Tag Archives: Sexuality

MTV News looks back on the most moving speeches and those that left us cringing. By John Mitchell Jennifer Hudson at the 2007 Oscars Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images Delivering a good Oscar acceptance speech is not easy. If you over prepare, you seem arrogant, like you knew you were going to win all along, and if you aren’t ready for your name to be called, you’re almost certain to forget to thank your significant other or your film’s director. Some Oscar winners suffer from a serious case of the sniffles and leave audiences unsure what they even said, while others go off on tangents that have nothing to do with movies at all. In the end, though, it mostly just comes down to having that special something, that je ne sais quoi . And let’s face it, you’ve either got it or you don’t. Below are five stars we think nailed it when they were called onstage and five who, well, didn’t exactly charm viewers’ pants off on movies’ biggest night. Best Cuba Gooding Jr., Best Supporting Actor, “Jerry Maguire” (1998) Gooding’s acceptance speech is basically an exercise in pure joy. The actor leapt to the stage and earnestly thanked just about everyone he’s ever met, starting with his mother and God, and issued “I love you’s” to “Maguire” co-star Tom Cruise, director Cameron Crowe and pretty much everyone else who worked on the film. His genuine enthusiasm captured the crowd and earned him a standing ovation. Halle Berry, Best Actress, “Monsters Ball” (2002) History was made when Berry won the Best Actress statue — she was the first African American woman to claim the lead actress prize — and she honored the moment with an emotional speech that she dedicated to “every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance after tonight because this door has been opened.” She thanked the actors and actresses of color who came before her and declared the moment “so much bigger” than herself. Her speech was an exercise in humility and surprise — two things most Oscar acceptance speeches could benefit from. Jennifer Hudson, Best Supporting Actress, “Dreamgirls” (2007) Hudson’s took home the Oscar for her very first film performance and delivered a simple acceptance speech that was probably most notable for how humble and truly surprised she seemed to hear her name called. Though she’d been a favorite throughout awards season that year, she seemed shocked when George Clooney announced that she’d won and stuttered and stumbled her way through her speech, but was sure to thank all those she needed to, from “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon and her co-stars to her family, friends and Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie White on Broadway. Tom Hanks, Best Actor, “Philadelphia” (1994) Hank’s Oscar acceptance speech may well be the only one to have inspired a movie itself. His lengthy speech was marked by some traits we don’t always love — it certainly felt rehearsed — but the actor’s gratitude seemed genuine when he thanked his high school drama teacher, Rawley Farnsworth, as well as a former classmate, who he called “two of the finest gay Americans, two wonderful men.” There was only one problem: Farnsworth was still in the closet about his sexuality. The slip of the lip inspired the 1997 film “In & Out,” in which Kevin Kline plays a high school drama teacher outed when his former student (played by Matt Dillon) wins an Oscar. In a nice turn of events, the always lovely Joan Cusack earned an Oscar nomination herself playing Kline’s jilted fianc