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The 96th Academy Awards were surely highlights in the careers of Robert Downey Jr. and Emma Stone, as the pair walked away from the ceremony with Oscar gold.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the beloved pair of A-listers, though, as some people on social media accused them of snubbing Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh, two Asian actors who helped present them with their awards.
Emma Stone & Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert Downey Jr.(of course) were unconsciously discriminating against Asians. And We are Very Angry About it Happened. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are so wonderfully talented and popular and loved by Asians. So I’m so upset now. pic.twitter.com/z6Qd5HepIA
— Risa (@Risa22248337) March 11, 2024
“WHY DID HE IGNORE KE HUY QUAN LIKE THAT?!?!?!?” one Twitter user said of Downey Jr’s approach to the stage.
“Hmph. It’s the lack of eye contact to Ke Huy Quan for me” said another.
“Robert Downey Jr. could’ve took one second or even acknowledge Ke Huy Quan while onstage, who (was) presenting an award to him personally. So disrespectful,” a third complained.
Quan, who won Best Supporting Actor last year for his work in Everything Everywhere All At Once, was one of five actors to present the award to Robert Downey Jr. alongside fellow former winners Christoph Waltz, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, and Mahershala Ali.
Emma Stone was the subject of similar backlash as some on Twitter claimed that she snubbed Michelle Yeoh, who won Best Actress last year for her work in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh presented Stone with her second-career Best Actress Oscar alongside Charlize Theron, Sally Field, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jessica Lange.
“First this damned woman wins over Lily Gladstone and then continues to refuse the award from Michelle Yeoh and only accepts it from the white woman,” one Twitter user posted.
One Twitter user accused Stone of “clear racism,” saying: “Emma Stone dragged the trophy Michelle Yeoh was holding to the front of Jennifer Lawrence and then accepted it from Jennifer Lawrence. This is clear racism.”
Both Downey Jr. and Stone, however, were seen embracing both Quan and Yeoh in backstage photos, which obviously haven’t been circulated as much as the videos of their over-analyzed acceptance speeches.
Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor for his work as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, while Stone was awarded for her performance as Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things.
You can watch both Downey Jr’s and Stone’s respective acceptance speeches in their entirety below.