Demi Moore Breaks Silence on Oscar Loss: “Of Course There’s Disappointment” — But She’s Not Done Yet
Demi Moore isn’t hiding how she feels about missing out on the Oscar this year — and she’s not pretending it didn’t sting. But nearly two months after the Academy Awards, the Substance star is choosing reflection over regret.
“Of course there’s disappointment,” Moore admitted during a conversation at the Time100 Summit. “But I also immediately recognize that there is something greater that I’m meant to be in service to, even if I don’t know what that is.”
Moore was widely considered a frontrunner for Best Actress for her fearless performance in The Substance, a genre-defying body horror that lit up the awards circuit. She started strong by winning the Golden Globe, but ultimately lost the Oscar to breakout star Mikey Madison for her role in Anora.
Still, Moore holds no resentment — only respect.
“I had the pleasure of getting to know Mikey Madison,” she said. “I think she did an incredible performance. It’s an odd thing for there to be a competition anyway.”
Despite her calm outlook now, Moore acknowledged the emotional weight of the moment — especially for the many fans who believed the Oscar was hers. “I’m sorry to everyone who had hopes for me,” she added. “Because I did feel a lot of collective disappointment that felt like it was even bigger than me.”
In a Time magazine interview last week, Moore said she wasn’t shocked when Madison’s name was called. “I whispered to my manager, ‘I think it’s going to Mikey.’”
Looking back, Moore said she had once envisioned an Oscar win as the “completion” of her journey with The Substance. But now, she believes the loss was a signal that she’s far from finished.
“The message is that there’s more work to be done. This issue is not complete.”
Moore, 61, continues to evolve in both her career and her outlook. “I really do subscribe to this idea that everything in life is happening for me, not to me,” she said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t pain or things don’t go the way I want, but when I look at it through that lens, it helps me step back.”
While The Substance ultimately walked away with one Oscar — for best makeup and hairstyling — Moore’s transformation on and off screen has already cemented her as a force in modern cinema.
And she’s not slowing down. Her next project is I Love Boosters, a surrealist comedy-drama directed by Boots Riley, where she’ll star alongside Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, and LaKeith Stanfield.
Whether she’s holding an Oscar or not, Moore’s message is clear: she’s not chasing trophies. She’s chasing truth.