The Oscars were very highly anticipated this year. Everyone wanted to watch Barbie take it all, and we wanted to watch Ryan Gosling absolutely kill it with his I’m Just Ken performance. While both of those things were present and just as amazing as we’d hoped, there was someone else there who totally stole the show.
On Sunday, March 10th, a dog attended the ceremony and he grabbed everyone’s hearts, including the heart of Ken himself:I
Ryan Gosling’s face lights up when he sees Messi, the dog applauding at the #Oscars 🥹❤️#ryangosling #Messi #oscars #oscars2024 #academyawards #oscarsredcarpet #barbie #fyp #foryoupage pic.twitter.com/qSnzi9dlTG
— Netflix Junkie (@netflixjunkieof) March 11, 2024
I’m so glad @netflixjunkieof posted this clip. It just goes to show that no one is safe from a cute dog stealing your thunder!
Related: Dog Cast in Disney’s New ‘Cruella’ Movie Went From the Streets to Stardom
Messi is a 7-year-old Border Collie who has been attending awards shows all season long, and he steals the show at every single one. He’s garnered so much attention that, in the days leading up to the Oscars ceremony, people began spreading rumors about his attendance. Social media blew up as people started to report that Messi would not be allowed to attend the ceremony due to complaints from other stars!
It was all fake, though, and Messi was indeed at the show. He bonded with several A-listers there, like Billie Eilish, Bradley Cooper, and, apparently, Ryan Gosling. While Messi didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Anatomy of a Fall, he won in ever other way.
Can a dog win an Oscar?
The Oscars are very specific with their eligibility requirements, but there’s one major grey area: animals. While there’s nothing in the rules that says a dog can’t win, a dog never has. There is not a category for Best Animal Actor (even though that would be awesome), and it would probably be very upsetting for a human celebrity to lose their category to a dog.
The Oscars debuted in 1929 and Rin Tin Tin, a German Shepherd and silent film star, nearly won the best actor award. Unfortunately, since they were so new and desperate to establish themselves as something real, the Academy decided against giving it to the pup. Emil Jannings, another silent film star, won instead.
Not wanting to give an Oscar to a dog made sense, especially before the age of social media and massive “pet-fluencers.” Now, a dog could totally win an Oscar without any public outcry; everyone would think it was hilarious. Messi isn’t the first dog to be “snubbed” by the Academy, and he likely won’t be the last. I’m thinking about starting a petition!
