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It isn’t reallyOscarseason without the accompanying controversies over the year’s best of the best film nominations, and 2025 is no exception. Award picks from the past have caused a lot of disagreement among audiences and critics alike over which movies, actors, and filmmakers are the most deserving of such prestige. However, this year has seen an inordinate amount of backlash surrounding some of the Academy’s selections.
Plenty of films are being rightfully recognized for their outstanding work in acting, writing, directing, and overall excellence, including fan-favoritesWicked,Dune: Part Two,andA Complete Unknown. Although, for many titles, instead of the spotlight highlighting their incredible final cuts, it called attention to several problematic aspects of the nominees and their respective teams. From public scandals to heated online debates, here are all the biggest 2025 Oscar controversies explained.
‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Is at the Center of Career-Ending Backlash
Jacques Audiard’s musical crime dramaEmilia Pérezis the recipient of 13 Oscar nods this season, making history as the most nominated non-English language film. Initially,its consideration was met with public outcry due to criticisms of its poor trans representation, propagating harmful transitioning falsehoods and villainy. On top of all that, audiences have slammed the film’ssuperficial depiction of Mexican cultureand lackluster music. Bearing in mind that a lot of praise for the Eurocentric production came from cisgender critics, its overwhelming awards presence has, at the very least, left a bad taste with many moviegoers.
However, the contention surroundingEmilia Pérez’scontent has been overshadowed by an even more pressing controversy. The film’s star, Karla Sofía Gascón, has also made history as the first trans person to receive an Oscar nomination for acting. While her performance brought more attention to her personal life,the actress was hit with serious backlash because of severalxenophobic and racist social media postsshe made in the past. As a result, any hope for her to become the first openly transgender performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actress is likely gone.
Attempting to mend her reputation, Gascón recentlyposted an apologyfor her harmful words on Instagram. However, it doesn’t look like it’s done her much good. Netflix, who’s been promotingEmilia Pérezin an Oscars marketing campaign,has since distanced itselffrom her damaged image. The streaming giant is no longer covering the cost of Gascón’s travel and styling for upcoming award shows and dinners before Oscar night — preventing her from attending the events entirely. Also,Netflix isn’t communicating with her or her PR company, and is redirecting focus towards Gascón’s co-star, Zoe Saldaña, who’s nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Do you agree with Stephen King on cancelling the Oscars for 2025?
Once again, the king of horror voices his opinion - and this time (as of late - more like) he’s probably right. On the new social media platform called Bluesky, Stephen King says that the Oscars should be cancelled this year in wake of the Los Angeles fires. What do you think? Would the award ceremony be done in bad taste or as they say in Hollywood - the show must go on? Let me know in the comments below!
The Team Behind ‘The Brutalist’ Admits to Using AI
While Brady Corbet’s historical dramaThe Brutalistis expected to take home quite a few Academy Awards this year, if not Best Picture, an editing revelation has fans reconsidering the film’s merit. Stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones worked with dialect coaches to prepare for several scenes in which their characters speak in Hungarian. However,since neither are native speakers, Corbet allowed post-production editors touse AI to enhance their accents.
AI being used in movies is a massive concern right now because it could drive out opportunities for work as it produces results quickly — making it a questionable cheat to cut the costs of hiring real talent. As a result, critics have argued that the performances inThe Brutalistshould be disqualified because their integrity has been undermined by AI’s supplemental improvement. Even withCorbet and Brody assuring audiencesthat the acting itself wasn’t altered, many are still unconvinced.
Mikey Madison Refused an Intimacy Coordinator for ‘Anora’
Sean Baker’sAnorafollows the story of a young stripper from Brooklyn who unknowingly agrees to marry the son of a Russian oligarch. With such a provocative premise, there are plenty of sex scenes throughout the film. Some viewers may think its raunchiness is likely the culprit of public complaints after its Oscar nominations. However,the movie actually sparked online debate over Mikey Madison revealing that there wasno intimacy coordinator on set.
In an Actors on Actors interview Madison did with Pamela Anderson, she spoke about the exclusion, claiming that the production staff offered her an intimacy coordinator, but she turned them down. Although she recognized therole’s use in promoting safetyduring vulnerable on-screen moments, Madison said she felt totally comfortable doing it on her own.Even though the actress assured viewers that the experience was entirely positive, she still received some backlash from fans who felt her words could influence other performers and filmmakers to forgo them as well — potentially putting others in danger down the line.
‘Conclave’ Receives Catholic Criticisms
Directed by Edward Berger, the highly-rated political thrillerConclavewasn’t a surprising Oscar contender. The film stars heavy-hitters Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castelitto, and Isabella Rossellini, and follows Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) as he arranges a conclave election for the pope’s successor. While he leads the candidate investigations, scandalous secrets are uncovered.
For the most part, the film has seen acclaim for its thoughtfuldepiction of the papal election processand the Catholic Church’s internal politics. Despite many finding it compelling without using sensationalism, others disagree.Religious advocates of the church have spoken out against the movie’s Catholic bias. To them, its melodramatic revelations made Catholicsm into a caricature, misrepresented the papal election, and perpetuated negative stereotypes about its leaders.
Additionally,Conclaveends with a twist reveal related to intersexuality.Catholic critics of the film have also vocalized firm dissent against such thematic exploration, denouncing the way it challenges traditional gender-roles.
I’m Devastated About This Egregious Best Picture Snub at the Oscars
A24’s ‘Sing Sing’ with Colman Domingo was one of the year’s best and most important movies. Here’s why it should have been nominated for Best Picture.
‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ Stars' Blackface Controversies Resurface
The most recent Oscar nominee offenses this season involve blatant, on-screen racism.Fernanda Torres, star of Walter Salles' biographical dramaI’m Still Here, and Zoe Saldaña fromEmilia Pérez,have appeared in blackface for past projects. Torres' wore blackface in an episode of the 2008 sketch comedy showFantastico.Likewise, Saldaña did the same in the 2012 Nina Simone biopic,Nina. The actress not only darkened her skin, but further altered her appearance with a bodysuit, prosthetic nose, and fake teeth.
Since then, both performershave issued public apologies. Whiletalking to Deadline, Torres said, “It’s very clear now in our country and everywhere that blackface is never acceptable.” Similarly, Saldaña expressed her regretsduring a CNN interviewin 2020, “I should have tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play an exceptionally perfect Black woman.” While their Oscar nominations still stand, it’s up to the Academy whether the actresses' pasts will prevent them from winning.
‘The Substance’ Director’s Tweet Mocks Palestine Supporters
The least covered controversy this year involves the thrilling body-horror dark comedyThe Substance. While Demi Moore is unproblematically enjoying hermuch-deserved Oscar momentleading up to the awards, the film’s director, Coralie Fargeat, is facing online backlash because of a now-deleted tweet.The post praised an Israeli video in which student protestors who support Palestine are being openly mocked.
Her account has since been scrubbed, so the only evidence left of the indiscretion is a screenshot. Without an original post, the controversy hasn’t made much public traction beyond social media or gained any major news coverage (yet).
Watch The Oscars on ABC and Hulu at 6 PM CST on June 15, 2025.
