There is always so much to talk about at the water cooler the day after the Oscars – disbelief that one actor didn’t win, shock that an actress actually wore that dress , surprise that a selfie could get retweeted enough times to actually break Twitter for a bit.
I must say that this year, despite some amazing musical performances, breathtaking gowns and tribute to Academy members passed, one moment from this year’s Academy Awards that really stood out came early in the evening: Jared Leto’s acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Dallas Buyer’s Club.
Our Visible Intelligence (VI) platform showed that the greatest peak in acceptance speech buzz occurred at the beginning of the Oscar’s – 8pm ET. Posts about Leto accounted for 44% of acceptance buzz volume between 2/2 and 2/3, driven by comments thanking Leto for his inspiring words, commending him for such a heartfelt speech or congratulating him on his award win.
The acceptance was a tearjerker, as he thanked his mom, “… She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children. She encouraged her kids to be creative and work hard and do something special. That girl was my mother and she’s here tonight. I just want to say ‘I love you mom, thank you for teaching me to dream.’”
Given the subject of the film, Leto went on to say that his award was “for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS. And to those of you who have ever felt injustice because of who you are and who you love, I stand here in front of the world with you and for you.”
Clearly I wasn’t the only one moved by his acceptance speech. Buzz about Leto’s performance prompted discussion about the film and, according to a WSJ article, Dallas Buyer’s Club was one of the top five most-tweeted-about films on Sunday. VI showed that the actor surfaced among the top celebrity mentions for the Oscars.
While I may not have thought about Jared Leto since I was a teenager watching Claire Danes pine away for him on My So Called Life, Leto clearly grabbed our attentions with his Oscar win. From the deep love and gratitude he expressed to his mother, to the sense of global consciousness and awareness of matters reaching beyond himself, Jared Leto wins the Oscar for best acceptance speech of the night.
