The 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, became a place for political activism as winners and presenters spoke out against gun violence, President Donald Trump, politicians, and wars that are still going on. Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien hosted the ceremony, which was full of sharp jabs and emotional calls to action that made headlines.
During his Best Documentary presentation, Jimmy Kimmel made fun of Trump and CBS, saying that restrictions on free speech were like those in North Korea. He also joked that Trump would be angry that his wife Melania’s documentary didn’t get a nomination. On the red carpet, Javier Bardem wore pins for Palestine and the Iran war and called out Trump and Netanyahu for “illegal wars.”
“All the Empty Rooms” won Best Documentary Short. It was a tribute to the empty bedrooms of children who were killed in school shootings. Along with director Joshua Seftel and the mother of a Uvalde victim, Gloria Cazares, the team called for action on gun violence, saying it was the leading cause of death for kids and teens in the U.S. Other shorts, like the ones about Putin, talked about “complicity” in wars around the world.
Red carpet protests included calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and ICE pins, which were similar to the Grammy protests against Trump’s policies. Paul Thomas Anderson’s win for “One Battle After Another” made him apologize to his kids for the “mess” in the world, which was related to the election. These times show how Hollywood has to be careful about how it handles celebrity politics.
