There were plenty of snubs in nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards, which air tonight. One of those snubs was Adam Sandler for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in Uncut Gems . The movie was hailed as one of the best of 2019, and Sandler’s performance is considered by some as the highlight of his career. Having Sandler nominated for a Best Actor Oscar is something fans of the Sandman were hoping for, but fellow actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, Adam Driver, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce allegedly had better performances, according to the Academy.
Sandler was nominated for Best Male Lead at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honor acting performances in independent movies. The Billy Madison actor took home the win ( his second for the role ), beating out Robert Pattinson ( The Lighthouse ), Kelvin Harrison Jr. ( Luce ), Chris Galust ( Give Me Liberty ), and Matthias Schoenaerts ( The Mustang ). His acceptance speech was nothing short of hilarious as he shaded the Oscars and its nominees. There was clearly no ill will but just perfectly timed jokes that had the crowd roaring. The speech, which has been made available via YouTube , is definitely NSFW and was rather lengthy, although not boring.
“You know, a few weeks back when I was quote, unquote, ‘snubbed’ by the Academy, it reminded me of when I briefly attended high school and was overlooked for the coveted yearbook superlative category ‘best looking,’” Sandler joked.
The 53-year-old then noted he was given the “Best Personality” honor instead, as a “jean-jacket wearing feather-head douchebag” took home the “Best Looking” award.
“Tonight, as I look around this room, I realize the Independent Spirit Awards are the ‘best personality’ awards of Hollywood. Let all those feather-haired douchebag motherf*ckers get their Oscars tomorrow night. Their handsome, good looks will fade in time,” he laughed. “While our independent personalities will shine on forever!”
The audience — which included Laura Dern, Emily Ratajkowski, and Olivia Wilde — was in tears for the entire speech, which was over five minutes long. Sandler made sure to reference some of his biggest movies like Billy Madison and The Waterboy, and thanked everyone who ever worked with him on comedy movies in the past.
Sandler also made sure to give a nod to Uncut Gems directors, the Safdie Brothers, who he referred to as “homeless rabbis.” The actor thanked his kids for reading the Uncut Gems script and for telling him he had to do the movie — an obvious joke since the movie is disturbing and filled with profanity. Sandler’s entire speech can be watched below.
The Academy Awards air tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.