The controversies that derailed stars' chances of winning an Oscar

In the world of Hollywood, it can sometimes seem like it is easy for a star to get cancelled.

Controversies surrounding actors can also mean one wrong move in the lead-up to or during award season can see their chances of snagging an Oscar slip away.

This week, a video of Timothée Chalamet making disparaging remarks about opera singers and ballet dancers and Jessie Buckley's interview comments about cats have seen social media users lament the Oscar hopefuls just said goodbye to their chances of winning.

But does someone's actions away from the screen really affect their chances of taking home an Oscar? It seems yes.

First, some background.

How does Oscar voting work?

The Oscars has attracted controversy in the past, especially in relation to lack of diversity. This is intrinisically linked to the Oscar voting system, which is decided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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To vote, you have to be a member of the Academy and eligible to vote.

For the 2026 Oscars, more than 11,000 industry professionals are part of the Academy and all but about 1000 are eligible to vote.

Membership is divided into 17 branches, and voting is conducted via a confidential, online and ranked-choice system.

According to the Academy's website, preliminary voting is carried out across 12 award categories. Voting for this year's awards opened December 8, 2025.

Eligible voting members typically come from the corresponding branch. That means actors will vote in the acting category, directors will vote for directors, etc. Only the Best Picture category is open to all eligible members.

All 24 categories are then voted on in the nominations round.

Finally, all eligible Academy members are able to participate in the final round of voting across all categories. 

Recent changes also means voters must have watched all of the nominated films before voting in the final round.

That means if someone wants to vote in the Best Picture category, they must watch all the films – something that oddly, was not a requirement until now.

How can stars affect the outcome of the Oscars?

For years, Academy members were accused of voting for friends or pet projects, and encouraging others to do the same.

Until this year, stars could use social media to encourage their cohort to vote for a particular movie or actor.

This followed a number of examples where it was thought celebrities had changed the outcome of the awards, including in 2023.

Director Michael Morris and his actress wife Mary McCormack asked their celebrity pals to get behind their small indie film To Leslie and its star Andrea Riseborough.

Friends including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Amy Adams, Demi Moore, Susan Sarandon and Helen Hunt all praised the film and its star using similar words on social media to help Riseborough receive a Best Actress Nomination.

Other stars have also campaigned for nominees, affecting the outcome of the awards.

How does controversy affect the outcome?

Controversy can also affect the outcome because Academy members are not immune to what is going on in the entertainment world, both good and bad.

Some stars have found themselves in hot water leading up to the awards:

Woody Allen

Allegations Woody Allen sexually molested his daughter Dylan Farrow, whom he adopted with his partner of 12 years, Mia Farrow, first emerged in the 1990s.

Mia Farrow made the allegations shortly after learning the director had begun a relationship with another of Farrow's adopted daughters, and Allen's long-time step child, Soon-Yi Previn.

Farrow reportedly found naked photos of Previn that were taken by Allen in December 2021.

Previn and Allen went on to marry in 1997 and have two children.

Though the allegations did not overly hurt Allen's standing in Hollywood at the time, this has since changed.

In 2014, despite the publication of an open letter written by Dylan Farrow, who as an adult asserted the abuse took place, Allen was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for the film Blue Jasmine.

However, this was greatly criticised in the lead-up to the Oscars – and whether because of that or not, he did not end up winning, nor did he attend the awards ceremony.

He has not been nominated for an Oscar since, and has always denied any wrongdoing with regards to Dylan Farrow.

Allen has not attended an Oscars ceremony since 2002. However, he and Previn appeared on the red carpet at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival.

James Franco

In 2018, James Franco had just won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Disaster Artist.

The win was thought to have all but cemented his Best Actor nomination at the Oscars.

He had previously received a Best Actor nomination in 2011 for his role in 127 Hours but lost to Colin Firth.

But shortly before preliminary voting was set to begin, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women.

The Los Angeles Times reported five women accused the actor of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behaviour while he was their acting teacher or mentor.

There were also unrelated allegations from a former girlfriend and some actresses he had worked with.

When the Oscar nominations came out, Franco's name was missing, and many believe it was the allegations that resulted in the snub.

Franco last attended the Oscars in 2011. That year, he and Anne Hathaway also co-hosted the presentation of the portion of the awards that are not telecast.

Timothée Chalamet

Just this week, a video of Chalamet speaking with his Interstellar co-star Matthew McConaughey caused outrage.

"I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it's like, 'Keep this thing alive even though no one cares about this anymore'," he said in the clip.

"All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership".

The backlash against Chalemet was fierce, and caused many social media users to wonder if he had just snuffed out his chance of winning.

"Well, there goes his Oscar chances," was a common comment on social media sites.

Luckily for Chalamet, it shouldn't affect his chances. Voting closed on March 6 – just before the clip went viral.

But even if it hadn't, is it fair to decide the winner of the Best Actor Oscar based on anything but his work?

Jessie Buckley

Someone who would argue 'No' is Jessie Buckley.

The Irish actress is up for Best Actress for her role in Hamnet, but major media outlets are fearing she may have scuttled her chances due to comments she previously made about her husband's cats.

Buckley appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 5 – one day before Oscar voting closed – to clear up previous comments she made, which had resurfaced from a podcast three months earlier.

"My husband, when I started dating him, he had two cats … This is bad as well. I'm gonna get cancelled," she said on the podcast.

"One of the cats was like a pedigree model b----, and she staged a coup against me.

"I'd come home and there'd just be poo on my pillow. And I was like, 'It's me or the cats'. But I won!"

She told Fallon she needed to "clarify something for all cat lovers in the world".

"I am a lover of cats. I woke up this morning to the world thinking that I really don't love cats. It's really weighed on me all day... I felt sick," she said.

Let's hope the comments don't end up being a cat-astrophe come Monday.

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