After the 97th Oscars took place on March 2nd, 2025, all people could talk about were the iconic bits between the nominations. From Margret Qualley showing off her dance background in a James Bond tribute dance to Arianna Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s captivating ‘Wicked’ performance.
While these bits entice audience members, I’ve always been drawn to the acceptance speeches that follow the announcement of a winner. These speeches typically give the winner a chance to thank the academy, showcase their vulnerability, and/or in my mind most importantly, address a relevant issue or concern.
Here are just a few of my favorite acceptance speeches that address relevant issues…
Jane Fonda, Oscars (1979)
I recall seeing Jane Fonda’s acceptance speech for the first time on TikTok (embarrassingly enough) and becoming obsessed with the speech, as it’s the first speech to feature a hearing actress using American Sign Language (ASL) in a portion of her speech. (Not to mistake it as the first speech to feature ASL, which was Louisa Fletcher during the 48th Oscars where she signed to her deaf parent at the end of her speech).
Winning Best Actress for her performance in Coming Home, Fonda used her time to recognize deaf people which she refers to as the “invisible handicapped”
As spoken and signed she says, “I’m signing part of what I’m saying tonight because, while we were making the movie, we all became more aware of the problems of the handicapped. Over 14 million people are deaf. They are the invisible handicapped and can’t share this evening, so this is my way of acknowledging them.”
This speech is the epitome of being self-aware of issues even if they don’t directly affect you.
Frances McDormand, Oscars (2018)
In 2018 Frances McDormand won her second Academy Award for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and with winning the Best Actress, she also delivered a memorable speech that many can recognize by the famous line…
“Okay so I’m hyperventilating a little bit, but if I fall over, pick me up because I got some things to say.”
Following the line McDormand covers the essentials, by thanking her team and family and then shifts her speech to acknowledging her fellow women nominees from actresses to costume designers. McDormand descends by asking every woman to stand up from their seat for acknowledgment, thus giving a moment to address the female nominees in the room.
Although the whole speech sticks with me, in my eyes the best part of this speech is at the end when McDormand emphasizes the importance of financing projects with a minuscule dig about professionalism when addressing women.
As she puts it, “We all have stories to tell and projects that need to be financed. Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple of days, or you can come to ours, whatever suits you best, and we’ll tell you all about them.”
McDormand’s speech is the perfect mix of her showing gratitude and bluntly addressing a relevant issue playfully.
Chappell Roan, Grammys (2025)
As for the most recent acceptance speech addressing a relevant issue, I have no other than Chappell Roan. After winning her first Grammy as Best New Artist, and overcome with excitement, she decided to deliver a grounded speech about the lack of providing livability wages and healthcare to its artists.
Roan states, “Because I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor, and when I got dropped I had zero job experience under my belt…It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanized to not have healthcare. If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to.”
Along with her words, A minor detail of this speech is how she puts her Grammy down midway through her speech. What seems like an attempt at being able to flip the page of the notebook, I also think signifies her passion for her speech over the award.
Roan closes with, “Labels we got you, but do you got us?”
Her point is concise and precise if you ask me.
Acceptance speeches can be whatever you make of them, however, with these speeches the winners are straight to the point in addressing issues that are relevant and prominent to them. Not all speeches need to discuss relevant issues, but the speeches that do, to me are just a bit more admirable and impactful to watch!