Emma Stone Addresses Her Shocked Reaction to Winning Oscar Over Lily Gladstone

Emma Stone is clarifying her reaction to her Best Actress Oscar win. Sunday, as the Poor Things actress’ name was read aloud as the winner of the prestigious category, she could be seen looking visibly shocked, and the star was admittedly flustered accepting the award at the microphone.

Viewers were quick to comment that Stone seemed stunned to have received the win over Killers of the Flower Moon actress Lily Gladstone, who made history as the first Native American person (and fourth Indigenous person) to be nominated for an Academy Award and was favored by many to win. Stone made sure to honor Gladstone and her fellow nominees during her acceptance speech, gushing that she was “in awe” of Gladstone, Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Annette Bening (Nyad) and Carey Mulligan (Maestro). “It has been such an honor to do all this together,” she told her fellow nominees. “I hope we get to do more together.”

Speaking backstage at the post-Oscars press conference, Stone admitted she was “very shocked” to have won Best Actress when asked about her unexpected response. “I think I blacked out…I was very shocked,” she told press. “I still feel like I’m spinning a little bit.” She added, “It’s a huge honor and I’m very surprised.”

Also during her acceptance speech, Stone made sure to thank director Yorgos Lanthimos and the rest of her Poor Things cast and crew. “The other night, I was panicking – as you can kind of see, that happens a lot – that maybe something like this could happen,” she quipped. “Yorgos said to me, ‘Please take yourself out of it.’ Because he’s right: It’s not about me. It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. That is the best part about making movies: It’s all of us together. I am so deeply honored to share this with every cast member, with every crew member, with every single person who poured their love and their care and their brilliance into the making of this film.”

Gladstone might not have taken home Best Actress Sunday, but she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that she was feeling much love, “especially from Indian country.” The star continued, “Better believe when I was leaving the Dolby Theater and walked passed (sic) the big Oscar statue I gave that golden booty a little Coup tap.” 

Gladstone also shared her feelings of pride watching Sunday’s performance by Best Original Song nominee Scott George performing Killers of the Flower Moon‘s “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” with the Osage Singers. “When watching the Osage Singers at the Oscars, my inner voice said ‘They’re the ones bringing us all up on stage tonight, that’s how it should be,’” Gladstone wrote in another tweet. “The history in the film and of the moment rightfully belong to the Osage Nation. What an honor to be close enough to feel the drum.”