The 2024 Oscars brought together movie legends past and present — but not all the best moments were captured for the cameras.
This year’s Academy Awards were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who brought the laughs from start to finish. “Thank you for that partial standing ovation,” he joked, before highlighting his love of Barbie star Ryan Gosling.
“Ryan you are so hot,” Kimmel, 56, said. “Let’s go camping together and not tell our wives!”
While Gosling, 43, stole the show for many with his hilarious rendition of “I’m Just Ken,” the ladies seemingly won the night behind the scenes. Emma Stone, in particular, was a social butterfly in between awards being handed out.
The Poor Things star, who won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Bella Baxter, was spotted laughing with Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan Downey, in the lobby, a source exclusively told Us Weekly. The actors shared a hug before Stone came back into Dolby Theater.
Ahead of her big win, Stone was also seen chatting with longtime BFF Jennifer Lawrence and Barbie’s Margot Robbie before grabbing a cocktail with Florence Pugh, per the insider.
Scroll down for more behind-the-scenes moments from the 2024 Oscars you didn’t see on TV:
Eva to the Rescue!
Eva Longoria was spotted helping her rep steady herself after she tripped on the red carpet, an eyewitness exclusively told Us. Longoria later gushed to Us about attending the awards show, saying, “I feel amazing, it’s so great to be here in this capacity this year.”
Hot Hubby
Gabrielle Union exclusively told Us that her husband, Dwyane Wade, was “the finest man here tonight” while walking the red carpet.
“So I feel good,” she teased. “It’s always the most exciting night.”
Love Is All Around
Billie Eilish could be heard yelling, “I love you” to Fran Drescher as they crossed paths on the carpet.
Welcome Back to the Jungle
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ran over to former Jungle Cruise costar Emily Blunt and hug her before saying “hi” to her husband, John Krasinski, an insider told Us. Blunt was later seen giving Oppenheimer costar Downey Jr. a kiss on the cheek before the show began.
Mama’s Boy
Bradley Cooper was seen holding his mom’s hand as they entered the awards show.
Rockstar Moment
Olivia Colman appeared to be in awe as she hugged Guns N’ Roses’ singer Axl Rose, according to a source, who told Us she also asked for a selfie.
Catching Himself
An eyewitness saw Nicholas Cage recover on the carpet after tripping over a wheelchair. The actor’s partner, Riko Shibata, was then seen dusting off his shoulder.
Date Night!
Kirsten Dunst was overheard telling her husband, Jesse Plemons, that the Oscars “looks really good this year,” an insider told Us. Plemons then replied, “We should run inside!”
It’s Just Ken!
When Gosling arrived at the theater, fans were heard chanting, “Ken, Ken, Ken!” per an exclusive source.
Late Start
The 96th Academy Awards were delayed by five minutes — and started with some actors not in their seats — due to protesters outside Dolby Theater. There were “over 100 protesters” on Highland Ave in Hollywood, California, according to an eyewitness, who noted the limo drop off was severely impacted. The pro-Palestinian groups held up signs that read, “No awards for genocide.”
Kimmel, for his part, briefly addressed the timing issue in his opening monologue saying, “The show is starting an hour early this year, but it will go very, very late. We’re already five minutes late and I’m not even joking.”
Fashionably Late
Michelle Yeoh arrived late, but received applause from the whole audience when she made her entrance, per a source.
Snack Attack!
Have learned from the man sitting next to me that there are boxes full of snacks underneath our chairs. pic.twitter.com/9kfd75Y72r
— Vulture (@vulture) March 10, 2024
Attendees enjoyed boxes full of goodies from Kimmel, including a water bottle and Swedish Fish that were hidden under their seats, according to a Vulture reporter. The snacks also included a pretzel, ketchup and mustard as well as different movie theater candies, per an Us source.
Wicked Awesome
Ariana Grande didn’t miss a chance to hug her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe when she spotted them in the crowd.
Grande’s boyfriend, Ethan Slater, was later seen whispering in her ear after the Poor Things package was shown on screen.
Clink, Clink
Pugh grabbed a glass of champagne with Longoria as the awards show played out. Pugh was later spotted drinking with Stone in the lobby and watching the Oscars livestream, according to an Us insider.
However, Stone eventually realized she missed one of Poor Things’ wins being announced so she ran back into the theater, per the source.
No Claps Here
Downey Jr. was spotted “standing but not applauding” for Da’Vine Joy Randolph when she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role, according to an eyewitness. Instead, the actor looked “back at [Oppenheimer costar] Blunt, with his fingers stroking his chin,” during Joy Randolph’s speech, the insider told Us. Blunt was nominated for the same category.
Blonde ‘Barbie’ Hugs
In between categories, Robbie and Gerwig shared a sweet moment at their seats. The duo were spotted hugging and chatting mid-show.
Naked No More!
What you didn’t see on TV: John Cena’s quick change. pic.twitter.com/h9tXdZXd1g
— Vulture (@vulture) March 11, 2024
John Cena went nearly naked while presenting the award for Best Costume Design on Sunday, covering his private area with a giant envelope. As the names were being listed off for the audience, Cena’s stage light went dark, and a group of costumers ran out onto the stage and covered him with a toga. The end result was seen on TV when Kimmel pretended to be the one dressing the wrestler.
Lock Down Protocol
At 8:30 p.m. ET, the Oscars staff locked down the doors to all the entrances due to “a security threat,” an insider told Us, noting that no new arrivals were allowed inside. No other information was given at the time.
Friends for the Ages
Lawrence and Stone made time to catch up inside the theater in between the show’s biggest moments.
Jokes All Around
Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone held her mouth in surprise when Blunt dissed Gosling while presenting a tribute montage to stunt performers. The presenters argued over their respective film success in Oppenheimer and Barbie and the Barbeneimer debate. Blunt joked, “The way this awards season’s turned out, it wasn’t that much of a rivalry, so, just let it go.”
Gosling fired back, “It’s true, you guys are doing very well, congratulations, but I think I’ve figured out why they called it Barbenheimer and didn’t call it Oppenbarbie. I think you guys are at the tail end of it because you were riding Barbie’s coattails all summer.”
Powerhouse Pals
Robbie made the most of the show’s commercial breaks, chatting with Zendaya in the aisle at one point. Robbie made her rounds throughout the night, talking with Stone, Gladstone and Annette Bening.
Her Barbie costar Gosling was also seen sharing a laugh with Gerwig during a commercial break.
Speech Squad
At the last commercial, Emma Stone hugged Lily Gladstone, who showed her a piece of paper that looked like an acceptance speech. #Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/0y0M9XmRz3
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) March 11, 2024
Gladstone was captured on video giving Stone a sweet embrace during a brief camera break. She was then seen showing Stone a piece of paper that looked like an acceptance speech, according to a Variety reporter.
‘Twins’ Super Fan
Anya Taylor-Joy stood up very excitedly for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito’s Twins reunion.
TikTok Craze
Danielle Brooks attempted to teach Sam Rockwell how to do the Say So Doja TikTok dance, an insider revealed to Us.
Ken-Tastic
Despite trolling Gosling earlier in the broadcast, Blunt danced along to his performance of “I’m Just Ken” with Krasinski. Ahead of the showstopping dance number, the audience was instructed to use their phone as flashlights and sing along, per an eyewitness.
La La Love
Gosling was beaming with pride for his La La Land costar Stone when she took home the award of Best Actress. He was seen clasping his hands together as she spoke on stage.
Tequila Time!
Matt Bomer took a quick shot of tequila at the bar before running back inside the venue, a source told Us.
