Hulu’s Oscar Stream Ended Early, Angering Many Users

During the moment when the Academy Awards were set to reveal the winner of the prestigious Best Actress award, abruptly, the live broadcast on Hulu failed for numerous viewers (including myself), unexpectedly and without providing any notice or reason.

Viewers unexpectedly encountered a screen displaying “Thank you for tuning in! This live broadcast has concluded. Feel free to leave and choose another program.” However, the event was far from over as there were crucial awards yet to be announced, such as the prestigious award for Best Picture of the year.

If you (or I) attempted to refresh the feed, it redirected you to an archived Oscar preview event. When you navigated back to Hulu.com, where the Oscars broadcast used to be prominently displayed, there was no longer any reference to the Academy Awards. If you looked for “Oscars” on Hulu, it led you to a trailer for the program instead.

The problem became so prevalent that social media platforms were inundated with users posting complaints and pictures of their damaged services.

— Brandon Katz (@Great_Katzby) March 3, 2025

Hulu hasn’t provided an explanation for the problem yet, but The Verge points out that the live stream was supposed to run from 7PM ET until 10:32PM. It’s during this time that the broadcast abruptly stopped for numerous users. (By the end of 2024, this Disney-owned streaming service boasted over 53 million subscribers.)

Multiple users expressed their disappointment, with comments like “I’ve just cancelled and received a refund for last month. They should feel it in their wallet.” From another disgruntled user, “The biggest fail possible.” Others shared their frustrations, stating they struggled to reach customer service to voice their complaints.

Besides the technical issue that prevented some Hulu users from logging in during the start of the Academy Awards earlier tonight, another problem arose during the stream itself. Earlier reports suggested that the “tech glitch” was fixed around 9PM ET, but it seems many users still encountered issues while watching the show, which had already started two hours prior to that fix according to Deadline.

And then, about 90 minutes later, the whole show cut off from many Hulu customers.

By the way, Mikey Madison from Anora was awarded Best Actress. Interestingly, just minutes prior, director Sean Baker of Anora had emphasized during his acceptance speech that cinemas remain the ideal venue for viewing films. Coincidentally, do movie theaters also air awards ceremonies?

The Biggest Oscars Scandals Ever

1935: Bette Davis’ Write-in Votes

There was widespread anger among the Academy and the general public when Bette Davis was overlooked for a Best Actress nomination despite her outstanding portrayal in the film “Of Human Bondage”. This movie was essentially a standard adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel, but Davis’ performance as Mildred Rogers, a captivatingly cruel tearoom waitress with a parasitic relationship with a club-footed medical student, was considered daring and potentially career-making. However, three other actresses were chosen instead for the Best Actress nominations that year, leading to an uproar in Hollywood so intense that write-in votes were allowed. Sadly, Davis didn’t win, and when a cinematographer won his category thanks to write-in votes the following year, this practice was discontinued.

1940: Hattie McDaniel Segregated From Her Peers

In those times, a practice that made people uncomfortable yet was common might now appear shockingly scandalous. Hattie McDaniel was the trailblazing first Black actress to receive an Oscar nomination and win, taking home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in “Gone with the Wind.” However, the venue of the ceremony, Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel, strictly prohibited Black people. McDaniel was granted permission to sit among the audience as a favor, but she was secluded from the rest of the cast and her peers at a table off to one side. To add insult to injury, her Academy Award plaque was donated for preservation to Howard University, was sold to creditors during a tax audit after her death, reappeared at the university years later, disappeared once more, and hasn’t been found since.

1961: Elizabeth Taylor Wins Best Actress For a Movie She Hated

In the movie “Butterfield 8,” Elizabeth Taylor portrayed Gloria Wandrous, a disheartened prostitute yearning for a brighter future. Despite her disparaging remarks about the film, it was revealed later that she made it under contract with MGM to pave the way for “Cleopatra” at 20th Century Fox the following year. Surprisingly, she earned an Oscar nomination and eventually won for her role, and she even underwent an emergency tracheotomy to attend the ceremony. Some believe this medical incident swayed voters in her favor.

1969: Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand Best Actress Tie

In the annals of Oscar history, a unique twist unfolded that added a dash of intrigue to an otherwise grand evening. I’ve always admired the unconventional spirit of Katharine Hepburn, who, despite amassing four Academy Awards, graciously decided to skip the ceremonies. In 1969, she was nominated yet again, this time for her captivating portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in “The Lion in Winter.” Simultaneously, Barbra Streisand made her debut on the silver screen as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” also earning a nomination. The votes were cast and tallied, leading to an unprecedented situation: both actresses tied for the win, making Oscar history with their equal number of votes. However, Hepburn was absent, leaving Streisand as the only recipient present to grace the stage and accept the award, etching her name further into Hollywood lore.

1973: Marlon Brando Declines Best Actor

The iconic absence of Marlon Brando at the Oscars ceremony for his win in “The Godfather” is arguably the most notorious Oscar scandal ever. Instead of accepting his Best Actor award as Vito Corleone, Brando chose to send activist Sacheen Littlefeather to speak on his behalf about the mistreatment of Native Americans in Hollywood during the Wounded Knee occupation protests. However, Littlefeather faced jeers and boos during her speech, with a furious John Wayne reportedly needing restraint from other audience members. The Academy eventually apologized for her treatment just before her passing in 2022. It was later discovered that Littlefeather had falsified her Apache heritage, adding another layer of intrigue to this convoluted incident.

1974: The Oscar Streaker

The grandest platform of Hollywood, prime time, offers countless opportunities for individuals to seize their moment under the spotlight. At the 1974 Oscars ceremony, an unexpected interruption occurred as a streaker disrupted the proceedings. A man named Robert Opel, who was both an English teacher and owner of a local gallery renowned for exhibiting homoerotic art, decided to seize this opportunity by stripping naked and making a beeline for the stage. Somehow managing to sneak past security, he darted from one wing to another, causing the audience to erupt in laughter before slipping away undetected. The host, David Niven, humorously commented on the incident: “Well, ladies and gentlemen, it was only a matter of time before this happened. But isn’t it intriguing to ponder that the only laugh that man will ever experience in his life is by exposing himself and revealing his flaws?”

Backstage after the event, Opel expressed that his intention was to express dissatisfaction with society’s rigid conformity. Unfortunately, this story took a tragic turn when years later, Opel was fatally shot during a robbery at his gallery.

1990: Kim Basinger Calls Out Do The Right Thing Snub

1989 saw Spike Lee’s dramatic film “Do the Right Thing” praised as a standout and significant work of its time by critics. Many included it in their top films of the year lists. However, when Oscar nominations were announced the following year, “Do the Right Thing” was conspicuously absent. Instead, the more palatable portrayal of racial dynamics in America, “Driving Miss Daisy,” won Best Picture. Spike Lee did receive a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Danny Aiello won Best Supporting Actor, making “Do the Right Thing”‘s only Oscar nods. During the presentation of another Best Picture nominee, “Dead Poets Society,” Kim Basinger acknowledged the snub: “We have five fantastic films here, and they are great because they tell the truth. However, there is one film that should be on this list but wasn’t – it might tell the biggest truth of all – and that’s ‘Do the Right Thing.’

1993: Marisa Tomei Wins Best Supporting Actress, Foul Play Suspected

In 1993, Marisa Tomei’s triumphant win for Best Supporting Actress in “My Cousin Vinny” as Mona Lisa Vito was initially viewed as a shocker, since Vanessa Redgrave was widely expected to take the award for her role in “Howards End.” Moreover, it was known that the Academy generally disfavors comedies. However, no protests were raised until a year later when The Hollywood Reporter published an unsubstantiated claim that presenter Jack Palance had mistakenly given the prize to the wrong actress that night. Over time, there have been whispers suggesting Tomei wasn’t the genuine winner, but recent events suggest that the Oscars are committed to ensuring that the right winners depart with their statuettes at the end of the awards ceremony.

2003: “Shame On You, Bush.”

Prior to unveiling his film “Fahrenheit 9/11”, criticizing the Iraq War’s political and corporate motivations, Michael Moore initiated a wave of criticism by publicly reprimanding President George W. Bush during the 2003 Oscars. During his acceptance speech for Best Documentary for his previous work “Bowling for Columbine”, Moore delivered a harsh critique against the president: “We are living in an era where we have a man leading us to war for false reasons… Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.” The audience responded with boos, and the orchestra hurriedly played him off. A year later, “Fahrenheit 9/11” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and upon its release, it became the highest-grossing documentary ever made.

2012: Billy Crystal Performs in Blackface

Billy Crystal remains one of the most cherished and distinctive hosts of the Oscars, as he breathed new life into the role and the event itself during his tenure in the 1990s. Following his near-last hosting stint in 2004, Crystal was asked to return to the ceremony in 2012, but soon dampened everyone’s enthusiasm by reprising a questionable routine. In the ’80s, Crystal often impersonated Sammy Davis Jr. on Saturday Night Live, using blackface, and he resurrected this impression for an Oscars skit involving Justin Bieber and the Oscar-nominated film Midnight in Paris. Since then, Crystal has not returned to host the ceremony.

2014: “Adele Dazeem”

We all recall the first time we heard the phrase “Adele Dazeem” vividly. During the Oscars, John Travolta, while introducing singer and star of Frozen Idina Menzel before she performed her Oscar-nominated song “Let It Go,” mispronounced her name so badly that it quickly became an Internet sensation. The actor later revealed that he was chatting with Goldie Hawn prior to taking the stage, and didn’t notice that the teleprompter’s words had been altered to a phonetic pronunciation. If one isn’t ready for it, it might appear as a lot of confusing jumbled words. You can almost sense Travolta’s train of thought: Adele is the name of another singer (but not the correct one), and it looks like there are two Ds, a Z, and an M hidden in there. He accidentally said “Adele Dazeem,” which, though not a real name, will forever be etched in our memories.

2017: The La La Land/Moonlight Envelope Switch

One of the most memorable blunders at the Oscars in recent times occurred during the Best Picture announcement. Faye Dunaway mistakenly declared La La Land as the winner, only to be corrected by its producer Jordan Horowitz, who revealed that it was actually Moonlight that had taken the top prize. The competition between these two films was close throughout the season, with many hoping that Moonlight, the more innovative and unconventional film, would win over a throwback like La La Land, which became that year’s target of criticism despite its quality.

After investigating the events of the night, Dunaway and Beatty later explained that Beatty had been given the envelope for Best Actress, which Emma Stone had just won. When he looked inside and didn’t see the “Best Picture” card he expected to find, Beatty passed it to Dunaway, who read out the only movie name she saw. As the La La Land team was preparing to deliver their acceptance speeches, the accountants who realized something was off were rushing around to rectify the situation. Eventually, Moonlight’s director Barry Jenkins accepted the corrected award and said: “In my dreams, this could not be real. But no more dreaming – because this is the truth.

2022: The Slap

The infamous slap at the Oscars in 2022 made headlines around the world. Comedian Chris Rock, who had previously hosted the ceremony in 2005 and 2016, was invited to present the award for Best Documentary Feature. During his presentation, he made a joke about actress Jada Pinkett, who was then married to Will Smith, sitting in the front row of the audience. The joke referenced Pinkett’s shaved head and compared it to Demi Moore’s look in “G.I. Jane.” Pinkett, who has spoken openly about her struggles with alopecia, reacted by rolling her eyes, but Smith, apparently not amused, stormed onto the stage and slapped Rock across the face.

At first, some audience members thought it was just a strange joke, but when Smith returned to his seat he shouted profanities at Rock, telling him to stop mentioning Pinkett’s name. The incident appeared to be unscripted, as Rock seemed bewildered by what had happened.

Later, Smith apologized to the Academy and to the nominees for his behavior while accepting the award for Best Actor for “King Richard.” However, he did not offer an apology to Rock. As a result of his outburst, Smith resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending any Academy events for the next ten years.

2025-03-03 08:25