Of all of this year’s expected Oscar wins, Viola Davis’ might be the most gratifying.

The actress’ performance in “Fences” moved critics and viewers, earning her an Academy Award nomination for the third time — this time, in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category.

Her first two nominations were for “Doubt” and “The Help”; for the latter, she lost out somewhat controversially to Meryl Streep.

Because she’s been snubbed in the past, her win this year wasn’t a sure thing, although critics agreed that her stellar performance made her the frontrunner. Earlier this year, Davis took home the Golden Globe for her efforts; in 2010, she won a Tony Award for playing the same part on Broadway.  

Davis is the first black actress to achieve such a feat with acting awards — Whoopi Goldberg is an EGOT winner, but her Tony is for producing —and a win in the category only amplifies everything Davis has accomplished.

In her acceptance speech, Davis said, “People ask me all the time, what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say, exhume those bodies, exhume those stories, the stories of the people who dreamed.”

She continued, “I became an artist, and thank god I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.”

She continued to praise the playwright behind “Fences,” which she described as, “a movie that is about people, and words, and life, and forgiveness, and grace.”

The win is especially powerful in light of the film’s themes. Davis played Rose Maxson, the pragmatic housewife of Troy Maxson, and a woman who did what she could to keep her family thriving amid turmoil.

Davis’ tenacity, too, is an inspiration.

After her speech, Twitter lit up with praise for Davis: 

NOTE: This post was updated to clarify information about Davis’ achievements.

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Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won his second Academy Award on Sunday night for his film “The Salesman,” but another took the stage to accept his Oscar.

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking millions of people from several Muslim-majority countries, Farhadi, among others, decided not to attend the ceremony in solidarity with immigrants and refugees.

When presenters Charlize Theron and Shirley MacLaine announced the win for “The Salesman” during the 89th annual Academy Awards, Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari, who also happens to be the first Iranian to go into space, accepted the award on Farhadi’s behalf. 

“It’s a great honor to be receiving this valuable award for the second time. I would like to thank the members of the Academy, my crew in Iran, my producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Cohen Media, Amazon and my fellow nominees in the foreign film category,” she said, reading a statement from Farhadi. “I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.”

“Dividing the world into the us and our enemies categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war,” she continued. “These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever.”

Watch the entire speech below. 

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Lin-Manuel Miranda began his Oscar night tearing up while watching a prerecorded message from the cast of “Hamilton,” who performed a medley of his songs — including the Oscar-nominated “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana.”

It’d be fair for him to assume that would be the highlight of the night, but Seth Rogen gave that moment a run for its money.

While presenting the award for Best Film Editing with Michael J. Fox, Rogen remarked, “I’m at the Oscars with Michael J. Fox, a DeLorean, and I’m wearing future shoes. All I have to do is sing the ‘Schuyler Sisters’ song from ‘Hamilton’ in front of the world, and I will have completed my entire bucket list.”

Cue amazing, joyful reaction from Miranda:

But Rogen didn’t stop there.

“Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now,” he sang — sounding just a bit different from the Broadway performers who play the Schuyler sisters in the musical.

“Angelica ...” Rogen continued, clearly waiting for Fox to chime in.

”Eliza,” Fox added, making theater nerds worldwide squeal with delight. “And Peggy!” Rogen finished. 

Let’s cut to Lin for another reaction:

How lucky we are to be alive right now, indeed. Also, Seth: Hook us up with tickets? Please?

Check out the entire moment below.

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Gael García Bernal used his time at the Oscars to reject President Trump’s proposed border wall. 

The Mexican actor took the stage to present the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday night. The star, who has long been a critic of Trump, compared actors to migrant workers and shared his stance on the plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

“Flesh and blood actors are migrant workers; we travel all over the world, we build families, we construct stories, we build life that cannot be divided,” García Bernal said on stage. “As a Mexican, as a Latin American, as a migrant worker, as a human being, I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us.”

Shortly after Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, García Bernal explained why he didn’t view the candidate’s controversial rhetoric as harmless.

“I mean, he called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers,” the actor told The Guardian. “How closed-minded and f**king ignorant is that? At first, you don’t listen, but then it reaches a point where you go, OK, now he’s created exactly what he maybe wanted to, which is that people are angry. I’m upset. I’m upset if I listen to anybody talk like that. We started to give Donald Trump so much space, and we started to validate his opinion, as if it’s like, ‘You know, it’s a valid opinion.’ No, it’s not valid. It’s hate discourse, and what follows next is genocide or civil war. I mean, that’s how it begins.”

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History was made at the 2017 Academy Awards on Sunday night with a record number of wins by black stars, and, ultimately by awarding the most diverse group of Oscar winners since the show began in 1929.

History was not only made by the number of collective wins among stars of color but also by shattered records within many of the individual categories, too. Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney won for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Moonlight,” which also won for Best Picture, Viola Davis took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal in “Fences” becoming the first black woman to win an Oscar, Tony and Emmy award for acting, Mahershela Ali became the first black muslim actor to win an Oscar when he took home the award for Best Supporting Actor for his stunning role in “Moonlight” and director Ezra Edelman won alongside filmmaker Caroline Waterlow for Best Documentary Feature for “O.J.: Made in America.” 

Until this year, the most diverse winners group occurred at the 2009 Academy Awards when three black stars won an Oscar.

Of course, it helps if you have diverse nominees. The Academy announced the most diverse lineup of Oscar nominees in January, which also includes actor Dev Patel, actresses Ruth Negga and Octavia Spencer, cinematographer Bradford Young and director Raoul Peck.

But let’s be clear: While the Oscars are less white this year, this doesn’t ― and shouldn’t mean ― that Hollywood is off the hook when it comes to issues of race and diversity.

Last week, the 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report was released, and while it showed that Hollywood has gotten better, they still have a long way to go. The study found that people of color have made gains relative to their white counterparts in front-of-camera roles but lost ground in four areas that reflected mostly behind-the-camera roles.

While success in the number of front-of-camera roles is important in regards to representation and visibility, having people of color hired for positions behind-the-camera is also imperative and can help to determine the types of stories and experiences that are told through film in the first place.

All of this is most visibly evident when viewers look beyond black and white representation to note the glaring lack of inclusion when it comes to Asian, Arab, Native American and Latino stars at the award show and in award-nominated films.

Dev Patel is only the third actor of Indian descent to land an acting nomination ever and of the more than 1,500 Oscar acting nominations over the years, only 16 have gone to Asian actors, which equates to a whopping 1 percent.

Yet American viewers, who themselves are becoming increasingly diverse, prefer to consume film and TV content with diverse casts. The study confirmed that diverse films and TV shows are pretty profitable, which shows that diversity does sell. It’s made clear, for instance, through the domestic success of films like “Hidden Figures,” which told the story of three remarkable black women who worked at NASA. The movie, which has grossed $152,815,804 thus far, earned more money in the U.S. than Academy darling “LaLa Land.” So yes, while “LaLa Land” ― which had a total of 14 Oscar nominations ― made history when the film’s Damien Chazelle became the youngest ever to win the award for Best Director, it faced big challenges from films like “Moonlight” across many of the big film and acting categories which ultimately made Oscar history of their own.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Viola Davis has earned a Grammy for her role in “Fences.” She has won an Oscar, Tony and Emmy. 

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For months now, the media has been taking Casey Affleck to task over his past sexual harassment allegations, which resurfaced in September in a Mashable article. But, as we predicted, it appears all the backlash over the 2010 incidents had no effect on the actor’s Oscar chances. 

At the 89th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, a teary-eyed Affleck took home the golden statue for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in “Manchester by the Sea.” He made no mention of the controversy during his speech, but did have this to say:

“Man, I wish I had something bigger and more meaningful to say.”

There’s no doubt Affleck gives one of the best on-screen performances of the year in Kenneth Lonergan’s film about a man who becomes the guardian of his teenage nephew following the untimely death of his brother. But in this day and age, must we celebrate and honor an artist when unsettling personal transgressions haunt our perception of that person? 

In 2010, Affleck was accused of harassing two women on the set of the Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary “I’m Still Here,” which he directed. One of the women was Amanda White, a producer with whom he had worked for 10 years, and the other was the movie’s director of photography, Magdalena Gorka. Both claimed they were subject to inappropriate sexual comments and unwelcome advances, which you can read more about here. At the time, Affleck denied the allegations and countersued, but later settled the case out of court to the apparent satisfaction of all involved parties. But after this year’s Oscar race heated up, his unsavory past was brought to light again, spawning think piece after think piece. Due to the terms of his settlement, Affleck is not legally allowed to address the incidents ― not that he would anyway. Some of the only words he uttered on the issue were to The New York Times in November.

“It was settled to the satisfaction of all. I was hurt and upset — I am sure all were — but I am over it,” he told NYT. “It was an unfortunate situation — mostly for the innocent bystanders of the families of those involved.”

Although the conversations we’re having about this case are very much warranted, they apparently happened a little too late, as despite it all, Affleck took home the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice, Gotham and National Board of Review awards for his performance in “Manchester.” The only major award he lost was the SAG for Best Actor, which Denzel Washington won for “Fences.” 

All this being said, we must use this situation as a lesson moving forward. Let’s speak out against casting notices and hold studios accountable for hiring alleged harassers from the get-go. Yes, Affleck won the Oscar, but “Manchester by the Sea” also succeeded at the box office, earning over $46 million domestically. Moviegoers championed the film, and most likely enjoyed it.

As we’ve said before, the media can make an impact by pinpointing the right time to start a discussion.

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The Oscars voted for inclusivity this year, naming “Moonlight” 2016’s greatest film.

In one of the craziest Oscar moments in history, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly announced “La La Land” as the winner. He had been handed the Best Actress envelope, with “La La Land” star Emma Stone’s name printed in it. Producer Jordan Horowitz was in the middle of his acceptance speech when he was informed that “Moonlight” was the rightful winner. Beatty took the podium again to correct the error, at which point the “Moonlight” cast began marching to the stage. 

Barry Jenkins’ drama about a black latchkey kid grappling with his sexuality in the Miami projects beat expected front-runner “La La Land” for Best Picture on Sunday. That means the Academy picked a small independent movie that tackles homophobia, class structures and patriarchal norms over a musical-romance fantasy about voters’ favorite topic: Hollywood. This is a leap forward for big-screen storytelling that humanizes marginalized voices. 

Heading into the night, the Best Picture race had come down to three movies: “La La Land,” “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures,” which split the key precursor prizes. In the media, a complicated narrative about the significance of this year’s award coalesced around these films. Because “La La Land” romanticizes a dreamy Hollywood that is unfamiliar to most Americans, some critics and commentators felt that it was less worthy than the vital social stories told in “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures.” With popular culture inching toward better representation for minorities and women, and Donald Trump’s administration inching away from it, many saw a “Moonlight” or “Hidden Figures” victory as a referendum against the current political regime. 

However the win is interpreted, it’s a remarkable moment for a remarkable movie. This was one of the most diverse Oscar rosters in history, a marked departure after two consecutive years without any acting nominees of color. “Moonlight” scoring the most prestigious award, especially given the politicized fodder surrounding its contest with “La La Land,” feels like a new frontier for Hollywood. 

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At the end of the evening on Sunday, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway presented “La La Land” with the Best Picture Oscar at the 89th annual Academy Awards. The thing was, “La La Land” didn’t win — “Moonlight” did. 

Midway through the acceptance speech, Jordan Horowitz, a producer on the Damien Chazelle–directed flick, stopped to announce that there had been a mistake. Host Jimmy Kimmel and presenter Beatty came out to reveal that “Moonlight” was the actual winner. Apparently, Beatty was accidentally given the envelope for Best Actress, which was handed out right before to Emma Stone for her role in “La La Land.” He saw the movie title and passed the envelope to co-presenter Dunaway, who announced “La La Land” as the winner.

As Beatty explained onstage: 

I opened the envelope and it said, “Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’” That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you ― I wasn’t trying to be funny ... This is “Moonlight,” the Best Picture.

According to USA Today, chaos ensued when the mishap occurred. Here’s their account of what went down:

As the “La La Land” filmmakers take the stage to accept best picture, the accountant from PriceWaterhouseCoopers jumps up and says, “He (presenter Warren Beatty) took the wrong envelope!” and goes running onstage. Craziness breaks out. No one knows how Beatty got the best actress envelope.

“Oh, my God. ‘Moonlight’ won, ‘Moonlight’ won,” a stagehand says, her hands on her head.

Stone also addressed the situation, telling members of the press how much she loved “Moonlight” and how excited she was for the film and its cast and crew. Then, she admitted, “I was holding my Best Actress in a Leading Role card that entire time. I don’t mean to start stuff. Whatever story that was ― I had that card.” 

Although it is officially the most awkward ― and most stunning ― moment in Oscar history, the producers of “La La Land” gracefully handed their statues to the “Moonlight” team as the audience stared in utter confusion-slash-amazement. 

Everyone on Twitter freaked out, as well. 

Watch the whole crazy moment go down below: 

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Will the real Best Picture please stand up?

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway closed out Sunday’s Oscars by seemingly pulling a Steve Harvey and announcing the wrong winner for Best Picture. Beatty said he was accidentally given the Best Actress envelope for Emma Stone, causing “La La Land” to be announced as the winner instead of the true champion, “Moonlight.”

Then, the world lost it. The Academy Awards for the best celeb reactions go to:

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Asians were definitely not well-represented at the Oscars, with Dev Patel being the sole Asian nominee in an acting category. 

But that doesn’t mean they were silent during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. 

In a night that saw Jackie Chan recognized as a Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, and Warren Beatty read out the wrong Best Picture winner, Asian Twitter got lit.

Check out some of its realest tweets about the Oscars below. 

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The 89th Academy Awards on Sunday weren’t lacking in high-key socio-political statements, one of which came from “Moonlight” playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney.

After receiving the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, which “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and McCraney shared, they both gave some poignant words about the movie ― which also won Best Picture ― in their acceptance speeches. 

The original play ― titled “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” and written over a decade ago ― was inspired by McCraney’s own life experiences. 

His speech perfectly attested to the social significance of the film.

“Black and brown boys and girls and gender non-conforming…who don’t see themselves…we’re trying show you, you and us…this is for you,” McCraney said.

We ‘preciate you McCraney. 

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At last year’s Academy Awards, Brie Larson took home the Best Actress award for her performance in “Room.” The film by Lenny Abrahamson told the story of a woman called Ma, who we eventually learn had been imprisoned in a small shed years before by a man called Old Nick. Although Nick is only briefly seen, his presence is known by the abuse, sexual and physical, he inflicts on Ma and her young son, Jack.

The actress dove into the role, shutting herself away for a month and meeting with psychologists to understand the trauma of her character. She showed great empathy as she hugged each sexual assault survivor after Lady Gaga’s awareness anthem “Till It Happens to You” as they departed the stage at last year’s ceremony. 

During Sunday night’s Oscars, Larson took the stage again to announce 2017’s Best Actor winner. The honoree? Casey Affleck for his performance in “Manchester by the Sea.” The thing is, Affleck has been surrounded by controversy after 2010 sexual harassment allegations against him leapt back into headlines last fall.

The announcement made for one uncomfortable picture onstage. Although unlike the time she presented Affleck a Golden Globe in January, Larson chose to give the actor a quick hug as she handed over the gold statue.

Yes, Affleck took home an Oscar in spite of the allegations. (Sexual abuse allegations have squashed Oscar hopefuls in the past; “The Birth of a Nation” was pushed aside for its director’s controversy.) During the 2009 production of another film, Affleck allegedly made repeated sexual comments and unwanted sexual advances toward two women, a producer he’d worked with for 10 years and the film’s director of photography. They included the accusation that Affleck crawled into one woman’s bed as she slept.

The cases were settled out of court, and this awards season Affleck scored the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice, Gotham and National Board of Review awards for the role as Hollywood seemed all too happy to overlook Ben Affleck’s brother’s transgressions. 

Then, at Hollywood’s most coveted event, an audience of millions watched a woman who made a wholehearted effort to become familiar with the experience of sexual abuse award a man who’s put all his effort into denying and brushing away accusations of sexual harassment.

It’s true that the allegations against Affleck are far from the scarring experience with which Larson became familiar. But still, although it’s customary for the year’s previous Best Actress winner to award the new Best Actor, the Academy chose to pair the two of them onstage instead of making an exception. In doing so, it sent a disturbing message.

In Hollywood, it seems, sexual harassment is not a serious matter.

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On Feb. 22, French artist Abraham Poincheval moved into his temporary new home: a 12,000-kilogram (or 12-metric-ton) limestone boulder located inside Paris’s Palais de Tokyo art museum.

He will reside there for a full week.

The modest abode doesn’t offer much in terms of space. For his entire stay, Poincheval will sit in a Poincheval-shaped hole carved in the middle of the rock, his arms outstretched before him. Breathing holes have been punctured into the limestone, yet the artist will remain cloaked in darkness for the entirety of his stay, without knowledge of what time or day it is. 

It’s all part of a performance piece (slash “mystical journey”) titled “Pierre,” which translates to “stone” in English. Over the course of the week, Poincheval ― whose work often revolves around intense challenges of confinement, isolation and meditation ― will detach from the human pace of life and learn to live at the speed of a mineral. 

One of the less mystical aspects of the experience, however, is the fact that Poincheva, who will temporarily subsist on a diet of dried meat, cartons of soup and other liquids, has to pee in water bottles and store his excrement around him for the duration of his performance.

In anticipation of the piece, Poincheval, 44, has been physically and mentally training for months. Yet how exactly the artist will react to the extreme conditions of his performance remains unknown. Thankfully, museum visitors will be able to keep the artist company, speaking to him through a crack in the middle of the rock.

Poincheval will chronicle the emotional and logistical details of his rocky experience in a journal, explaining in very literal terms what it feels like to be the heart of a stone ― and basically entombed alive. 

In an interview with The Guardian, Poincheval described his first days inhumed as comparable to a psychedelic trip. “It’s very complex,” he said. “You pass from one feeling to an another. Like you are being carried away on a raft. It’s like tripping. I am trying to explain (the feelings) in language but it very difficult to put down in black and white.”

The artist has an emergency phone line in case of emergencies, though his prior performances suggest he’ll be just fine. In 2014, Poincheval took up residence inside the stomach of a dead bear for two weeks, where his diet consisted of worms and beetles. He’s also spent eight days buried under a rock, a week on top of a 65-foot pole, and 20 days underground as a human mole. 

After “Stone,” Poincheval is moving on to an even stranger artistic pursuit, titled “Egg.” For this one, he will sit on a dozen eggs for between three and four weeks, with the hopes that they’ll hatch.

“Pierre” runs from from Feb. 22 to March 1. “Egg” begins March 29 and will continue for a period of 21-26 days at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.

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After the Academy Awards suffered one of the most awkward mistakes in its 89-year history, the producer of “La La Land” revealed how he handled the chaos during the flub over the Oscar for best picture.

When presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced “La La Land” had won the award on Sunday night, the film’s creators and stars came to the stage and began delivering acceptance speeches. But producer Jordan Horowitz soon interrupted to say there had been a mistake and that “Moonlight” had actually won the top honor of the night.

“This is not a joke,” he said twice, and held up the card announcing the best picture winner for the camera.

Horowitz came to the mic and showed the card “because people needed clarity at that moment,” he told “Good Morning America” on Monday.

There was a lot of confusion onstage,” Horowitz said. “At a certain point, it was clear the wrong envelope had been given.”

“It didn’t look like there was any order whatsoever, so I just kind of jumped in and showed the card, because when everybody saw it in writing I think it was really clear,” he explained.

The error occurred when Beatty was accidentally given the envelope for the best actress Oscar instead of the envelope for best picture.

“I opened the envelope and it said, “Emma Stone, ‘La La Land,’” Beatty said onstage. “That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you ― I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Horowitz shared more of the thoughts racing through his head after he and his cast took the stage.

“I’m holding the envelope and the award, and I had just given my speech, and there are people on the stage with headsets, and I thought, ‘That doesn’t seem right,’” he told the Times. 

Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel tried to make light of the snafu. He jokingly blamed the mix-up on comedian Steve Harvey, who made a similar mistake when he announced the winner of the Miss Universe pageant in 2015.  

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm that oversees the Oscar ballots, apologized for the mistake and said it was investigating the incident.

For his part, Horowitz handled the disappointment graciously.

“I’m going to be really proud to hand this to my friends from ‘Moonlight,’” he said as the winners came to the stage.

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The shortest month of the year is coming to a close, and with it, the country’s yearly celebration of Black History Month. The presidential speeches have been declaimed, and the flurry of media inquiry into black achievements throughout American history is subsiding. But the end of February need not ― and should not ― be the end of learning about the history of black people. 

The history of black Americans contains immense oppression and suffering, all too often papered over by white-dominated educational systems. It also contains great artistic, scientific and social achievements, for which black creators are often given little credit. With the rich history of African-Americans often ignored save for one short month each year, it’s no wonder many never learn much more than George Washington Carver’s peanut-based achievements.

So why not commit to learning about black history all year round? Here are 23 books, worth reading in any season, that dive deeper into major moments in black history:

What other books about black history should everyone be adding to their must-read lists? Add your own recommendation in the comments.

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The first centenarian ― or person over 100 ― that Karsten Thormaehlen photographed was his friend’s grandmother.

“I was impressed by her presence, her knowledge and liveliness,” Thormaehlen told The Huffington Post of the experience, which occurred in Berlin in 2006.

Thormaehlen’s been taking pictures of centenarians ever since. He reaches out to senior institutions, local newspapers and the tourists offices in the places that he travels.

“Most centenarians are well known in their communities, it proves life is worth living there,” Thormaehlen said.

The Internet also helps him seek out subjects, and helps subjects and their families find him. Recently, for example, he was contacted by someone from Russia, who shared photos of her grandfather, a WWII veteran who fought against the Nazis. Thormaehlen hopes that he can eventually take the man’s portrait and include him in future projects.

His current project, Aging Gracefully, is a photo book collecting the people he’s captured on camera. In one portrait, a French woman’s close-cropped crew cut feels like a contemporary look, but her necklace is timeless. In another, a Japanese woman grins, showing her stark-white teeth.

“The faces always reflect most of people’s character and somehow we think, we can read about their life in it,” Thormaehlen said. “An old face, with all its lines stimulates people’s minds and they start considering what kind of person they are looking at.”

To emphasize each subject’s individual features, Thormaehlen made sure to hone in closely and to rid the images of any background clutter.

“The readers should reflect and compare, and ask themselves what they can do for society if they are around for a few decades after retiring,” Thormaehlen said. “People should lose a bit of their fear about age and aging.”

Check out more images from Aging Gracefully, published by Chronicle Books, below:

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified Thormaehlen’s gender.

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Los Angelinos, if you see a mediocre Basquiat knockoff lying around outside an art gallery, you may just be staring at an original Jaden Smith.

The Twitter sage and planetary citizen has been leaving works of art outside for fans or confused randos to pick up. The first painting, an ominous black-and-white canvas reading “Will you die with me?” was claimed by very a brave fan named Kevin Doan on Feb. 23. 

A second painting, which Smith dropped outside a gallery in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Panorama City, seems to still be awaiting for its new owner. If that owner is you ― pics or it didn’t happen. 

Smith has been very, very, very, very vocal about his passion for the arts as of late. He recently attached himself to Shia LaBeouf’s ongoing, anti-Trump livestream “He Will Not Divide Us,” which was relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, following a chaotic run in New York.

Jaden, you’re a strange and beautiful bird. Keep making art, keep leaving art, keep being art. 

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When “La La Land” was mistakenly awarded Best Picture before “Moonlight” producers claimed their rightful prize at the 89th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, millions of viewers were left with questions such as, “What?” “How?” and “Why?”

The Oscars snafu for the ages came just over two months after reports described Russia’s meddling in the November U.S. presidential election. Parallels between Hollywood’s biggest election and the country’s biggest election ― both ending with a twist ― didn’t escape people on Twitter.

Plenty of them wished the 45th president had been announced a bit more like the switcheroo way “Moonlight” nabbed Best Picture. Meanwhile, others couldn’t help but joke about conspiracy theories between Russia’s highest officials and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm responsible for overseeing voting and handing out envelopes with winners’ names inside. 

That’ll do, guys. That’ll do.

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In 2010, Casey Affleck was accused of viciously sexually harassing producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka, two women who worked with him on the mockumentary film “I’m Still Here.” A mere seven years (and nary a black mark on his career) later, he stood on one of the most venerated stages in the world in front of hundreds, televised to millions, and accepted the Oscar for Best Actor. 

Throughout the night, in which host Jimmy Kimmel made sure to needle Mel Gibson and took jab after jab at President Donald Trump, the allegations levied against Affleck were never even alluded to. The actor was even featured in an Oscar-themed “Mean Tweets” segment, in which the meanest thing that could be found was apparently about Affleck’s resemblance to Billy Bob Thornton’s character in “Sling Blade.” (It’s worth noting that Kimmel has a longstanding friendship with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.) 

Affleck’s Oscar was presented by 2016 Best Actress winner and advocate for sexual assault survivors Brie Larson, who won for her work in “Room,” a beautiful and heart-wrenching film about a woman who has been raped and abused. 

Last year, the 27-year-old actress took the time to hug each of the sexual assault survivors who stood onstage during Lady Gaga’s performance of “Til It Happens To You.” This year, she presented an Oscar to a man who allegedly grabbed one of his female colleagues “in a hostile manner” after she declined to share a hotel room with him, and allegedly crawled into bed with another while she was sleeping and began “caressing her back.”

Unsurprisingly, Larson looked less than thrilled while presenting. She stood back and did not applaud as Affleck accepted the award. 

Affleck’s win was not surprising, but it affirmed what most women in America already know: For white men, allegations of harassment, assault or abuse will not necessarily derail a career ― or even temporarily set it off course. The win is also indicative of a larger pattern, both within Hollywood and the country writ large. Being white and male can be a powerful shield against failure, even in the face of evidence that perhaps a given honor is not deserved. And as actress Constance Wu pointed out in January after calling Affleck out, it is often those who speak out about alleged abusers that face a fear of repercussions as a result.

When men of color face allegations of harassment or assault, the story is more complex, and they are more likely to be held accountable. While Bill Cosby spent decades allegedly assaulting women without consequence, in 2016, resurfaced allegations of rape from actor and filmmaker Nate Parker’s days at Penn State made sure he was shut out of Hollywood’s biggest awards shows. In contrast, Affleck won not only the Oscar, but an award at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Critic’s Choice Awards, Gotham Awards and National Board of Review Awards.

Claims of abuse will not stop a (white) man from winning the highest honor an actor can achieve. It did not prevent Affleck from being cast in a prestige film and winning accolades for it, any more than allegations of assault prevented the continued success of Woody Allen’s career or Roman Polanksi’s.

This matters so much because these same patterns exist outside of the entertainment industry. Awards shows ― and any public show of honor ― represents a referendum on what we value, what matters when it comes to great art or great performance or great leadership. As women learn from a very young age, their bodily autonomy often is not what matters.

After all, repeated claims of abuse will not even stop a white man from becoming President of the United States. 

To add insult to injury, once given the opportunity to address millions of Americans on the Oscar stage, Affleck said almost nothing.

“Man, I wish I had something bigger and more meaningful to say.”

On behalf of so many of us who were watching: same. 

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Walmart is facing criticism for not featuring any female directors for an ad campaign that aired during Sunday’s Academy Awards.

The world’s largest retailer is a sponsor of the Oscars and commissioned several short films directed by prominent filmmakers. Marc Forster, Antoine Fuqua, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were tasked to create a short film based on items from a Walmart receipt.

When the store’s ads aired Sunday night, viewers noticed that none of them were directed by women — including Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday, who tweeted that she was “disappointed” that female filmmakers were left out. Women have long been underrepresented in the film industry, particularly as directors, producers, writers, editors, cinematographers and other roles behind the camera.

Walmart told Hornaday that the company did ask female directors to participate in the series, but none did, “mainly due to scheduling.”

Walmart did not return a request for comment.

Just like the lack of racial diversity, there is an alarming and disappointing lack of gender parity in Hollywood. Year after year, studies have shown that women are woefully underrepresented in the film industry, especially in behind-the-camera roles and leadership positions.

In 2016, only 7 percent of the 250 top-grossing films were directed by women, according to researchers at the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film at San Diego State University. Women made up only 24 percent of producers, 17 percent of editors, 13 percent of writers and 5 percent of cinematographers who worked on those films. The rates were slightly higher for smaller, independent movies.

But even more alarming is the relative lack of change. The same study found that the overall percentage of women working behind the scenes was the same as it was in 1998.

The problem was even the subject of a federal investigation in 2015. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reportedly forced major studios to settle allegations that they have “systematically discriminated against female directors.”

Only one woman has ever won the Oscar for Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, for her 2009 film “The Hurt Locker.”

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