An Oscars tie hadn’t happened in over a decade, but the real story was what one of the winners said onstage that put Timothée Chalamet on blast

Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony took an unexpected turn when two films, The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva, tied for Best Short Live Action Film. It was only the seventh time in the Academy’s nearly century-long history that votes ended in a deadlock, creating a memorable moment at the Dolby Theatre.

The announcement was made by comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani, who appeared genuinely surprised. “It’s a tie, I’m not joking, it’s actually a tie,” he said, drawing gasps and laughter from the audience. Nanjiani joked, “Ironic that the short film Oscar’s going to take twice as long,” before telling the crowd to “calm down” and “focus up.” He then announced he would present one winner at a time, giving each their moment.

According to BBC, first up was The Singers, an 18-minute musical comedy. Its director, Sam A. Davis, joined by producer Jack Piatt, said, “A tie, wow we didn’t know that could happen.” Davis described his film as “a simple story about the power of music and art to bring us together in a moment when we live in an increasingly isolated world.”

Ties at the Oscars are rare, but a winner’s onstage dig at Timothée Chalamet made this one stand out

Then came Two People Exchanging Saliva, a 36-minute dystopian French-language film. Co-directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh made their way to the stage, with Musteata later telling reporters it was “such a dream.” However, it was Singh who drew the most attention. He kept speaking even as the mic was cut and the lights were brought down, using his speech to directly respond to recent comments made by Timothée Chalamet.

Singh stated, “We believe that art can change people’s souls… we can change society through art and creativity, through theatre and ballet.” The remarks got both laughs and jeers from the crowd. Chalamet, who has been in the public eye for personal reasons lately, recently opened up about possibly becoming a father while dating a mother of two.

The most recent Oscars tie before was in 2013, when both Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty won for Best Sound Editing. Going further back, Katherine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand famously shared the Best Actress award in 1969. Streisand delivered her well-known line “Hello, Gorgeous” to her Oscar statue, mirroring her first line in Funny Girl.

That 1969 tie drew some controversy because Streisand had only recently been admitted to the Academy, which typically required at least two film credits. The very first tie at the Academy Awards was in 1932, when Fredric March and Wallace Beery both won Best Actor. 

However, it was not a true tie by today’s standards, back then, any nominee within three votes of the winner also received an award. March actually had one more vote than Beery, but both received a statue. Other past ties include Best Short Film (Live Action) in 1995 for Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Trevor, Best Feature Documentary in 1987, and Best Documentary in 1950. The rules have since been updated to require a true numerical tie. Ties are not the only surprising outcomes the Oscars have produced over the years, whether Angela Bassett has ever won an Oscar is a question that surprises many fans given her celebrated career.