Ariana Grande, Demi Moore, Zoe Saldaña, and More Stars React to 2025 Oscars Nominations

On Thursday morning, Wicked star Bowen Yang and Bottoms actress Rachel Sennott announced the nominations for the 2025 Oscars, which will broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, March 2 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Coming out on top with the most nominations was Emilia Pérez with 13 total nominations, followed by Wicked and The Brutalist with 10. Adrien Brody and The Brutalist also picked up 10 total nods, while Timothée Chalamet helped catapult A Complete Unknown to eight total nominations, including Best Picture.

Following the news, nominees — including Ariana Grande, Demi Moore, Zoe Saldaña, and more stars — took to social media and released statements to react to being nominated for Oscars.

Read on to see the reactions:

Ariana Grande scored her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Glinda in Wicked, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The actress shared a celebratory post to Instagram after the noms were revealed, reflecting on her journey alongside photos of her in a Dorothy dress as a child and video of her performing “The Wizard and I” when she was younger.

“Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition. i cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise,” wrote the often-emotional star in her caption.

“i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. i’m so proud of you, tiny,” she continued, before again thanking The Academy.

Grande then thanked director Jon M. Chu for “taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend.”

Saying she was “deeply proud” of her “beautiful Wicked family,” she added she was also “so proud of my Elphie, my sister, my dear [Cynthia Erivo].” Of Erivo, she said, “your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. i love you unconditionally, always.”

“I don’t quite have all my words yet, i’m still trying to breathe. but thank you,” she concluded her post. “oh my goodness, thank you. Universal, Marc, my family, my heart. lemons and melons and pears, oh my. 🫧”

While speaking with Variety, Grande shared where she was — and what she was doing — when she learned she was nominated.

“I’m in London. I just got out of the bath. Oh! My therapist is calling to congratulate me. Hold on. I’ll tell her I’ll be right back. Oh my god, I’m sorry. I don’t even know what to say,” she said. “It’s really hard to speak.”

She added that had “just got off the phone with my mom and my best friends and Kristen Chenoweth,” the latter of whom first played the role of Glinda on Broadway. “And I have been texting with Cynthia [Erivo] and Jon [M. Chu] all morning.”

Grande said she “sobbed” when she heard her name and hasn’t “stopped sobbing since then. It’s been really overwhelming.

As for getting a nomination alongside Erivo, she called it a “magnificent celebration of this hard work that we were able to do together.”

“It feels like we were past the wand and broom by Kristen and Idina Menzel,” she added. “They were nominated for the Tonys together, and now Cynthia and I get to have this recognition together.”

Demi Moore, meanwhile, also received her first Oscar nomination, scoring a Best Actress nnom for her work in the horror comedy film, The Substance.

Moore reacted to the news while speaking with E! News.

“Being nominated for an Oscar is an incredible honor and these last few months have been beyond my wildest dreams,” she said in a statement. “Truly there are no words to fully express my joy and overwhelming gratitude for this recognition. Not only for me but for what this film represents. I am deeply humbled.”

“This is a time of incredible contrasts and right now, my heart is with my friends, family, neighbors, and community here in LA,” she added. “The fires have devastated so many lives but to see the way our community has united leaves me in awe of the resilience and compassion that defines us, and this moment is a reminder of how incredible we are when we stand together.”

While Wicked director Jon M. Chu did not receive a Best Director nomination, the film itself received a whopping 10 nominations, including Best Picture.

Chu shared a video that showed the heartwarming moment he learned that the movie musical received a nomination for Best Film Editing, with Chu cheering when Wicked’s editor’s name, Myron Kerstein, was announced.

“10 Academy Award nominations for Wicked. Wow. I couldn’t be more proud of our crew and cast and everyone in between,” he captioned a video he shared on X and his Instagram Stories. “This was built brick x brick by human hands with the greatest imaginations in the world. Thank you for this honor!!! You have given us light. Here is a video of me finding out our editor Myron Kerstein got nominated. I was a bit delirious this early in the morning.”

Chu further reflected on his film’s nominations in a touching video posted on his Instagram.

“I’m so proud. I’m so proud of our movie. I’m so proud of everyone, who worked on this movie and the recognition you guys are getting. Everyone deserves it,” he said.

“This is a dream. I’ve watched every Academy Award [ceremony] since I was a kid,” he went on to add, “and I know, what do awards really mean and whatever, but for some reason, this does mean a lot. It’s a acknowledgement of the work. And we had such a great time and a beautiful collaborative effort between everybody.”

Check out his full video, below.

Actress Michelle Yeoh also celebrated Wicked’s 10 nominations, with CBS Mornings sharing a video of the sweet moment she learned the film had scored a Best Picture nomination.

While star Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennot alternated reading the films nominated in the category, Yeoh — who starred as Madam Morrible in Wicked — hilariously threatened Yang, saying, “Bowen Yang if you don’t say Wicked, I’m gonna kill you.”

After Sennot named Wicked, Yeoh and CBS Mornings producers cheered.

Mikey Madison is nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Anora, which marks her first Oscar nomination. She recalled her reaction to the exciting news while speaking with Variety.

“I am in my bed in a hotel in New York, feeling very grateful. I was on FaceTime with my mom, my dad, my dog and my twin brother this morning, and I’m humbled; absolutely overjoyed,” she said. “My heart is broken for Los Angeles right now, but I feel like as a community, everyone’s coming together and celebrating film in a beautiful way.”

Zoe Saldaña is yet another first-time nominee! The actress is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Emilia Pérez.

Saldaña shared a post on Instagram following the news, writing, “I am truly honored and grateful for the nomination. Thank you so much for considering me for this award. I am thrilled to be among such talented company.”

“Emilia Pérez was made with love. Thank you to @theacademy and its members for recognizing our work. Jacques!!!!! BINGO!” she added.

Monica Barbaro is another first-time Oscar nominee, with the actress being recognized in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown.

Like Grande, Barbaro told Variety that she’s also in London and was “mid-fitting with costume designer Jenny Egan” when she heard her name.

“She kept refreshing her phone, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to know anything.’ I looked at my phone and fell on the floor. I’m elated. This is surreal,” she added.

Colman Domingo took to social media to react to the news that he had received his second Oscar nomination. The actor is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Sing Sing.

“2nd time around. Grateful about it all. The whole journey to make @singsingmovie,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself posing while on a studio lot. “No one does this alone. I have so much love and faith and human beings around me. I am in gratitude for all.”

“To be recognized with my brothers that I admire,” he added. “Made with love. Made with hope. Made for the love of art and all the healing powers that it can possess. A toast to our BELOVED company. Sing Sing is in theaters now. Go and see the love that we made.”

At 72, veteran actress Isabella Rossellini is finally an Oscar nominee. Rossellini — who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Conclave — shared a touching statement on Instagram.

“When I was young I was always identified as the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini,” she wrote. “As I’ve gotten older, this doesn’t happen as frequently and I miss it especially today. I wish my parents were alive to celebrate with me this great honor.”

“And also today with this joy in my mind can’t help lingering in the beyond to David Lynch,” she continued of the late filmmaker, who passed away last week. “Our collaboration was key to my understanding of the art of acting’s.”

Rossellini added, “It is my past, all that I have in me that I brought to my interpretation of sister Agnes in film “Conclave” working under the clear and sharp direction of Edward Berger, his incredible cast and crew, especially the incomparable Ralph Fiennes. Thanks to the Academy, I am very touched.”

Latvia director Gints Zilbalodis — who directed and cowrote the animated film Flow — shared an adorable video of the moment he learned his film was nominated for both Best International Feature and Best Animated Feature, which marks not only his first nomination but his home country’s.

In the clip, below, Zilbalodis can be seen munching on an apple while the nominations are announced — but he was joined by a very special guest — his fluffy golden retriever — whom he petted and cuddled after receiving the happy news.