Robert Downey Jr. criticised for 'ignoring' Ke Huy Quan ahead of his Oscars speech

12 March 2024, 17:08

Oppenheimer sweeps Oscars as Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy take top gongs

By Sam Prance

Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars but he's facing backlash for how he greeted Ke Huy Quan.

Loading audio...

Robert Downey Jr. is coming under fire after he appeared to ignore Ke Huy Quan ahead of his Oscars acceptance speech.

On Sunday (Mar 10), Robert Downey Jr. won his first Oscar. Following nominations for Chaplin in 1993 and Tropic Thunder in 2009, Robert won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer beating Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things), Ryan Gosling (Barbie), Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction) and Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon).

Robert was presented the award by Ke Huy Quan who won Best Supporting Actor last year for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and he received a standing ovation in the room. However, viewers are now calling Robert out for ignoring Ke Huy.

Robert Downey Jr. criticised for 'ignoring' Ke Huy Quan ahead of his Oscars speech. Picture: Aliah Anderson/Getty Images, Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images

When Robert got on stage to accept the award, he took it from Ke Huy Quan without acknowledging him at all. Robert then shook the hands of several other actors on stage but continued to ignore Ke Huy before making his speech. While it's likely that Robert was caught up in the moment and meant no ill will by his actions, people are now criticising his behaviour.

Reacting to the interaction, one person tweeted: "robert downey jr. could’ve took one second or even acknowledge ke huy quan while on stage, who presenting an award to him personally… this shjt was so disrespectful idc."

Another wrote: "I thought Robert Downey Jr. was incredibly rude to Ke Huy Quan while accepting the Oscar."

robert downey jr. could’ve took one second or even acknowledge ke huy quan while on stage, who presenting an award to him personally… this shjt was so disrespectful idc pic.twitter.com/OQqyYVTRIT
— fazpo🦭 (@fazpo) March 11, 2024

I thought Robert Downey Jr. was incredibly rude to Ke Huy Quan while accepting the Oscar.
— Sorrymissjackson702 (@Sorrymissjacks7) March 11, 2024

the more i see it the angrier i get because ke huy quan called his name with such pure excitement and appreciation and then he does this https://t.co/blD8vqysrO
— shiv ✯ kotfm robbed (@ripleyesque) March 11, 2024

ke huy quan was so sweet and he was so excited apologize to him NOW https://t.co/JF1ye2SXbe
— mar (@roycoswift) March 11, 2024

The incident comes shortly after Taylor Swift was criticised for "ignoring" Céline Dion when accepting her Album of the Year award at the Grammys. Taylor and Céline were later photographed together backstage.

As it stands, Robert and Ke Huy Quan are yet to comment on the controversy but they also posed for photos together after Robert's speech.

What do you think? Was Robert rude?