Ten years ago, one of the photos that is now part of the history of the Oscars was created. This is the famous selfie that Ellen DeGeneres planned, but it did not turn out as she had planned. It was the 86th edition of the film awards gala. Ellen confessed that her original plan was to take a photo with just Meryl Streep and play a prank on her by making her go out of shot.
That’s when Bradley Cooper offered to take the photo and DeGeneres’ plans changed. The closest guests crowded around to be in the image. From left to right, Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Nyong’o and Angelina Jolie.
The communicator and host of the gala then set out to make that selfie become the most retweeted in the history of the social network Twitter at that time. And she did it: it was the most retweeted tweet in history (it surpassed one million in just 40 minutes).
A decade has passed since that famous photo and it is clear that today it would be impossible to recreate it again. For starters, some of those stars can’t even be seen. This is the case of the ex-marriage Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
After that selfie, in 2016, the couple announced their separation after 12 years together and six children. The actress filed for divorce from her alleging “irreconcilable differences” and sued him – it became public at the end of 2022 – accusing him of having physically and verbally attacked her during a flight, as well as two of her children. “Pitt grabbed Jolie by her head and shook her off of her, and then grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her against the bathroom wall,” the lawsuit said.
The stars ended up starring in one of the most expensive, long and bizarre divorces in Hollywood. Today, they continue a tense legal fight over Miraval, a vineyard estate in France. Thus, they would be the first two to be discarded for photographic recreation.
Another who could very well miss the event would be Kevin Spacey, who although he is beginning to raise his head, has been a stinker in Hollywood for years. Although in 2014 he enjoyed great success due to his work in the series House of Cards, soon his reputation was tarnished by multiple accusations of sexual abuse. The industry quickly turned its back on him, and Spacey’s name was crossed out from dozens of productions, including House of Cards itself, which had to end without the actor’s participation.
In 2023, the accusations against Kevin were dismissed, which was a huge relief for the Oscar winner. After all this scandal, Spacey had to start practically from scratch. The actor little by little manages to recover, but Hollywood no longer looks at him with the same eyes.
Ellen DeGeneres, the mind behind the photograph, was also engulfed by controversy. In 2018, an article in The New York Times collected several testimonies from people who worked with her who claimed that she was a despotic, cruel and rude boss. Her show was canceled in 2022 and her popularity fell.
The rest of the protagonists have continued their careers with more or less success.