The 93rd Academy Awards, which aired April 25, saw a slew of awards given out in a modified ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although there were some controversial moments — like Chadwick Boseman losing the Best Actor award and a unique In Memoriam — overall, the show went fairly smoothly for a pandemic-era broadcast.
One of the more unique moments came when Yuh-Jung Youn won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her turn as the grandmother in Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari," a role that has already snagged her a BAFTA award and a SAG award, per The New York Times. The win also made Oscars history, as Youn is the first Korean to ever win a Best Supporting Actress award at the ceremony. Although this was her first nomination, Youn has made herself known throughout the awards circuit for her unique acceptance speeches, and the Oscars were no different.
Following the tradition of the year's previous winners giving out the awards, Brad Pitt — who won a Best Supporting Actor statuette at the 2020 Oscars for his role in "Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood" — presented the Best Supporting Actress award to Youn, although in a socially distanced way. Youn seemed thrilled to have received her honor from Pitt, a claim confirmed by body language expert Lauren Cohen, an executive and career coach, who spoke exclusively to Nicki Swift.
Yuh-Jung Youn brought the charm to her acceptance speech
Yuh-Jung Youn won her first-ever Oscar at the 2021 Academy Awards, something that she attributed to luck in her speech, according to The New York Times. She seemingly was in awe of the fellow actors in her category, like Glenn Close, but that didn't appear to stop her from enjoying her time in the spotlight. Body language expert Lauren Cohen spoke to Nicki Swift and talked about the endearing interaction Youn appeared to have with Brad Pitt, who presented her award.
"Youn Yuh-Jung's attempt at getting Brad's attention was flirty and fun and amazingly clever on her part," Cohen told Nicki. "She seemed to be joking and it shows she was comfortable up there and wanting to have some fun since it was her first Oscar." Cohen then went on to describe how the Oscars missed a golden opportunity for "some memorable television" because they didn't focus on Pitt's reaction to Youn flirtation attempts. However, Cohen also said that Pitt wasn't on his "A-game" during the broadcast, which might have something to do with his recent operation, Page Six.
Regardless, Youn seemed to be having a wonderful time at her first Academy Awards, even if the show was a little different this year. Hopefully, she'll be able to interact with Pitt again in the future.