Well, this sucks. It’s not like I begrudge Mikey Madison her Best Actress win, but I can’t help but feel for Demi Moore, who lost out on Best Actress after becoming the feel-good story of awards season for her series of wins and heartfelt speeches.
It seems wearing Armani Prive was not the good luck charm at the Oscars as it was at the Golden Globes. You could just FEEL how much it meant to her to receive the approbation of her peers after being dismissed as a “popcorn actress” early in her career. But like Duana said back when Demi won a Golden Globe in January, the “results aren’t a given, and each time you think you know how it’s gonna go, we’re reminded that you can still be surprised.”
And, well, we were surprised, and Demi was surprised. There’s some lip-reading nonsense happening on social media, which I will not give oxygen because that is speculation that often thinly disguises misogyny. Never mind that Demi is allowed to be disappointed, and she should be allowed to express it, through facial expressions, if nothing else. It’s not like she stood up and screamed, she said something to the person seated next to her, she leaned away specifically to get out of frame of the camera positioned in front of her. She was trying not to be a spectacle, even though she HAD to be upset.
Part of the disappointment for Demi is that, yes, she is older. Mikey Madison is at the start of her career; at 62, Demi is in the phase where good work becomes harder and harder to find for women. Hell, that is literally the point of The Substance.
Demi Moore losing to Mikey Madison should be a post-credits scene to The Substance.
— Ken Jennings (@kenjennings.bsky.social) 2025-03-03T03:41:38.901Z
So it’s not a sure thing, or even a halfway sure thing, that Demi will ever get here again. It was surprising she was here in the first place, especially starring in a horror film. Maybe that’s a piece we all overlooked, too. We know the Academy has a genre bias, but I thought Demi’s stature within the industry—her icon status—would overcome it. Alas, it did not. The genre bias remains intact. It’s still surprising The Substance was embraced like it was, but in the end, it won only one Oscar, for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This echoes the fate of Get Out, which was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, but only won for Best Original Screenplay.
But Demi already has her next project lined up. She’s co-starring with Keke Palmer and LaKeith Stanfield in Boots Riley’s next film, I Love Boosters, which is about shoplifters who target a “fashion maven”. Roles are not confirmed, but I bet Demi is playing the maven. Interestingly, the film will be distributed by NEON, which just escorted Anora from Cannes to Oscar. Can they do the same for I Love Boosters? Well, Boots Riley doesn’t make films the mainstream loves, but I Love Boosters is extremely tentatively expected for this year’s fall festival circuit. We shall see what happens there, but wouldn’t it be amazing to see Demi Moore make another Oscar run? Let Elisabeth Sparkle shine!
