Adrien Brody addresses backlash over moment he controversially kissed Halle Berry on stage at Oscars
Adrien Brody has spoken out about how he controversially kissed Halle Berry on stage at the Oscars more than two decades ago.
The actor, 51, caused quite the stir back in 2003 when he pulled the Catwoman star into a lip lock while collecting his award for Best Actor.
Take a look at the bizarre moment here:
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Brody somewhat overshadowed his own big moment with the stunt, as his smooch with Berry was the talk of the town rather than the fact he'd won the coveted category.
Aged 29, he became the youngest person ever to win the Best Actor award thanks to his harrowing role as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman in The Pianist.
It was well deserved - as the New Yorker lost 30lbs, gave up his apartment, ditched his car and took piano lessons for four hours a day to perfect his character.
But before bursting into a heartfelt speech about Roman Polanski's WW2 film, Brody appeared to briefly overlook his Oscar win in favour of making a beeline straight for Berry.
The Darjeeling Limited actor excitedly strutted up on stage after beating the likes of Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day Lewis and Nicolas Cage for Best Actor.
However, instead of grabbing the statuette from Berry and bursting into celebration, Brody pulled her into an intense embrace in front of the star-studded audience.
The former model - who was 37 at the time - was presenting the gong as she had scooping Best Actress for Monster's Ball in 2002, and appeared to be visibly stunned by the snog.
As he began his speech at the podium, Brody turned to address her as he joked: "I bet they didn't tell you that was in the gift bag."
The actor also reenacted the on stage kiss with Queen Latifah at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, which took place just two months later.
Kissing someone without their consent is obviously a huge no-no, and Brody has received a lot of backlash for the stunt in recent years, and now, he's addressed the fallout in a new interview with Variety.
"We live in a very conscious time, which is a wonderful thing," the Oscar winner - who also came under fire for a controversial Saturday Night Live skit in 2003 - said.
"And nothing that I ever do or have done or would’ve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad."
Berry herself previously opened up about the shocking moment during an appearance on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live in 2017.
She said: "I was like, ‘What the f**k is happening right now?’ That is what was going through my mind."
Berry admitted she gave Brody something of a pass, as she understood the surreal feeling he was experiencing after winning Best Actor.
"I was there the year before and I know the feeling of being out of your body," she added. "I just f**king went with it."
Brody did tell the crowd at the 2003 Oscar's that he almost didn't 'recognise his own name' when it was read out, which somewhat supports Berry's suggestion that he was very nervous.
Despite the controversy surrounding their kiss 22 years ago, there doesn't appear to be any bad blood between the pair these days.
In fact, Berry recently heaped praise on the actor when he announced that he has been nominated for Best Actor once again at this year's Oscars.
In an Instagram post, Brody explained he was up for the gong thanks to his role in The Brutalist, where he stars as Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth.
He wrote: "Thank you to The Golden Globes voters for this truly extraordinary honour. My family and I will never forget this magical moment.
"And to @thombrowne for making me look like a winner on this special night @goldenglobes #2025."
Berry then commented: "Congratulations my friend. You are truly one of one!"
Let's just hope she isn't asked to dust off her presenting skills to announce this year's Best Actor on 3 March, eh?
Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Oscars, TV and Film, Weird
Olivia Burke