Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's 'Defying Gravity' performance, Adam Sandler in hoodie and shorts, and other Oscars 2025 highlights

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's opening number

An easy highlight of this year's Oscars was Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's opening performance.

Grande, who wore a ruby gown with details resembling the unmistakable pair of shoes in The Wizard of Oz—which, alongside Wicked, was based on the Oz books by L. Frank Baum—appeared on stage to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the 1939 movie's famous song.

Erivo, wearing a white gown with floral details, followed with Home from The Wiz, a Broadway production based on The Wizard of Oz.

Grande and Erivo ultimately came together and held hands to perform Wicked's iconic track Defying Gravity.

Before their number, the Oscars ceremony started with a montage of excerpts from classic movies.

Conan O'Brien pokes fun at Karla Sofia Gascón

Oscars 2025 host, comedian Conan O'Brien, spiced things up by poking fun at Emilia Pérez trans star Karla Sofia Gascón.

During his opening speech, O'Brien was talking about the Oscar nominees when he gave a trivia about comedy drama Anora using the F-word 479 times. He then said it's "three more" than the F-word that Gascón's publicist has supposedly used.

Gascón, who earned a historic Best Actress nomination, stirred controversy over her resurfaced tweets, where she called Islam "an infection" and "deeply disgusting," as well as denigrated or mocked wide-ranging subjects, including diversity efforts, China and George Floyd, the Black man whose 2020 killing by police spurred massive protests.

O'Brien then told Gascón, "If you're gonna tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel."

Kimmel was last year's Oscars host for the fourth time.

Adam Sandler in hoodie and shorts

A formal, prestigious event like the Oscars sees celebrities wearing their best suits and dresses.

O'Brien praised how everybody was well-dressed for the occasion, except for comedy icon Adam Sandler, whom he "called out" for wearing a bright blue hoodie, basketball shorts, and white sneakers.

"What are you wearing? You’re dressed like a guy playing video poker at 2 a.m.," O'Brien asked Sandler, who responded in his trademark hoarse voice, "What are you doing right now? Nobody even thought about what I was wearing till you brought it up."

Sandler noted that he likes his outfit as it makes him "look like a good person."

"I don't care about what I wear and what I don't wear," he said. "My snazzy gym shorts and fluffy sweatshirt offend you so much that you had to mock me in front of my peers!"

"Angry" with O'Brien's call-out, Sandler jokingly announced that he's leaving, much to the crowd's "disappointment."

"I'm leaving. I have to go. It's not you, it's him," Sandler said of O'Brien.

But Sandler had more tricks up his sleeve. He approached Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet, who portrayed musician Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown, and yelled an elongated "Chalamet" in his ear.

James Bond 60th anniversary tribute

The spy franchise is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and the Oscars paid tribute by showing a montage containing scenes from the James Bond movies. It showcased the different actors who portrayed 007—from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig.

The Substance star Margaret Qualley, assuming a Bond girl with a sultry red dress, danced to the James Bond theme.

The theme songs of the franchise were also performed. BLACKPINK's Lisa sang Live and Let Die (1973), Doja Cat went for Diamonds are Forever (1971), and Raye did Skyfall (2012).

Historic Oscar wins for persons of color

Oscars 2025 saw history with persons of color finally getting much-awaited recognition, 97 years since its inception.

Paul Tazewell won best costume design for his work in Wicked. It was his second nomination in the same category following West Side Story in 2021.

"This is absolutely astounding. Thank you [to] the Academy for this very significant honor," Tazewell said in his acceptance speech. "I'm the first Black man to receive an Oscar design award."

He also gave a shout-out to Erivo and Grande, calling them his "OZian muses." He added, "This is everything."

Zoe Saldaña, meanwhile, won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez as a defense attorney. She delivered a heartfelt and impassioned speech following her win.

“Mami! Mami!” she said upon getting on stage while shedding tears. “My mom is here. My whole family is here. I am floored by this honor. Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita and talking about powerful women."

Saldaña noted how her grandmother immigrated to the United States in 1961, and how she's a "proud child" of immigrants.

"With dreams and dignity and hard working hands," she added. "And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I will not be the last.”

“The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish, my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted,” Saldaña noted.

Tribute to firefighters during Los Angeles wildfires

Later in the program, O'Brien brought to the stage a group of firefighters who braved the Los Angeles wildfires.

“On behalf of everyone in greater Los Angeles, thank you for all that you do,” O'Brien said before introducing members of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). He asked them to crack their respective jokes.

LAFD Captain Eric Scott said, “Our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their homes and I’m talking about the producers of Joker 2.”

LAFD Captain Jody Slicker, meanwhile, poked fun at O'Brien, saying, “It’s great to be back with Conan. Usually when he calls, he’s stuck in a tree.”

In January, Los Angeles was besieged by out-of-control blazes burning on multiple fronts, leading to the postponement of several Hollywood events and the halting of production of several shows.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the swanky Pacific Palisades area, a favorite spot for celebrities where multimillion-dollar houses nestle on beautiful hillsides, while another inferno devastated parts of Altadena, to the east.

A-list actors, musicians, and other celebrities were among the tens of thousands affected.

Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake reference

O'Brien surprised the Oscars crowd with an unexpected reference to the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud.

"We’re halfway through the show," he said, "which means it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile in a diss track Not Like Us."

The joke prompted gasps from the shocked crowd.

But O'Brien didn't flinch, expressing confidence that no lawsuit is a threat to his joke as he had "lawyered up."

Not Like Us, Lamar's explosive and scathing diss track known to be against Drake, is regarded as the decisive final blow in their feud that saw exchanges of diss tracks between the collaborators-turned-nemeses.

Drake has filed a defamation suit against him and Lamar's shared label, Universal Music Group, saying the song's release and promotion amounted to defamation and harassment.

UMG has called the accusations "illogical."

'In Memoriam'

The 2025 Oscars also took the time to remember actors who passed away.

The "In Memoriam" segment featured Gene Hackman, David Lynch, Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, Gena Rowlings, James Earl Jones, Dick Pope, Jeff Baena, Bob Newhart, Kris Kristofferson, M Emmet Walsh, Robert Towne, Joan Plowright, and Teri Garr.

The segment, however, quickly raised eyebrows for apparently overlooking some names.

Buffy and Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died last Feb. 27, was notably absent.

Others that weren't included in the montage were Airplane! co-director Jim Abrahams, French cinema icon Alain Delon, and Miami Blues director George Armitage.

Stars like Tony Todd, Marisa Paredes, Olivia Hussey, Tony Roberts, and Linda Lavin were also not mentioned.

This year's "In Memoriam" also went against the grain by doing away with prominent singers onstage and featuring a chorus singing Mozart's Lacrimosa instead.

Big winners

Anora was the night's biggest winner with five out of six awards, including Best Picture.

Sean Baker won Best Director, while its star Mikey Madison won Best Actress, deemed as an upset as The Substance star, veteran actress Demi Moore, was expected to win following several Best Actress recognitions from other award-giving bodies pre-Oscars.

Emilia Pérez and Wicked led nominees with 13 and 10 nominations, respectively. Emilia Pérez took home two awards, including best original song El Mal, while Wicked also bagged best production design.