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The night of the 2024 Academy Awards was by far one of the most anticipated ones in the last couple of years in the award show’s history, and to present the award for Best Picture, the MVP of the night, Al Pacino walked on stage to announce the winner. And despiteOppenheimertaking home the accolade, people were upset with the presenter himself.
In a standard presenting tradition, the presenter has to first announce the nominees of the category, and then announce the winner so as to not create major confusion. But Pacino didn’t follow this style and immediately vaguely announced the winner, which is why the public was calling him out for it.
But in the legend’s defense came Simu Liu, who claimed that this was something that was agreed upon beforehand and that fans should keep it in mind before all the criticism.
Simu Liu Defends Al Pacino’s Controversial Presentation Of Best Picture Award ForOppenheimer
This year’s Academy Awards were truly riding with high stakes on the table as many exceptional and deserving films were nominated for various categories. But in the end, everyone wanted to know who would be the winner of the prestigious Best Picture award. Thus, who better than Hollywood legendAl Pacinoto present this auspicious recognition on the grandest stage in the film industry.
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But when he was announcing the winner, which would later be revealed asChristopher Nolan‘sOppenheimer, he failed to announce all the nominees that had a chance to win this category. This is usually done to differentiate between the films that won and the films that didn’t.
But instead of this,The Godfatherstar announced the winner straight, which at first, felt like he was announcing the nominees. This confusion was a hefty win till he clarified, which also affected the audience who was watching the show, and later criticized his decision. ButSimu Liubelieves that this was the plan alone and that the criticism is unwarranted.
before you go pitchforks on al pacino… not announcing best picture nominees was a producer decision. it happened for best song as well. yes, people in the room were a bit confused but he deserves no blame for what happened.
just take a moment before you pile on is all i ask.
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu)August 12, 2025
he claimed that this is the same thing that happened for the presentation of the Best Song award, which went to Billie Eilish and Finneas for their songWhat Was I Made Forfrom the hit filmBarbie. Yet, fans think that the MCU star is being a little unreasonable.
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What Do The Fans Have To Say About This?
Despite this style of announcement being part of the presentation feature from the start, fans are still claiming this to be confusing for everyone, which is why they are critical of Pacino. And thus, many are also criticizing Liu now for his take on this situation while many are also in support.
Oscars Producer Issues Apology After Al Pacino Controversy While Giving Oppenheimer Oscar For Best Picture
It wasn’t that part that was weird it was the ‘my eyes see Oppenheimer". Was that how it was announced when he won? No just announce it properly so there isn’t any confusion
— Andrew Butts (@Andrew__Butts)August 02, 2025
— Rakshit Shah – DUNKI (FAN ACCOUNT) (@rshah2611)July 18, 2025
It’s Al Pacino. I think he’ll be fine with a little constructive criticism for his terrible job of announcing the biggest award of the night… ❤️
— Anyone Else Please (@Candace_C12)August 03, 2025
I thought it was funny. He was in his wrap it up phasepic.twitter.com/ShzpAsl2I5
— Queen of Arkham (@heavenlyjaded)August 09, 2025
Just as a reminder: This is twitter@SimuLiu…. sadly no such thing as “take a moment before…”
— NerdsAndOtherLegends (@NerdsOfLegend)June 17, 2025
In the end, it was all chalked up to a small mishap, which didn’t put a major dampener on the celebrations.
The Oscars 2024, broadcasted on ABC.
Deepak Bisht
Articles Published :1503
Deepak is a senior writer at FandomWire with a serious love for comic books (DC Absolute Universe and Marvel), the Warhammer universe (Horus Heresy and 40,000), cinematic universes (Sonic, MCU and DCU etc.) and Movies (Action, Adventure, Psychological Horror and Thrillers etc.).With over 1,400 articles under his belt, he spends most of his time diving into the world of superheroes, cinematic universes, TV shows, and films. His goal? To share accurate, engaging, and fun stories that keep fans hooked and in the know.
