It’s arduous to imagine that it has been 12 years since that notorious Oscars selfie – and loads has modified for many who crammed themselves into the body.
When you forged your thoughts again to 2014, host Ellen DeGeneres grabbed among the greatest names in motion pictures and managed to get all of them in the identical image, with the consequence principally breaking the web.
It additionally served as a who’s who for Hollywood, with Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Channing Tatum amongst these flashing an enormous smile for the snap.
Forward of the 2026 Academy Awards, going down in LA on Sunday, we couldn’t assist however take a stroll down reminiscence lane to reminisce over the unintended time capsule and the way so most of the stars have now been canceled…
Who’s within the Oscars selfie?
To not be dramatic, however the world stopped turning for a couple of seconds throughout the ceremony – earlier than the trophy for technical achievement was launched – when DeGeneres grabbed a couple of of the celebrities closest to her for a fast image.
In a frantic second that has been recreated numerous instances since, a Samsung cellphone was hoisted into the air by Bradley Cooper, with Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o – and her brother, Peter – Angelina Jolie, DeGeneres, Streep, Tatum, Roberts, and a tiny slice of Jared Leto’s head making it into the ultimate shot.
The A Star Is Born actor managed to get among the night time’s winners within the snap – Leto and Nyong’o took residence one of the best supporting actor and actress trophies respectively, whereas Pitt served as producer for 12 Years A Slave, which was named greatest image.
DeGeneres, who served because the presenter for the ceremony, took to Twitter to bless us with the picture, penning: ‘If solely Bradley’s arm was longer. Greatest photograph ever. #oscars.’
It shortly racked up practically 3million retweets, nearly 2million likes, and round 170,000 replies.
Now, reflecting on the well-known photograph, it’s arduous to not marvel at how a lot has modified for these concerned.
Ellen DeGeneres ‘canceled’ by followers
On the time the image was taken, DeGeneres was a staple on our screens, having hosted The Ellen Present for 11 seasons and infrequently serving because the go-to persona for giant award exhibits.
Nevertheless, that each one modified in 2020 when her collection was hit with intense backlash as former workers voiced that the set was stuffed with racism, worry, and intimidation, main to very large scrutiny.
Nameless workers members additionally accused government producers of rampant sexual assault and harassment.
DeGeneres later delivered a candid assertion addressing the claims, telling followers on the time: ‘As you will have heard, this summer season there have been allegations of a poisonous work atmosphere at our present after which there was an investigation.
‘I realized that issues occurred right here that by no means ought to have occurred. I take that very critically and I wish to say I’m so sorry to the individuals who had been affected.
‘I do know that I’m ready of privilege and energy and I spotted that with that comes duty, and I take duty for what occurs at my present.
‘We have now had a variety of conversations over the previous few weeks concerning the present, our office, and what we would like for the longer term. We have now made the mandatory adjustments and right now we’re beginning a brand new chapter.’
In 2021, she introduced that her program can be ending, however vowed that her choice to stroll away had nothing to do with the allegations.
‘It nearly impacted the present,’ she informed the Hollywood Reporter. ‘It was very hurtful to me. I imply, very. But when I used to be quitting the present due to that, I wouldn’t have come again this season. So, it’s not why I’m stopping.
‘But it surely was arduous as a result of I used to be sitting at residence, it was summer season, and I see a narrative that folks need to chew gum earlier than they discuss to me and I’m like, “Okay, that is hilarious.”
‘Then I see one other story of another ridiculous factor after which it simply didn’t cease. And I wasn’t working, so I had no platform, and I didn’t wish to handle it on [Twitter] and I believed if I simply don’t handle it, it’s going to go away as a result of it was all so silly.’
Kevin Spacey accused of sexual assault
Three years after the selfie was taken, Spacey was accused of sexual assault in 2017.
Rapp accused the actor of assaulting him at a celebration in 1986, when he was 14 years outdated, claiming he was the sufferer of an ‘undesirable sexual advance’.
After the allegations had been made, it was claimed the actor was dropped or recast from upcoming movies and tasks, together with the sixth and last season of acclaimed Netflix drama, Home of Playing cards.
Rapp filed authorized motion in September, 2020, and sought round $40million in damages.
Spacey fiercely denied all allegations in opposition to him, and stood trial in New York in 2022 over the claims – the place he was discovered not liable.
Following this case, he stood trial at Southwark Crown Courtroom in London over allegations, together with sexual assault and indecent assault in opposition to 4 males within the UK, which he additionally denied.
After a highly-publicized trial in 2023, he was discovered not responsible and have become tearful in court docket because the jury cleared him.
‘I think about that a lot of you possibly can perceive that there’s loads for me to course of after what has simply occurred right now,’ he informed reporters afterwards.
‘However I want to say that I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to look at the entire proof and the entire information rigorously earlier than they attain the choice and I’m humbled by the result right now.
‘I additionally wish to thank the workers inside this courthouse, the safety and all those that took care of us each single day. My authorized workforce… for being right here every single day and that’s all I’ve to say for the second. Thanks very a lot.’
In 2025, Man Pearce recalled his expertise working with Spacey within the 1997 thriller, LA Confidential – talking of his alleged advances throughout filming.
The Brutalist actor first raised his ‘uncomfortable’ expertise throughout the top of the MeToo motion, shortly after the American Magnificence actor was accused of historic sexual assault.
In a earlier interview, he described his co-star as a ‘handsy man’ – he later clarified that, though he wasn’t ‘sexually assaulted or molested’, he was ‘made to really feel uncomfortable’.
Showing on an episode of Andrew Feinberg’s podcast, Awards Chatter, Pearce mirrored on his expertise as soon as extra, sharing that he was ‘younger and prone’ on the time.
‘Ah, that’s nothing. Ah, no, that’s nothing,’ he stated. ‘Did that for 5 months, and actually I used to be form of frightened of Kevin as a result of he’s fairly an aggressive man.
‘He’s extraordinarily charming and sensible at what he does — actually spectacular, and many others. He holds a room remarkably. However I used to be younger and prone, and he focused me, no query.’
Pearce was reluctant to name himself a sufferer, vowing ‘although I in all probability was a sufferer to a level; I used to be definitely not a sufferer by any means to the extent that different folks have been to sexual predators.’
‘I used to be in London engaged on one thing, and I heard [the reports] and I broke down and sobbed, and I couldn’t cease,’ he stated of the information of Anthony’s allegations in opposition to Kevin.
‘I feel it actually dawned on me the influence that had occurred and the way I form of brushed it off and the way I had both shelved it or blocked it out or no matter. That was a very unbelievable wake-up name.
‘I don’t need him to get away with what he will get away with.’
To view this video please allow JavaScript, and contemplate upgrading to an internet
browser that
helps HTML5
video
Shortly after Pearce’s feedback, Spacey responded with a video on Twitter to handle the claims.
‘We labored collectively a very long time in the past,’ Spacey stated, addressing Pearce instantly. ‘If I did one thing then that upset you, you can have reached out to me. We might have had that dialog.
‘However as an alternative, you’ve determined to talk to the press, who are actually, after all, coming after me, as a result of they want to know what my response is to the issues that you just stated. You actually wish to know what my response is? Develop up.’
Spacey then claimed that Pearce flew to Georgia a couple of 12 months after L.A. Confidential ‘simply to spend time with me’.
‘I imply, did you inform the press that too, or does that not match into the sufferer narrative you might have going?’ he added. ‘I apologize that I didn’t get the message that you just don’t like spending time with me.
‘Possibly there was one more reason, I don’t know, however that doesn’t make any sense. That you’d have simply been main me on, proper? However right here you are actually on a mission, some 28 years later, after I’ve been by way of hell and again.’
Brad and Angelina’s messy divorce
One other cancelation occurred in 2016 when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie introduced their shock break up, formally bringing ‘Brangelina’ to an finish with a massively messy divorce that has solely ‘ended’ in current months.
The world was left reeling when it was revealed that Pitt had ended his marriage to Associates star Jennifer Aniston and had sparked a romance with Angelina, following their collaboration on 2004’s Mr and Mrs Smith.
They went on to this point for 12 years and tied the knot in 2014 – months after posing within the Oscars selfie collectively – and shared six kids, Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, Vivienne, Knox and Zahara.
But it surely wasn’t to final, they usually went their separate methods two years later, earlier than being declared legally single in 2019.
Regardless of this, they’ve been locked in a bitter dispute over their Chateau Miraval enterprise, in addition to the custody of their brood.
In a lawsuit filed in 2022, Jolie alleged that Pitt drunkenly attacked her and their kids whereas on a personal jet.
Within the paperwork, she claimed that her then-husband grabbed her by the pinnacle and injured her again and elbow, choked considered one of their kids, and struck one other.
It was beforehand revealed that the FBI was investigating the incident, however this was dropped, and the case was closed, with Pitt denying all claims on the time.
‘Brad has owned every thing he’s chargeable for from day one – not like the opposite aspect – however he’s not going to personal something he didn’t do,’ his lawyer informed Us Weekly in 2022.
‘He has been on the receiving finish of each sort of private assault and misrepresentation.
‘Fortunately, the varied public authorities the opposite aspect has tried to make use of in opposition to him over the previous six years have made their very own impartial selections.
‘Brad will proceed to reply in court docket as he has persistently completed.’
Within the fallout from the messy break up, a couple of of their kids have opted to vary their names.
In Might 2025, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt filed paperwork to drop her well-known dad’s surname shortly after she turned 18.
Vivienne additionally seems to have dropped her dad’s identify, whereas Zahara reportedly launched herself as Zahara Markey Jolie whereas becoming a member of Spelman School’s Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
On December 30, 2024, after years of court docket battles, their divorce was formally finalized.
The divorce paperwork was signed on the finish of the 12 months, with Jolie’s lawyer James Simon telling Day by day Mail that she is ‘relieved this one half is over.’
‘Frankly, Angelina is exhausted. Greater than eight years in the past, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt,’ he added.
‘She and the kids left the entire properties they’d shared with Mr Pitt, and since that point she has targeted on discovering peace and therapeutic for his or her household.’
Who took the well-known 2014 Oscars selfie?
Though DeGeneres was the one who launched into the star-studded crowd along with her cellphone in hand, and finally uploaded it onto Twitter, Bradley Cooper was the one who truly captured the long-lasting photograph.
In a Medium weblog publish, Fred Graver, who labored on the TV workforce at Twitter on the night time in query, revealed that Ellen had initially simply deliberate to seize Meryl in for a fast snap on a Samsung cellphone, earlier than everybody else spontaneously jumped in.
‘When you ever have an opportunity to look at a tape of Ellen happening to Streep, you’ll see the look of panic shortly fly throughout her face as her selfie with Meryl immediately turns into a selfie with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, Julia Roberts, Jared Leto, Kevin Spacey and – holding the digital camera – Bradley Cooper,’ he wrote.
‘When Bradley grabs the digital camera, you possibly can see this sort of shocked look break on Ellen’s face. Would he know what to do?
‘Clearly, he did. The selfie was retweeted 750,000 instances in 45 minutes, and in the long run truly “broke Twitter” for a couple of minutes.
‘I used to be within the inexperienced room and obtained to inform a delighted Ellen that she had LITERALLY damaged Twitter.’
And the remainder, as we all know it, is historical past.
This text was first printed on March 2, 2024.
Acquired a narrative?
When you’ve obtained a star story, video or footage get in contact with the Metro.co.uk leisure workforce by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff web page – we’d love to listen to from you.
Arrow
MORE: Euphoria forged pictures reignite Zendaya–Sydney Sweeney feud rumours
Arrow
MORE: 12 instances the Oscars obtained it incorrect — together with the ‘worst choice in ceremony historical past’
Arrow
MORE: Zach Braff compelled to disclaim he’s courting an AI chatbot girlfriend
Remark now
Add Metro as a Most well-liked Supply on Google
