Glenn Close looks solid to finally win her first Oscar on Sunday, for Best Actress for “The Wife.” But the seven-time nominee is associated with another Best Actress win — and a pretty big one at that — though you might not realize it at first.
In 2002, Close and Donald Sutherland were tapped to be the Voices of Oscar for the 74th ceremony, which was just a fancy way of saying they were the announcers. So instead of getting a regular announcer or voiceover artist — Randy Thomas, the first woman to announce the Oscars, is returning for her 10th stint this weekend — to read ad break teases, presenter introductions and a winner’s Oscar history, the academy went with a then-five-time nominee and someone who still has yet to be nominated (kinda cruel, tbh).
SEE Glenn Close vs. Olivia Colman at the Oscars: ‘The Wife’ needs to watch out for the queen
Anyway, things were going swell until Best Actress. Halle Berry became the first — and still only — black winner in the category’s history with her victory for “Monster’s Ball” (2001). As the shellshocked star made her way to the stage, Close read off Berry’s bona fides and completely butchered another award show’s name (watch above).
“This is the first Oscar for Halle Berry,” Close said in her dulcet tones. “She garnered rave reviews in 1999 for her emeny aw– enemy– Emmy– Emmy Award-winning performance in the lead in ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.'”
You know if social media existed then, this clip would’ve been everywhere, and there would’ve been a thousand thinkpieces about not getting stars to do an announcer’s job and breaking down the gaffe. Was this a Freudian slip, Glenn? Is the Emmy the enemy? Is the Oscar the enemy? Kidding, obviously. She clearly just stumbled over the word, but the flub was hilarious and charming, and we appreciate the effort she took to emphasize “Emmy” when she finally got it right. But let’s hope Thomas doesn’t get similarly tongue-tied if Close does indeed win on Sunday.
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