Robert Downey Jr and Emma Stone have faced the wrath of the internet for ignoring Asian actors Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh respectively in their Oscars acceptance.
Downey Jr’s portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on Sunday. However, when the Iron Man star went on stage to accept the award, viewers noticed a lack of warmth coming from the Avenger toward Ke Huy Quan, who presented the award.
Read more: ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Makes History With Oscar Win
Downey Jr did not seem to make eye contact with the Temple of Doom star and instead shook hands with Tim Robbins and fist-bumped Iron Man 2 co-star Sam Rockwell.
Viewers took to social media to express their outrage. “Robert downey jr. could’ve took one second or even acknowledge Ke Huy Quan while on stage, who was presenting an award to him personally… this s**t was so disrespectful idc,” one person wrote on X.
“Did he just completely ignore Ke Huy Quan that announced the winner?” another tweeted.
”Robert Downey Jr not hugging Ke Huy Quan??? excuse me,” commented another.
Others pointed out how Downey Jr’s Oppenheimer co-star Cillian Murphy shook everyone’s hand when accepting his Oscar.
“Didn’t shake his hand, didn’t even look at him. You can easily tell Cillian Murphy is a complete CLASS act compared to Robert Downey. Cillian enthusiastically shakes everyone’s hand. Not surprised, Cillian has always had a humble & down-to-earth personality, Downey seems arrogant,” one fan tweeted.
Read more: ‘Past Lives’ Loses Out as ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Take Oscar Wins
Meanwhile, other fans drew parallels between Downey Jr’s behavior and Emma Stone’s. Stone won the Academy Award for Best Actress but failed to acknowledge Michelle Yeoh who handed her the Oscar.
“I’m seeing some talk about Robert Downey Jr ignoring Ke Huy Quan but I’m not seeing anything about Emma Stone doing basically the same thing to Michelle Yeoh,” one angered X user remarked.
Read more: Hayao Miyazaki Wins Second Oscar With ‘The Boy and the Heron’
“Racism at its peak,” said another.
Racism at its peak
— Cricket Freak (@sharma99vishu) March 11, 2024
Nonetheless, the Oscars weren’t completely void of Asian respect. Hayao Miyazaki won his second Oscar for his Japanese animated feature film, The Boy and the Heron, and Godzilla Minus One became the first film in the franchise’s 70-year history to win an Academy Award. Sadly, Past Lives failed to pick up any awards.
