Ben Stiller’s Post During the Academy Awards Goes Viral: ‘Did He Tweet This From Below the Stage’

Ben Stiller held a big role in the 97th Academy Awards, and somehow, he still managed to have eyes on another major broadcast.  

During Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, the Severance producer was tapped to present the award for Best Production Design and did so with a laugh, acting as if the stage had “malfunctioned” during his introduction to the stage. 

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In the sketch, Stiller missed his first arrival cue because the stage below him didn’t rise properly. He eventually began reading from the script while only halfway onto the platform, before the floor beneath him slowly moved up and then lowered again. 

Even with putting on such a show presenting the award, which ultimately went to Wicked‘s Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, Stiller still found time to keep tabs on the basketball game between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.

While attending the awards show at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater, Stiller, 59, tweeted: “KNICKS WIN.”  

His very simple post entertained fans nearly as much as his elaborate onstage act, with many overjoyed by the “relatable” show of support.

“I’m crying bro you’re at the Oscars,” one viral response on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out.

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Another fan joked that this had the “same energy” as Olivia Rodrigo commenting on TikTok videos while at the MTV Video Music Awards.

“This man just gave out an Oscar like less than an hour ago,” a third shared. “I love it.”

“man is a new yorker first actor second,” someone else quipped.

“Ben Stiller presenting an Oscar, doing interviews, and then immediately going to see if the Knicks won a mid-season game is one of the greatest sequences in human history,” a different X user suggested.

“did he tweet this from below the stage???” one more teased.

Stiller’s appearance and subsequent tweet weren’t the only topics on top of fans’ minds. Several other moments from the show stood out to viewers, including Adam Sandler‘s ensemble, Wicked star Cynthia Ervio‘s surprising loss, Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn‘s emotional onstage moment and Michelle Trachtenberg‘s absence from the In Memoirum segment–not to mention the streaming issue countless Hulu subscribers ran into come the end of the program.

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