Actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster just presented the Best Actress Oscar together at the 90th Academy Awards to Frances McDormand. The Best Actor and Best Actress awards are typically presented by the previous year’s winner of the opposite gender–so the male who wins Best Actor presents the following year’s Best Actress prize and vice versa. Therefore, last year’s winner for Manchester By The Sea, Casey Affleck, was due to present this year’s award.
In January, it was announced Affleck was withdrawing from presenting the award, after details of sexual harassment lawsuits featuring the actor came to light. According to Variety, Affleck had reportedly settled two cases with the producer and cinematographer of his 2010 film I’m Still Here.
With Affleck out, it seems the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wanted to break from tradition all together by having two females step in to present the award to their fellow actress. The move comes in light of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements that have been the focus of the 2018 awards season.
Foster appeared on stage with crutches, joking that “[Meryl] Streep” was to blame because she “I Tonya’d her.”
Meanwhile, Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren co-presented the Best Actor Oscar to Gary Oldman, even though Emma Stone won the Best Actress Oscar last year, further breaking from tradition.