An awkward video of Sally Field grabbing Jennifer Lawrence at the 2024 Oscars has made rounds on the internet.
This year’s Academy Awards, which took place on March 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, saw past winners return to introduce the nominees in each of the four acting categories.
Former Best Actress winners Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Jessica Lange, and Sally Field took to the stage to present the nominees for the Best Actress accolade this year.
The 2024 nominees were: Annette Bening for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Hüller for Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Emma Stone for Poor Things.
The award was ultimately won by Emma Stone, marking her second Oscar win after taking the same prize in 2017 for La La Land. She now joins the likes of Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, and Jodie Foster as double Best Actress Oscar winners.
Field was the one to introduce the 35-year-old actress as the duo were co-stars in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. She began her heartwarming tribute by saying: "Curious as a puppy, and hungry as a bear, Emma Stone’s brilliant Bella is unhinged, uninhibited, and completely original.
"With the fearlessness of a toddler, she awkwardly steps into the world, awakening her body and the sensations of being alive without boundaries," she continued. "It is an unforgettable and endearing character, created by an actor who is always surprising, who refuses to be categorized, and, like Bella, is completely original."
The 77-year-old's words left the star-studded audience and viewers emotional, however, things got a little awkward once Stone made her way onto the stage to accept her award.
Watch the moment below:
After announcing Stone as the Best Actress winner, Yeoh held onto the golden statue because she was the winner last year.
Stone appeared confused, so the Everything Everywhere All At Once star seemingly gestured that Lawrence - who is BFFs with Stone - be the one to actually hand her the award.
It was at this point that Field began tugging at the Hunger Games actress's arm and dress, with many people thinking she wanted to be the one to hand the award to the Easy A star.
While the Mrs Doubtfire actress let go of Lawrence’s dress and then embraced Stone, it wasn’t long before a video of the moment began circulating across social media.
One person remarked under a TikTok clip: "Between one of them trying to steal her award and the last one trying to hug her what it’s going on here it’s so chaotic lol."
Another added: "Sally Field is one of my fav actresses ever. She’s just got such a sweet face but I was confused about this. I don’t think any explanation makes sense so I wanna know the real reason."
Some people theorized that Yeoh was supposed to be the person handing over the award and that Field was pulling Lawrence back to keep the original plan intact.
"She was confused about Michelle Yeoh passing the Oscar to Jennifer L because Michelle was supposed to be the one giving it to Emma," a user explained, while someone else shared: "Sally Field is trying to get the young actors to stick to the direction given. Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence were acting slow."
Meanwhile, other viewers were focused on the tugging that the veteran actress was doing, as a commenter pointed out: "She even grabbed her dress! Sally no! I liked the concept of the former winners speaking but awarding the actual statues was extremely awkward."
"You’re on live TV. Once you see it’s not going the way you thought it should, you need to let it go. She looks ridiculous grabbing at Jennifer Lawrence like that," penned another, per The Independent.
After the award ceremony, the 2022 Best Actress winner took to Instagram to offer some context about the bizarre moment - but did not mention Field's tugging on JLaw's dress.
"Congratulations Emma!! I confused you, but I wanted to share that glorious moment of handing over Oscar to you together with your best friend Jennifer!!", Yeoh wrote. "She reminded me of my Bae Jamie Lee Curtis - always there for each other!!"
Neither Field nor Lawerence have addressed the onstage incident.
