Emma Stone busted Oscars dress during ‘I’m Just Ken’ and had to be sewn in backstage
Emma Stone had a major loose end to tie up backstage Sunday after winning her second Academy Award.
Stone, who won the lead actress Oscar for her role as the puckish Bella Baxter in “Poor Things,” elaborated on the wardrobe malfunction that nearly eclipsed her acceptance speech during the telecast.
“My dress is broken,” she mouthed with trepidation before taking the stage at the Dolby Theatre. Stone attempted to shield the back seam of her custom Louis Vuitton gown as she ascended the stairs, and presenter Jessica Lange also tried to help. Upon receiving the trophy from Michelle Yeoh and hugging pal Jennifer Lawrence, the overwhelmed Stone opened her speech by acknowledging the dress disaster.
“My dress is broken — I think it happened during ‘I’m Just Ken,’” she said, eyeing her “La La Land” co-star Ryan Gosling in the audience. “Barbie’s” Ken performed the Oscar-nominated song during the ceremony, and Stone was among those singing along with Gosling’s high-Kenergy performance.
Our team at the 96th Academy Awards runs down the moments you need to know about and why they mattered.
In the press room, Stone doubled down as media sought a welfare check on her peplum-waisted column gown.
“They sewed me back in,” she happily shared. “Right when I came back[stage], they sewed me back in, which was wonderful.”
She added: “I genuinely do think I busted it during, ‘I’m Just Ken.’ I was so amazed by Ryan and what he was doing, and that number just blew my mind. And I was right there, and I just was going for it, and, you know, things happen.”
She didn’t further elaborate on the wardrobe malfunction, and representatives for LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ request for comment. (Stone eventually changed out of the dress and donned a sheer high-low gown — also by Louis Vuitton — for the Vanity Fair party after the show.)
The flustered star told reporters that she was shocked by the win, which was a neck-and-neck race with fellow nominee Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Stone said that she felt like she “blacked out” onstage, although she did give a a shout-out to her daughter during the ceremony and addressed the collaborative power of cinema (later referenced by best picture winner Emma Thomas, who won the top prize alongside husband and producing partner Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer”).
Stone shared what she learned from playing Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’ costume drama, which earned three additional Oscars — for costume design, production design, and makeup and hairstyling.
“She is a character that is so, so important to me,” the 35-year-old said. She lauded “the chance to play a person starting from scratch but in a total metaphorical, can’t-really-happen-in-real-life way.” Stone said that she portrayed the character “gaining language and skills at a rapid pace every day and getting to sort of chart that course and realize that she was just full of joy and curiosity and true love.”
“That was an amazing lesson to take with me,” she said. “So I really miss playing her, ever since we wrapped filming, which was a long time ago. It was like 2½ years ago. I miss Bella, and I’m really grateful that we got to celebrate the film tonight.”
Emma Stone’s win for ‘Poor Things,’ her second in the category, came in a tight race with Gladstone, who would have been the first Native American to win the Oscar for best actress.
“The La La Land” Oscar winner made headlines earlier that night because of her reaction to missing the presentation of three technical awards won by the film’s crew members.
“Earlier in the lobby, I saw Emma Stone talking with [co-star] Mark Ruffalo’s wife Sunrise Coigney,” tweeted Times columnist Amy Kaufman. “They took a bathroom break and saw ‘Poor Things’ winning craft awards on the monitors. ‘We missed all of the awards we’re going to win,’ Stone said. ‘S—. We f— suck.’”
Then a clip showing Stone scrambling back to the theater went viral during costume designer Holly Waddington’s acceptance speech.
Times editorial assistant Malia Mendez contributed to this report.
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