Elizabeth Banks was one of the many celebrities who presented an award during the 95th Oscars ceremony. When she walked on stage to present, she narrowly took a fall after tripping on her dress. Banks worked through the moment in style and even made it into a joke about her co-presenter, Cocaine Bear.
Banks presented the award for Best Visual Effects alongside someone in a Cocaine Bear costume (Banks directed Cocaine Bear), per PEOPLE. The actor held up her black and white Vivienne Westwood when she walked out to present the award. However, she still tripped as she made her way across the stage. Banks managed to make a quick save and joked about the situation once she got to the mic, saying in reference to her fuzzy co-presenter, “He tripped me.”
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Banks then expertly segued into the task at hand and spoke about how important visual effects are in film, especially when you’re dealing with Cocaine Bears. She said, “I recently directed the film Cocaine Bear. Without visual effects, this is what the bear would look like.” The director continued, “It’s terrifying, stop it. No director wants to deal with this. What are you doing? Stop it, put your paw down, are you trying to score right now? You need to wait for the afterparty like everybody else.”
Banks continued to address some of the achievements made by the nominees despite the fact that her voice was failing her. She said, while referencing her condition, “Visual effects — sorry my voice — can enhance any story and are an incredible tool for filmmakers like me. Without visual effects, Cocaine Bear would have been some actor in a bear suit, probably on cocaine.” Avatar: The Way of the Water ended up walking away with the win for Best Visual Effects, beating other nominees including Top Gun: Maverick and The Batman.
After the ceremony, Banks took to Twitter to discuss her Oscars mishap. She first shared a text that she got from one of her friends, who offered some kind words about her presenting moment. The friend said that Banks looked “beautiful” and then shared some advice for how the actor could heal her throat (Banks noted that she woke up with no voice on the day of the Oscars), telling her to gargle some warm water with salt. In a subsequent tweet, Banks responded to a message that mentioned how she was the second Hunger Games star to trip at the Oscars (Jennifer Lawrence being the first). She replied, “I’m in good company,” with a kissing emoji.