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9 most memorable moments at the Oscars


Spotlight, The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road racked up multiple wins at Sunday's Academy Awards. Among the night's most unforgettable moments:

1. Leonardo DiCaprio speaks out about climate change. Winning his first-ever Oscar for The Revenant, the best actor champ used the platform to call for action regarding global warming. "Climate change is real. ... It's the most urgent threat facing our entire species," DiCaprio said, asking for people to support leaders who speak for "the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of people who would be most affected by this. ... Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted."

2. Chris Rock calls for "opportunity" in biting monologue. Rock earned mostly raves in his opening monologue, which centered almost entirely on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and lack of diversity in this year's nominees. After blasting Jada Pinkett Smith's Oscar boycott and Hollywood's sorority-like racism, his remarks took a more serious turn. "We just want opportunity," Rock said. "We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. That’s it. And not just once. Leo gets a great part every year. All these guys get great parts all the time. But what about the black actors?"

3. Sly Stallone misses out on best supporting actor. The Creed star was favored to win in the category leading up to Sunday's show, but was overlooked in favor of Bridge of Spies' Mark Rylance. Arnold Schwarzenegger was among those to voice support for Stallone in light of the snub, posting a video of himself to Twitter with the caption, "To me, you're the best, no matter what they say."

4. Joe Biden, Lady Gaga deliver powerful message about sexual assault. Vice President Biden introduced Gaga's performance of best original song nominee Til It Happens to You, written for campus rape documentary The Hunting Ground. He encouraged the audience to take a pledge: "A pledge that says, 'I will intervene in situations where consent cannot or has not been given.' Let's change the culture."

Gaga then took the stage sitting behind a white piano and dressed in an all-white pantsuit, becoming visibly emotional as she sang the survivors' anthem. Toward the end, she was joined by male and female survivors of sexual assault, who had phrases such as "It's not your fault," "Unbreakable" and "It happened to me" written on their arms. The performance earned loud cheers and a standing ovation from audience members including Brie Larson, who hugged the survivors as they filed out of the theater.

5. Stacey Dash makes bizarre appearance. Continuing to riff on the lack of diversity, Rock jokingly introduced the Academy's "new director of our minority outreach program," Fox News contributor Stacey Dash. The Clueless actress, who caught flak last month when she called for the end of the BET Awards and Black History Month, was met with stunned silence when she walked out onstage. "I cannot wait to help my people out," she awkwardly smiled. "Happy Black History Month!"

6. Alejandro González Iñárritu inspires with diversity stance. Winning best director for the second consecutive year, the Mexican filmmaker, who won for The Revenant, ended his speech by making a push for diversity in Hollywood, saying, “What a great opportunity to our generation, to really liberate yourself from all prejudice and this tribal thinking and make sure for once and forever that the color of skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair.”

7. Sam Smith dedicates win to LGBT community. In one of the night's few upsets, Smith and co-writer Jimmy Napes won best original song for Writing's on the Wall from Spectre. Accepting the award for the James Bond theme (which is much maligned by those on Twitter), the British singer incorrectly paraphrased a quote from Ian McKellen, claiming that no openly gay man has won an Oscar. “I stand here tonight as a proud gay man, and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day."

8. Rock sells Girl Scout cookies to the stars. In a stunt that echoed Ellen DeGeneres ordering pizza for audience members at the 2014 Oscars, Chris Rock brought in his daughter's Girl Scout troop to sell cookies to hungry attendees. Among the celebs to empty their wallets for Thin Mints and Samoas? Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, Julianne Moore and Mindy Kaling. He later revealed in the show that they made $65,243. "I also wanted to send a special thanks to Suge Knight for buying the most cookies."

9. DiCaprio and Kate Winslet make a swoon-worthy pair. Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie and Rachel McAdams were among the night's best dressed. But no one could take their eyes off the Titanic co-stars, who stole our hearts when they walked the red carpet together.