Lily Gladstone Is ‘Feeling the Love Big Time’ After the Oscars, Even if She Didn’t Win Best Actress: ‘Seriously, I Love You All’

Zack Sharf

Lily Gladstone is in good spirits following the 2024 Oscars, where many awards pundits predicted she would take home the Oscar for best actress thanks to her acclaimed performance as Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone won prizes at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards prior to the Oscars, but Academy voters bestowed the best actress Oscar to Emma Stone from “Poor Things” instead.

“Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country. Kittō”kuniikaakomimmō”po’waw – seriously, I love you all,” Gladstone posted on X (formerly twitter) about 24 hours after the Oscars ceremony wrapped. “Better believe when I was leaving the Dolby Theater and walked passed the big Oscar statue I gave that golden booty a little Coup tap.”

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Gladstone would’ve made history as the first Native American performer to win best actress had her name been called instead of Stone’s. However, Gladstone acknowledged that just because she did not win doesn’t mean history wasn’t made in other ways that deserve attention. The actor pointed to the live performance of “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which was nominated for best original song and featured several Osage artists on stage.

“When watching the Osage Singers at the Oscars, my inner voice said, ‘They’re the ones bringing us all up on stage tonight, that’s how it should be,'” Gladstone wrote in a follow-up post. “The history in the film and of the moment rightfully belong to the Osage Nation. What an honor to be close enough to feel the drum.”

Stone gave Gladstone and her fellow best actress nominees a shout-out in her acceptance speech for “Poor Things,” noting that she shared the Oscar with all of them. Gladstone told Vanity Fair earlier in awards season that she became fast friends with Stone. The two were always viewed as the frontrunners heading into Oscar night. Stone even sent Gladstone a ring at one point during the season.

“My Infinity Stones ring — Emma Stone has the same one,” Gladstone said. “She sent this to me yesterday, and then she sent me a picture of her wearing the same one because we became fast friends in this whole process. And that’s our thing. We call each other Infinity Stones.”

In his analysis of the 2024 Oscars, Variety’s senior awards editor Clayton Davis wrote that “Lily Gladstone was campaigned in the wrong category.” A debate raged all awards season over whether Gladstone was lead or supporting in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” with many Oscar pundits arguing she would’ve easily won an Oscar had she campaigned for supporting actress instead of for lead.

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