”
Moore’s icy reaction went viral with many supporters saying she was “robbed” on social media.
“Demi Moore made a movie about how Hollywood treats older actresses, only to end up losing the Oscar for Best Actress to a younger actress,” one viewer at home swiped on X.
But Moore seemed to take the loss in stride, celebrating her big night with her daughters — Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis —and her chihuahua Pilaf after the ceremony ended.
Scout, 33, called her mother the “Queen of my heart!”
“So beyond proud, this woman is nothing but integrity, bright beaming light and love! What grace. I’ve never been more proud to be her daughter,” Scout wrote in her Instagram Stories.
“You have dedicated your life to your craft, pouring every ounce of yourself into the stories you tell, the characters you bring to life, and the barriers you continue to break. And tonight, the world gets to witness what I have always known: you are a force,” she wrote.
Rumer added that even if Moore didn’t win she was “already victorious.”
“Because your legacy isn’t just in the awards or accolades — it’s in the way you have redefined what’s possible, for yourself and for every woman who dares to dream,” she wrote.
After her win, 25-year-old Madison — who followed other actresses who have won an Oscar statuette in their 20s, including Marlee Matlin, who was 21 when she took home an Academy Award for Children of a Lesser God; Jennifer Lawrence, who was 22 when she won for Silver Linings Playbook; Audrey Hepburn, who was 26 when she triumphed for Roman Holiday; Brie Larson, who was 26 when she won for Room; and Emma Stone, who was 28 when she added to La La Land’s trophy haul back in 2016 — called her victory “surreal.”
“It’s a huge honour, one that I think will soak in later down the line,” Madison said backstage. “I really did not expect it at all.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out that a win will mean more to Madison’s burgeoning career.