Demi Moore seemed destined for Oscar gold after her acclaimed performance in the motion picture, The Substance. However, in a shocking upset, she lost in the Best Actress category to Mikey Madison’s breakout role in Anora. After dominating the awards season, Moore’s reaction to her unexpected Oscars snub appeared to be nothing short of icy. A lip reader revealed her chilling, one-word response.
Lip reader claims Demi Moore felt disappointed after Oscars snub
For the Daily Mail, lip reader Nicola Hickling deciphered Demi Moore’s 1-word comment after her Oscar snub. Despite putting on a brave face, Moore’s disappointment was apparent.
Hickling claims “Demi says ‘nice,’ but she isn’t smiling when she says it. Her body is almost nodding like she had to force herself to say it.”
In the seconds after they announced Madison’s name, Moore appeared to clench her jaw.This was perhaps, a telltale sign of her disappointment.
It’s widely believed Moore was a shoo-in to win the Oscars’ Best Actress category. The Academy nominated her alongside Mikey Madison, Fernanda Torres, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Cynthia Erivo.
Moore swept many of the season’s major awards for The Substance, including wins at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG, and Satellite Awards. However, Madison’s quiet wins just ahead of Oscar night may have derailed Moore’s Academy Award win.
What awards did Mikey Madison win that led to a Demi Moore upset?
Demi Moore has been the Cinderella story of awards season. The actor has been in the entertainment industry for over 40 years. Her career began in 1981 with a role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.
However, a Mikey Madison win in Oscars’ Best Actress category may have been predicted even after Moore took home an armful of awards this season for The Substance. Although Moore was honored with four different statues for Best Actress, Madison took home both a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance.
These wins may have been a key indicator that Madison would win Oscar gold. Enora subsequently took home 7 major Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Editing, adding to the film’s overall success.
However, the loss was likely bittersweet for Moore, who returned to the spotlight after many years without a major film hit. An Oscar win would have been a poetic bookend to a powerful career comeback.
Demi Moore wondered if her career was ‘over’ before ‘The Substance’
Before her acclaimed role in The Substance, Demi Moore felt she was at a career crossroads. After over 40 years of ups and downs in the industry, she wondered if she still “belonged.” She shared her thoughts during The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast.
“In a certain way, I think I had almost hit that point that was a little bit — I don’t want to say defeated, because I wasn’t defeated, and I wasn’t even hopeless, but I was just kind of flat, neutral in a way,” Moore explained. “I didn’t quite know where I fit or where I belonged. I really did hit a point where I started to wonder, not like, ‘Is this over?’ But, ‘Is this actually complete? Have I done what I was supposed to do in this?’”
Demi Moore’s career exploded in the 1980s and 90s, with roles in the films St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Striptease (1996), and G.I. Jane (1997). Subsequently, Moore took time off to raise her three daughters with ex-husband Bruce Willis and to marry now ex-Ashton Kutcher, but never fully left Hollywood; working steadily in a variety of roles throughout the 2000s and 2010s. She is currently filming I Love Boosters.
