Gabrielle Mayor, 24, has gone viral on TikTok after posting a video where she recounts the time when she realized that she was living a lie. In the video, Gabrielle shares that she didn’t know that her legal name was “Babrielle” until she went to get her driver’s permit at the age of 15.
The video of her giving a deadpan look at the story written in white text has received over 3.4 million views.
“Thinking about how my parents made a typo on my birth certificate, and I didn’t find out until age 15 that my real name is actually Babrielle,” the video reads. It’s incredible that the people at the hospital didn’t notice the mistake because Babrielle isn’t exactly a common name.
Nine years later, she told the whole story to Today.com. “My mom and I were at the DMV picking up my learner’s permit. I can’t even explain how excited I was to be able to drive.”
But when Gabrielle gave her social security number to the DMV employee, there was a bit of a problem. “The guy asks for my social security number and I give it to him. He puts it in the computer, and he’s like, ‘I’m not seeing a Gabrielle Mayor,’” she recalled.
She shared her information again, and it still didn’t come up. “Then he goes, ‘I do have a Babrielle Mayor,’” she said, to which her mother, Ellyn, exclaimed, “Oh, no!”
“Long story short, I did not learn how to drive that day, rather, I learned that I’ve been living a lie for the past 15 years,” she told The New York Post. Gabrielle’s mother later explained that her daughter’s name was misspelled because she was on a lot of medication after giving birth and couldn’t write correctly.
“I was shaking so badly that my G must have looked like a B,” Ellyn told Today.com. “After I got the birth certificate in the mail, I immediately fixed it, but for some reason, I didn’t think about the social security card…until I took Gabby for her learner’s permit.”
Eventually, the mistake would become a term of endearment for Gabrielle.
“To this day, all my friends call me ‘Babby’ or ‘Babs’—even strangers who have heard this story will just immediately start referring to me as Babs,” she explained. “Needless to say, I never struggle to come up with a fun fact!”
The video inspired countless others to come forward with the same problem.
“Happened to me, my name is Vanessa but BC said Banesa,” Vanessa said.
“Try registering for COLLEGE and finding out that your LEGAL first name is Baby and your middle name is Girl, big whoops on my parents!” kovervold added.
“One girl I know is called Angel but it was misspelled Angle on her birth certificate!” Car123 commented.
“My name was aslhey instead of ashley for 20 years,” Ashley admitted.
In September, another woman racked up nearly 900,000 views on TikTiok for admitting that her father’s screw-up left her with a legal name that sounded a bit dirty. A user name Chloe said that her dad accidentally spelled her name “Chole” on her birth certificate.
“Yes way my name is C-hole, coal, chole — however you want to pronounce it,” she admitted in the clip.
Gabrielle Mayor, 24, has gone viral on TikTok after posting a video where she recounts the time when she realized that she was living a lie. In the video, Gabrielle shares that she didn’t know that her legal name was “Babrielle” until she went to get her driver’s permit at the age of 15.
The video of her giving a deadpan look at the story written in white text has received over 3.4 million views.
“Thinking about how my parents made a typo on my birth certificate, and I didn’t find out until age 15 that my real name is actually Babrielle,” the video reads. It’s incredible that the people at the hospital didn’t notice the mistake because Babrielle isn’t exactly a common name.
Nine years later, she told the whole story to Today.com. “My mom and I were at the DMV picking up my learner’s permit. I can’t even explain how excited I was to be able to drive.”
But when Gabrielle gave her social security number to the DMV employee, there was a bit of a problem. “The guy asks for my social security number and I give it to him. He puts it in the computer, and he’s like, ‘I’m not seeing a Gabrielle Mayor,’” she recalled.
She shared her information again, and it still didn’t come up. “Then he goes, ‘I do have a Babrielle Mayor,’” she said, to which her mother, Ellyn, exclaimed, “Oh, no!”
“Long story short, I did not learn how to drive that day, rather, I learned that I’ve been living a lie for the past 15 years,” she told The New York Post. Gabrielle’s mother later explained that her daughter’s name was misspelled because she was on a lot of medication after giving birth and couldn’t write correctly.
“I was shaking so badly that my G must have looked like a B,” Ellyn told Today.com. “After I got the birth certificate in the mail, I immediately fixed it, but for some reason, I didn’t think about the social security card…until I took Gabby for her learner’s permit.”
Eventually, the mistake would become a term of endearment for Gabrielle.
“To this day, all my friends call me ‘Babby’ or ‘Babs’—even strangers who have heard this story will just immediately start referring to me as Babs,” she explained. “Needless to say, I never struggle to come up with a fun fact!”
The video inspired countless others to come forward with the same problem.
“Happened to me, my name is Vanessa but BC said Banesa,” Vanessa said.
“Try registering for COLLEGE and finding out that your LEGAL first name is Baby and your middle name is Girl, big whoops on my parents!” kovervold added.
“One girl I know is called Angel but it was misspelled Angle on her birth certificate!” Car123 commented.
“My name was aslhey instead of ashley for 20 years,” Ashley admitted.
In September, another woman racked up nearly 900,000 views on TikTiok for admitting that her father’s screw-up left her with a legal name that sounded a bit dirty. A user name Chloe said that her dad accidentally spelled her name “Chole” on her birth certificate.
“Yes way my name is C-hole, coal, chole — however you want to pronounce it,” she admitted in the clip.
If you’ve ever delivered a baby in the hospital or been a part of someone’s support system while they gave birth, then you know that American hospitals generally have a strict policy on not eating while in labor. As someone who had children in a hospital, not being able to eat while in pain can make you feel absolutely feral. Weak, but feral.
Turns out there’s a reason for this strange practice, and honestly, I can’t promise that it won’t make you angry. Dr. Danielle Jones, board-certified OB-GYN, breaks down why doctors started this practice in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Mama Doctor Jones.
Jones starts the video by explaining that the practice of not allowing people giving birth to eat began around the same time they stopped using chloroform to reduce pain during labor. I mean, I suppose you couldn’t feel any pain if you were unconscious, so the 40s were off to a swimming start.
“Aspiration is where you inhale stomach contents into the lungs. That can be extremely dangerous. It can kill you. It often doesn’t kill you but it certainly can,” Jones explains. “The risk of aspiration comes along mainly when we’re talking about needing to do a cesarian delivery or some kind of surgery on someone who is pregnant under a general anesthetic.”
Obviously, in 1946, it was a little riskier to have a baby and maternal mortality was atrociously high. This isn’t the case anymore and general anesthesia for a cesarian is very rarely used, so the risk of aspiration is even lower.
The obstetric risk of aspiration, “was based on two deaths from aspiration in 40,000 pregnancies in 1946,” Jones continued. “For those following who like the numbers, the risk of dying from obstetric aspiration in 1946 when it was magnitudes more common to die from pregnancy and also anesthetic techniques made it easier to aspirate was 0.0045%.”
So…what she’s saying is, I probably could’ve eaten that cheeseburger because it’s not 1946, and not only do doctors know to wash their hands before surgery, but they also have better techniques for anesthesia? Hmmm…
Watch the whole video below to see if maybe hospitals should allow a little snacky-snack between contractions.
If you’ve ever delivered a baby in the hospital or been a part of someone’s support system while they gave birth, then you know that American hospitals generally have a strict policy on not eating while in labor. As someone who had children in a hospital, not being able to eat while in pain can make you feel absolutely feral. Weak, but feral.
Turns out there’s a reason for this strange practice, and honestly, I can’t promise that it won’t make you angry. Dr. Danielle Jones, board-certified OB-GYN, breaks down why doctors started this practice in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Mama Doctor Jones.
Jones starts the video by explaining that the practice of not allowing people giving birth to eat began around the same time they stopped using chloroform to reduce pain during labor. I mean, I suppose you couldn’t feel any pain if you were unconscious, so the 40s were off to a swimming start.
“Aspiration is where you inhale stomach contents into the lungs. That can be extremely dangerous. It can kill you. It often doesn’t kill you but it certainly can,” Jones explains. “The risk of aspiration comes along mainly when we’re talking about needing to do a cesarian delivery or some kind of surgery on someone who is pregnant under a general anesthetic.”
Obviously, in 1946, it was a little riskier to have a baby and maternal mortality was atrociously high. This isn’t the case anymore and general anesthesia for a cesarian is very rarely used, so the risk of aspiration is even lower.
The obstetric risk of aspiration, “was based on two deaths from aspiration in 40,000 pregnancies in 1946,” Jones continued. “For those following who like the numbers, the risk of dying from obstetric aspiration in 1946 when it was magnitudes more common to die from pregnancy and also anesthetic techniques made it easier to aspirate was 0.0045%.”
So…what she’s saying is, I probably could’ve eaten that cheeseburger because it’s not 1946, and not only do doctors know to wash their hands before surgery, but they also have better techniques for anesthesia? Hmmm…
Watch the whole video below to see if maybe hospitals should allow a little snacky-snack between contractions.
In a day and age where inclusivity and individuality are more widely encouraged than ever, you wouldn’t think that something like the hair on someone’s head could be the subject of ridicule. But alas, here we are.
Sometimes these offhand remarks are a masked insult against a larger aspect of a person’s identity, like their race or culture. Other times it’s simply continuing the stigma against that which does not fit into extremely rigid beauty standards. Either way—it can be isolating, humiliating and painful for those on the receiving end.
TikTok comedian Elyse Myers, who normally is the first to bust out a self-deprecating joke, recently found herself the target of some hair-related jabs…and let’s just say she didn’t find it funny.
While on the red carpet for The Podcast Academy Excellence in Audio Awards, Myers swapped out her usually straightened hair for her natural curls. While the response was mostly positive, some people criticized her appearance, some even going so far as to give the backhanded compliment that they are still fans in spite of the “shocking” hairdo.
“It was a shock, but after a few days… We’re here because we want Elyse, and whatever hair you have that day is part of you,” the person wrote.
Myers ended up throwing their own words back at them, writing: “Please imagine someone telling you that your natural hair is a shock and it took a few days but they’ve learned to accept it.”
She then posted a follow up video addressing the critics on a wider scale.
“The amount of people that have made it their life’s mission to let me know that they do not like my hair is so incredible,” Myers says in the video. “And I have a solution for both of us. Next time you go into the hairdresser, don’t give them a photo of me and my hair as inspiration for your next haircut — and then I think it’ll work out great.”
Previously Myers shared in an interview with People that being bullied for her curls in childhood caused her to do everything to get rid of them throughout adulthood. It wasn’t until after her son was born that Myers wanted to set an example for what true self acceptance looked like. “It was raising my son that really made me lock into this season of, ‘Okay, either I’m going to fully accept myself or I’m not, and I’ve got to decide that now, because he’s starting to understand what’s going on around him,’ and my hair felt like a really good place to start with that,” she told People.
Myers recalled that it wasn’t easy at first. “The first few times I did my hair, I would look in the mirror and I would see the girl that got teased. I could not separate myself from that person in the mirror. I actually tried to get my curly hair back a few other times, but I could not get over the emotional block of hating myself.”
Speaking as a curly haired person myself, who had been told on more than one occasion how her head resembled a “rat’s nest,” I can fully attest to the heavy amount of soul searching and self esteem bolstering it takes to put down the straightener that once seemed like the only thing standing between your head and a bully’s taunts. Honestly, it takes years. No joke—appreciating the unruly waves is an unspoken, yet almost universal (and yes, high emotional) rite of curly girl passage.
Perhaps this is why Myers felt inclined to clap back. Not so much to defend herself, but to encourage other people to not feel embarrassed by their authentic selves. Going by her other wholesome content, that does seem to be her MO.
Negative comments about our appearance can feel highly personal. So often it brings us right back to a time when the thing that made us special or unique also made us somehow not belong. Hopefully Myers’ video is a helpful reminder that—critics be damned—we can feel good about ourselves exactly as we are.
In a day and age where inclusivity and individuality are more widely encouraged than ever, you wouldn’t think that something like the hair on someone’s head could be the subject of ridicule. But alas, here we are.
Sometimes these offhand remarks are a masked insult against a larger aspect of a person’s identity, like their race or culture. Other times it’s simply continuing the stigma against that which does not fit into extremely rigid beauty standards. Either way—it can be isolating, humiliating and painful for those on the receiving end.
TikTok comedian Elyse Myers, who normally is the first to bust out a self-deprecating joke, recently found herself the target of some hair-related jabs…and let’s just say she didn’t find it funny.
While on the red carpet for The Podcast Academy Excellence in Audio Awards, Myers swapped out her usually straightened hair for her natural curls. While the response was mostly positive, some people criticized her appearance, some even going so far as to give the backhanded compliment that they are still fans in spite of the “shocking” hairdo.
“It was a shock, but after a few days… We’re here because we want Elyse, and whatever hair you have that day is part of you,” the person wrote.
Myers ended up throwing their own words back at them, writing: “Please imagine someone telling you that your natural hair is a shock and it took a few days but they’ve learned to accept it.”
She then posted a follow up video addressing the critics on a wider scale.
“The amount of people that have made it their life’s mission to let me know that they do not like my hair is so incredible,” Myers says in the video. “And I have a solution for both of us. Next time you go into the hairdresser, don’t give them a photo of me and my hair as inspiration for your next haircut — and then I think it’ll work out great.”
Previously Myers shared in an interview with People that being bullied for her curls in childhood caused her to do everything to get rid of them throughout adulthood. It wasn’t until after her son was born that Myers wanted to set an example for what true self acceptance looked like. “It was raising my son that really made me lock into this season of, ‘Okay, either I’m going to fully accept myself or I’m not, and I’ve got to decide that now, because he’s starting to understand what’s going on around him,’ and my hair felt like a really good place to start with that,” she told People.
Myers recalled that it wasn’t easy at first. “The first few times I did my hair, I would look in the mirror and I would see the girl that got teased. I could not separate myself from that person in the mirror. I actually tried to get my curly hair back a few other times, but I could not get over the emotional block of hating myself.”
Speaking as a curly haired person myself, who had been told on more than one occasion how her head resembled a “rat’s nest,” I can fully attest to the heavy amount of soul searching and self esteem bolstering it takes to put down the straightener that once seemed like the only thing standing between your head and a bully’s taunts. Honestly, it takes years. No joke—appreciating the unruly waves is an unspoken, yet almost universal (and yes, high emotional) rite of curly girl passage.
Perhaps this is why Myers felt inclined to clap back. Not so much to defend herself, but to encourage other people to not feel embarrassed by their authentic selves. Going by her other wholesome content, that does seem to be her MO.
Negative comments about our appearance can feel highly personal. So often it brings us right back to a time when the thing that made us special or unique also made us somehow not belong. Hopefully Myers’ video is a helpful reminder that—critics be damned—we can feel good about ourselves exactly as we are.
When Kai debuted with EXO 11 years ago, he was already a fan favorite. His teaser featured him smoothly dancing across a puddle of water to the group’s jazz pop track “My Lady.” From then on, Kai, whose real name is Kim Jongin, became one of the attractors and magnets for potential EXO-Ls to be.
With a massive discography and awards accrued over the last decade with EXO (and SuperM), it was only November 2020 when Kai unraveled his own world to the masses and proved how much of an ace he is. With his debut single “Mmmh,” the EXO member checked off every tick on what it meant to be a whole package — and be rightfully called “Idol’s Idol:” a catchy R&B ear worm that’s easy to sing along; sexy, jaw-dropping choreography that went viral; and looks (including a jawline so sharp) that could kill from a glance.
His title as Asia’s First Love only continued to grow when he followed up with “Peaches” (2021), a poetic R&B serenade that highlighted his romantic side.
Fast forward to today (March 12), Kai unleashes the wild side of him in his upbeat, Latin-inspired single “Rover” off his third EP of the same title. Last week, we caught up with Kai to discuss his new project, and his success as a soloist and member of EXO.
We obviously think of a car when we hear “Rover.” But how would you interpret that?
Kai: “Rover” is about not caring about what people think or say. It’s about just going your way freely as a wanderer. But that is also the whole album overall. It’s also about social media as well. A lot of different people see what you post and it’s a place where a judgment or opinion could actually be easily made. There are possibilities you could also be jealous of someone, or look up to someone when you’re on social media. But it’s more about not caring about all those different perspectives, or those gazes at all. And it’s a message of just think free, so the message that’s here I think is let’s be free.
I have a lot of messages to share to the world but whoever interprets it or whoever sees it, are free to interpret it individually since it’s different for each person. But regardless, I want to say that I’m just going to do whatever I want to do, what I like to do, and just spread the message of freedom and show that I’m doing what I want to do and what I like.
It’s such a switch from your last two singles, what did you think when you first heard it?
Kai: The first impression for “Rover” was very good. I thought the melody and rhythm meshed well and was very addictive. The song has a nice rhythm that’s very fun and easy to dance to. And while preparing for “Rover,” I was excited knowing I can focus on showing a new side of myself.
Are you aware of your virality every time you make a comeback?
Kai: Well, actually I don’t focus on that that much. Nor do I feel it that much because it’s a fight with myself because of how time is actually limited. We only have 24 hours a day and there’s a lot of good that I want to do and show to my fans. But other than focusing on the virality that I bring or the popularity that I have, I do have a little bit of pressure to focus on making something good
In “Mmmh” it was the choreography, then “Peaches” the detail that went viral was when you twirled one of your dancer’s hair. What do you predict would be the viral moment for “Rover?”
Kai: I could honestly say that out of all the dances or choreography that I’ve done, this one was very much difficult. But difficulty [for me] is shown in a cool way, or I hope so. So I’m not going to be able to choose just one part because I like everything.
Actually, I’m actually looking forward to what the people, fans, and listeners would choose as the viral moment or the killing part of the song. So, I really wish and hope that people could choose for me.
Any behind-the-scenes moments you want to talk about in this album?
Kai: Particularly, I do like the track “Bomba.” It’s one of my b-side tracks for this album and one of the tracks that I actually considered as the lead single for my second album,Peaches — between “Peaches” and “Bomba.”
Especially for this album, rather than focusing on what others would like to see from me, I mainly focused on what I like and what I would like to show. As I was really enjoying that thought in the production process, I couldn’t even think about any difficulties. I think my third album is more of a result of the experiences that I had with my first and second albums. So if it weren’t for my first and second albums, I think that my third album wouldn’t be possible. And I think when I was shooting the song, preparing the album itself, I tried to be more bold and unique with the choices that I make and I tried to work on that.
Do you feel any pressure still, as you make these comebacks?
Kai: Sometimes. I did have some pressure creating this album because I really want to showcase a new and different side to my fans. However, all of that pressure was released in the process of this album, while also preparing for it.
I always want to do better and show the best to my fans. I try my best not to think too deeply about it because I ultimately want to solely focus on the stage. Because when I start thinking too deeply into things, then I won’t be able to concentrate and fully show my 100 percent.
Have you found any stark differences or discoveries about yourself as a soloist and you as a member of EXO?
Kai: Well, yes there are differences to this actually. So, when I’m in the group — as a member of EXO, I feel more comfortable because we’re able to share this pressure that we feel altogether. I tend to rely more on the members than relying on myself. And it’s also that I really do enjoy and like being in EXO when in a group altogether. Because there’s EXO, I exist. Because of EXO, there’s Kai.
But even as a soloist, it’s very fun. I enjoy it as well since it’s only about me doing well, and me doing the best that I could do. It can be comfortable in those terms, but sincerely do enjoy both. Because, once again, I think Kai exists because of EXO.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned as a soloist?
Kai: As a soloist, I’m honestly very satisfied to where I’m at but I still can feel that I really, and truly, miss my members, especially those who enlisted. I’m really looking forward to the album that we will release as EXO altogether.
I could say that I realized I still do lack a lot of skills, and I have a lot to improve on still. And since I had my members while doing a lot of different activities with EXO, I was able to share the pressure. As a soloist, all the pressure is on me. Everything really depends on how I show my performance, and how the outcome is done by me. I really came to realize that I have to do my best and do better.
And, this is actually not directed to me being a soloist but, one really big learning that I realized these days is that time is special.
One thing the world doesn’t know that Kai wants to share.
Kai: Actually, I really don’t know who I am still and I think it’s kind of definite for the world not to know fully about me too. It’s more so that the images that I show as a member of EXO and Kai are very different from who I am as a person.
And you know, the fans do know that you know on stage, I’m charismatic and you know pretty much cool but that I’m a bit different off stage but I could say that not a lot of people know this because you know I may seem a bit you know charismatic on stage and cool but I’m actually a pure and kind person and yeah that’s about it for the first question.
Anything else you’d like to say?
I actually went to go eat Kaljebi which is a mix of Kalguksu (hand-pulled noodles) and sujebi (flattened hand-pulled noodles, and that was my favorite place to go eat.
Zauner was guest for yesterday’s (March 12) episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, and the two rehashed how they became acquainted “a number of months ago.”
O’Brien shared that his daughter, Neve, invited him to attend Coachella with her. In the car, she played him the bands scheduled to play at the festival without revealing any of their identities to O’Brien. She tasked her dad with choosing which sets they should see.
“She’s playing me all different kinds of music, and I’m saying, ‘I like this one. I like that band. Yeah, this one should be good,’” O’Brien told Zauner. “And then I singled out — she played me a couple songs, and I said, ‘This is the band we have to see. We have to see this band.’ And she said, ‘Correct! That is Japanese Breakfast!’”
So, Conan and Neve predictably went to Japanese Breakfast’s Mojave tent set, where O’Brien was mesmerized by Zauner’s use of a gong during “Paprika.” All the while, Zauner was mesmerized by O’Brien in the VIP area at the side of the stage.
“It was hard to not just, like, look at you when we were playing because we were all just like, ‘Oh my god, Conan O’Brien is watching us play,’” Zauner said. “And so, I felt like I really had to perform for you. I feel like I was just watching you and hoping that you didn’t walk away. That was like my marker. But then, in retrospect, I feel like that must have uncomfortable — to be someone’s focal point.”
During last night’s Oscars ceremony, FX dropped a full first teaser for The Bear, which makes sense, given that the pressure-cooker show became a sleeper hit with people clamoring for Season 2 (now arriving in June). However, the network also did back up to provide a preview sizzle reel of sorts, which means that we received a brief glimpse of footage for Justified: City Primeval, the revival that will bring back Timothy Olyphant as Elmore Leonard’s extralegal-happy lawman Raylan Givens.
If you were worried about whether this revival could nail the vibe, well, I cannot appease your fears yet. However, HBO delivered the crescendo-and-expletive-laden goods with another Olyphant-starring revival for Deadwood: The Movie, so there’s plenty of reason to believe that FX will treat your other baby properly. Catch a glimpse, now, of Olyphant back in action.
The Bear. Dave. Justified: City Primeval, and so much more. Here’s a glimpse of what’s coming soon to FX. pic.twitter.com/J9hItBOxli
Raylan Givens can spar like no other with the bad dudes. Let’s hope he whips out more fried chicken. And granted, this footage barely shows anything, yet it’s an effective teaser in every sense of the word.
Previously, Olyphant told Conan O’Brien about the “insane” real-life shootout on the City Primeval set. Actually, that’s a fantastic story to behold, but so is nearly every other meeting between Olyphant and O’Brien. While we’re waiting for this new Justified series to arrive, rewatching a few of those talk-show moments would be a delightful way to pass the time.
Justified: City Primeval should arrive sometime in Summer 2023.
The Oscars have been a lot of fun these past few years, but only because of the disasters. Warren Beatty mixed up the cards for La La Land and Moonlight, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and gave an unhinged speech — those unscripted moments are what we remember, which is a good thing, because before The Slap, last year’s ceremony might’ve been its dullest, most irrelevant ever.
A lot of that came down to the palpable sense that the Academy was trying so hard to be relevant, culminating with the addition of the “fan favorite moment” award, chosen by social media. Which ended up being “The Flash entering the speed force” in the Snyder Cut of Justice League, a moment remembered and beloved by at least 14 guys with anime character avatars. It was embarrassing. The Oscars are designed to be embarrassing, but not like that.
The past six or seven years of Oscar ceremonies have all felt to some extent like apologies, like the Oscars were sorry that they were the Oscars and would try hard to be something else. They’d nominate more populist movies (which was part of the push to expand Best Picture to 10 nominees), shorten the ceremony, include less pageantry, all in the desperate hopes of becoming “more relevant” or less of a punchline, as if having more punchlines was somehow a bad thing (the world needs punchlines!). It made sense in the larger context of culture a couple years ago, when three out of every five Super Bowl commercials were corporations apologizing for something and promising to do better.
While it may have lacked a big conversation piece moment, this year’s Oscars felt like they finally stopped trying so hard to be something else. Jimmy Kimmel was an affable host* with a few decent barbs (I enjoyed him encouraging people to take bets on whether Robert Blake would be included in the In Memoriam montage), who seemed like he was doing the jokes that would’ve been weird not to do (he did also reference Scientology, in a fairly gentle way) without going full Gervais “Oh did I offend you?” mode. Mostly he did a lot of trivia about who was nominated and what milestones they represented, so that we at home could turn to each other and say things like “Did you know Judd Hirsch was 88? Gosh!” “Two guys from Encino Mannominated in the same year? How about that!”
(*Jimmy Kimmel is a lot like sports announcer Joe Buck in the sense that lots of people I know seem to loudly hate them, and while I support the concept of someone who just shits you for no particular reason, neither of these particular guys particularly shit me.)
That helped steer the focus away from who actually “deserved” to win and why, and more towards whose win would make for the best story. Which seems like both a more enjoyable way to watch the Oscars and a more accurate predictor of who will end up winning. Don’t ask me which actress actually had the best lead performance this year, but if you ask me whose speech I most wanted to watch it was definitely going to be Michelle Yeoh. A few of the presenters were charming and funny, most were kind of self-serious, and Harrison Ford looked like he was trying to read what was on the prompter as dryly as possible so he could go back to his nap. Bring him back every year!
This year’s Oscars seemed content to let the format itself do the heavy lifting, and it was the right move. For my generation, I think a large part of our conception of what the Oscars is and could be was formed by Naked Gun 33 and 1/3rd, whose finale took place at the Oscars telecast. Frank Drebin and his wife Jane, if you’ll remember, sneak into the ceremony when the crowd is too distracted by the arrival of Weird Al Yankovic and Vanna White.
This is a moment that’s stuck in my head for 30 years, and it’s still funny now, because it speaks to the comedy inherent in the event. That there’s going to be absurdist pairings of celebrities, like a parody song accordionist and the lady known for turning letters on a game show, and they’re going to be performing wildly over-scripted monologues about the bravery of doing make-believe. There were plenty of moments like that in this year’s ceremony, like Lady Gaga coming out in casual black jeans to announce, “I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop and it’s very personal for me,” before singing a song from Top Gun 2.
There was also, naturally, an Oscar-nominated artist (Tems) wearing an outfit so elaborate that no one seated behind her could see the stage:
…the existence of which naturally led to competing allegations of “YAAAS QWEEEN” and “this rude woman should be in prison!”
John Travolta cried while introducing the In Memoriam segment, which snubbed a bunch of dead people (a thread) as is tradition, but more importantly was set to a live song sung by, who else, Lenny Kravitz. My friend Joe texted me, “If Rachel dies I will also have Lenny Kravitz sing. I want the guy with a dick ring to serenade my dead wife.”
Hugh Grant got probably the biggest laugh of the night coming onstage with his Four Weddings And A Funeral co-star Andie McDowell, comparing McDowell (“still stunning”) to himself (“basically a human scrotum”) in a moment that was either unscripted or played so well by McDowell that we could’ve believed it to be.
And even that was arguably not as funny as the red carpet interview Grant gave earlier in the evening (which I’m only just seeing this morning). Red carpet reporter Ashley Graham was trying to do the usual fluff interview where she asks actors about parties and designers, and Hugh Grant was trying to perform a slightly pompous, very British act of self-effacement calling the event “a vanity fair.” Which Graham immediately misinterpreted as a reference to the famous Oscars after-party hosted by the magazine Vanity Fair. “Oh yeah, that’s where we let loose and have a little fun,” she riffed.
I don’t understand this from Hugh Grant. If you don’t want to be interviewed, don’t take the mic, smile politely and keep walking. Kudos to @ashleygraham for trying repeatedly to get something interesting out of him. #Oscarspic.twitter.com/Q2AeUpPGRi
Things sort of spiraled from there, with Graham not really getting it, Grant refusing to “yes and” and both of them not quite understanding each other like two well-coiffed ships passing in the night. Meanwhile, the graphics department superimposed them in front of live shots of Rooney Mara looking incredibly bored. It was straight out of a rom-com, complete with Hugh Grant’s annoyed side eye at the end, the perfect button to the scene.
That’s the Oscars, baby! It’s where the pomposity of artists and the vacuity of entertainment reporters collides, and we can all be happy that a fourth-generation celebrity was finally recognized by their peers.
That’s what makes it great. It was never fun because it recognized the best movies, or because it was important to the common man, or represented an accurate cross-section of America. It’s a fun, silly, escape from reality that allows people of all stripes to come together to both worship and make fun of celebrities. We can get choked up by Harrison Ford presenting an Oscar to Ke Huy Quan, which is touching solely because we saw them eat fake monkey brains in a movie together when we were 11. That’s so dumb! And that’s okay.
Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
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