Demi Moore was left crushed as Mikey Madison beat her to the coveted Best Actress award at the 2025 Oscars, on a night when Anora dominated with five wins including Best Picture.
Demi, 62, had been a clear front-runner and her fury was palpable as 25-year-old rising star Mikey’s name was called out in front of a stunned audience at the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Other big winners on Sunday night included Zoe Saldana, who took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the controversial Emilia Perez, and Adrien Brody, who triumphed over Timothée Chalamet for the Best Actor award with his performance in the The Brutalist.
Kieran Culkin kicked off the evening with a Best Supporting Actor win for A Real Pain.
Demi could be seen with a clenched jaw as her name wasn’t called, but she did say ‘nice’ to herself as she applauded Mikey’s big win.
It was a particularly surprising upset because Demi had won the actress award at most of the major pre-Oscar events for her role in The Substance.
Mikey portrays an escort in Anora, an independent film with a $6 million budget for which Sean Baker won Best Director. She recognized the sëx worker community in a touching acceptance speech.
She said: ‘I also just want to, again, recognize and honor the sëx worker community. I will. Yes. I will continue to support and be an ally.
‘All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this incredible experience.’
