I never really understood the “backlash” against Teyana Taylor this season. One of the arguments was that Taylor played a trope in One Battle After Another. I disagree, but even if you believe that, that’s not on Teyana, that’s on Paul Thomas Anderson, who wrote the now Oscar-winning script. As the awards season marched along, Teyana conducted herself well, in my opinion – she seemed thrilled to be invited, thrilled to be nominated, and thrilled to celebrate and uplift OBAA AND all of the other films in contention. Teyana and Leonardo DiCaprio were two of the first people out of their seats to celebrate Michael B. Jordan’s Oscar win. Teyana also jumped up to give Amy Madigan a standing ovation when Madigan beat Teyana in the Best Supporting Actress race. Well, that moment – when Teyana celebrated Amy Madigan’s win – caught the eye of many people, people who talked sh-t online. Well, Teyana is online too.
Teyana Taylor doesn’t care if you don’t like the way she celebrates her fellow creatives who just won an Oscar. The actress, who was nominated for best supporting actress at the 98th Academy Awards for her role as Perfidia in One Battle After Another, took to X on Monday to slam those who have grown “comfortable being sore losers.”
Her comments came after she received criticism for being excited about her fellow nominees, specifically when she jumped out of her seat to cheer for Weapons star Amy Madigan, who ended up taking home the Oscar in the best supporting actress category on Sunday.
“I knew from the first hour something was off,” one person wrote on X about Taylor, to which she replied, “The world holds so much misery that miserable hearts forget the face of happiness.”
The actress continued, “They grow comfortable being sore losers, so when they see real sportsmanship it unsettles them! like holy water touching a demon. Because clapping for someone else’s victory requires something many people never learned…how to win with grace & pure joy, and how to lose with grace, chin up & dignity.”
Taylor was filled with energy throughout the entire ceremony, continuing to cheer on the winners. At the end, when One Battle After Another was named best picture, she was even seen jumping for joy with her arms around director Paul Thomas Anderson as they made their way up on the stage.
She’s right, but I don’t even think she needs to fight these fights. People get emotional about the Oscars and who wins and how people react in real time. I think Teyana had already started to realize that she wasn’t going to win, and she was prepared to celebrate whoever won. There was also a symmetry to Teyana’s reaction for Amy Madigan – when Teyana won the Golden Globe, Amy was one of the first people cheering for her. That probably meant a lot to Teyana. Let me say this as well – despite the commentary of OBAA vs. Sinners or Madigan vs. Taylor, I got the sense that among the nominated artists during this awards season, there was a lot of love and support across the board. Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler posed together backstage at the Oscars, Coogler and Chloe Zhao have been tight for over a decade, Michael B. Jordan gave a huge hug to Jessie Buckley after their wins, and on and on. Spectacularly good vibes between artists this year (minus Timmy Chalamet).
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- Teyana Taylor arrives on the red carpet of the 98th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026.,Image: 1083321226, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Etienne Laurent / The Academy/Avalon
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- Teyana Taylor arrives on the red carpet of the 98th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026.,Image: 1083327208, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Etienne Laurent / The Academy/Avalon
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- Hollywood, CA Celebrities are seen during the 98th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Teyana Taylor BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: The Grosby Group / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA Celebrities are seen during the 98th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Benicio del Toro, Wagner Moura, Guillermo del Toro BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: The Grosby Group / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA Celebrities are seen during the 98th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: The Grosby Group / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA Celebrities are seen during the 98th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Teyana Taylor, Wunmi Mosaku BACKGRID USA 15 MARCH 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: The Grosby Group / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Teyana was a model of grace at the Oscars, even when she was grabbed by a security guard on her arrival. She dealt with him and later said she will not be treated disrespectfully. End of. I admire her greatly and would love to see her career soar. Beautiful, classy, assertive lady.
The world is such a dumpster fire lately and I’m so grateful to be a regular on a site that raises grace and justice. Thanks @Jfeeber and agreed. You even capture that grace, and assertiveness, is not a uniform, restrictive, or colonized trait. Teyana does it in her own style, as we all can.
Well she’s absolutely correct that people need to learn how to lose graciously, and so many people aren’t in a space where they can do that to whereas they think that anyone that can is being fake. And I do agree that this particular Oscar class did seem to genuinely like each other, and appreciate each other’s work to whereas they wanted to win but there weren’t any hard feelings.
That being said I think that the reaction there is very much so about the conversation around her being a trope in OBAA. There is definitely a narrative that is/was being pushed and her being happy for other winners AND being so chummy with PTA and Leo, definitely negates some of that and I think that’s what is irritating so they are now pushing a different narrative onto her.
I’d add Joachim Trier into those good vibes as well. Coogler spoke about feeling like he mentored him when he was starting out. In terms of Teyana, she’s gorgeous and interesting and draws attention. The Twitter sphere does not like it when good things happen to POC. Or maybe they do in bc it means they can be both subtle racist and overtly racist and drive clicks and engagement. So in some ways this is not surprising but it is still f-cking frustrating. Can’t wait to see what she does next.
yeah the backlash is weird. I’m seeing comments about her being medicated, drunk (one picture had her with a drink in her hand, which I didnt realize they had at the Oscars but apparently they do, lol) etc.
Like people just can’t grasp that she was genuinely happy for her fellow nominees and the winners. She was in the front row at the OSCARS and she was having a great time. her award was early (was it the first one?), imagine if she had spent the whole show being miserable about not winning.
and I have to admit that it cracked me up that she was going crazy for Michael B Jordan while standing next to Leo (also on his feet.)
Yvette Nicole Brown also addressed this on social media and was basically like she’s a warm and kind person who genuinely supports others, that joy is just who she is.
And I do think it was genuine. But lets not forget the backlash against Angela Bassett for looking disappointed when she didnt win for BP2. Black women can’t win in these situations.
Amen to that. Can’t be too happy. Can’t be too mad. Can’t be too aloof–don’t you know how lucky you are to be here? Her unapologetic presence in the front row, beweled and begowned, is the real problem. She needs to continue to be visible and be her joyous self on her own terms. There’s no winning the “respectability” game, so there’s no point in playing it.
So HAPPY I’m no longer on Twitter…because the SMOKE I had for OBAA..and I DID HAVE SMOKE 😡 I said it when it was FIRST released reserved it EXCLUSIVELY for PTA and left it alone & CELEBRATED the Black Women’s performances when award season came along…like Teyanna…I 💚 movies too much to be miserable about others wins…THIS year!🤪
I’m 100% convinced that black women just get a superconcentrated dose of the standard BS attributed to all women, like, when you’re real, it’s too much, but when you’re not miserable, it’s fake. Stop faking it. When you’re distressed you’re being dramatic. Stop faking it. Like…. It just comes down to a basic rejection of someone else’s humanity. Which is pretty twisted.
I just got the impression Teyana was living her best life during this whole awards season, and it was inspiring, and lovely to see.
She was having the time of her life. The Oscars are supposed to be a celebration.
I would watch her celebrate others all day over Timmy looking sour faced when he was both roasted and lost – you could tell he was p!ssed that neither he or his movie won anything.
Go Teyana – live your life!
It was performative and cringe.
^^^ exactly!
I also won’t forget her mockery of Rhianna when cb assaulted her.
She seems like a pick me. Not my vibe.
A little detail during Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami’s Golden performance that I noticed was when they showed the audience POV, guess who’s glowstick bulb was being pumped up the highest? That’s right, one Ms. Teyana Taylor! She is being genuine and some people can’t cope.
Right?! She was pumped to be there, looking fabulous and enjoying the moment. Losing even a superficial award but one you’d be ecstatic to have is always going to be hard. Better to lean into the excitement. She has absolutely nothing to apologize for
Exactly! As another poster mentioned, you can’t be too happy, can’t be too bummed, what can you be?? She chose to be herself!
These people are not curing cancer – they’re making movies. Teyana knows the deal. It’s not that the Oscars aren’t a big deal and a nice recognition from your industry, but at the end of the day, they’re just gold trophies. Teyana was a delight and I loved watching her have the time of her life after every award was announced. She just seemed so happy to be there and THAT’S the vibe people should be emulating at these awards shows IMO.
This Oscars was the first broadcast I’ve watched in a over a decade and I LOVED her joy!
I watch or closely follow them all and this was definitely my favourite in many years
she is such a joyful, illuminating force
Teyana cheering for others is EXACTLY the kind of energy and empathy that the Oscars need.
Teyana left music because she said the industry wasn’t treating her right and she was frustrated; at the same time, she was going through her divorce. She took on a bunch of acting projects and here she is, not too much time later, at the Oscars. She is doing just fine and I bet she’s happy to be in an industry that recognizes her ability more than music does. She’s come out the other side and had a lot going on and here she is, thriving.