The art of the 'gracious loser face': The unspoken awards season 'skill' not all stars have mastered

The single biggest night in film is now only days away, with countless stars gearing up to celebrate – or concede – victory in their respective Oscars categories.As is the nature of awards shows, not every nominee's gruelling campaign trail will result in a Hollywood Ending – but we can only hope each has perfected their 'gracious loser face' in the leadup to the titular event.Immortalised in popular culture by Rachel from hit sitcom Friends, the 'gracious loser face' has been standard awards season fare among nominees since the very first televised event in 1949.Want the official inside scoop on MAFS, unfiltered and unseen? Watch After The Dinner Party here"You should probably start practising your 'gracious loser' face," Rachel sagely advised Joey, after walking in on him practising an awards acceptance speech in S7E18, The One With Joey's Award."You know, when the cameras are on you, and you wanna look disappointed, but also that your colleague deserved to win," she explained.It's admittedly a fine art many are yet to perfect; so let's take a look at some of the most gracious – and most shady – celebrity responses to awards losses over the years.READ MORE: Your handy guide to the 2026 OscarsREAD MORE: The most controversial moments in Oscars historyREAD MORE: Have these Oscar favourites just blown their chances of winning?Sabrina Carpenter – 2026 Grammy AwardsAt the 2026 Grammy Awards, there was one multi-nominee in particular who gave audiences a masterclass on maintaining grace and composure in the face of loss.Sabrina Carpenter arrived at music's biggest night on cloud nine, having received nods in a total of six awards categories – but that initial elation soon gave way to disappointment, as she was passed over for every one of those awards.By the time the event reached its conclusion, Carpenter found herself leaving empty-handed.Fans drew comparisons between the star's devastating run and a smattering of other clean-sweep Grammy losses female artists have been subject to in recent years.Carpenter's Man's Best Friend snub was notably preceded by Ariana Grande in 2020, who shockingly went 0-5 in Grammy wins, despite Thank U, Next achieving critical acclaim and certified platinum status within two months of its initial release.Grande ceded the coveted 'Album of the Year' title to Billie Eilish – who even admitted during her acceptance speech that she believed Grande was robbed.At the time she waved off Eilish's compliment, shaking her head and blowing a kiss her direction – a graceful show of support for an equally-deserving fellow artist.Oddly enough, Eilish then went on to suffer an eerily similar losing streak during the event's 2025 iteration – during which she also lost out in all seven of her nominated categories.For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.Although all appeared increasingly disappointed as the nights progressed, the singers expressed no indication of ill-will towards winners, continuing to rise dutifully and applaud each as they were announced.Miley Cyrus – 2026 Grammy AwardsMiley Cyrus appeared none too impressed following her loss for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2026 Grammy Awards.In stark contrast to Carpenter, Cyrus seemed disgruntled in what fans have now labelled a "shady" response to the loss.Lady Gaga's Mayhem was announced as the category's winner, a result Cyrus responded to by rubbing her hands together in lieu of applause, whilst appearing to roll her eyes.The star also notably remained seated as others around her stood to applaud Gaga in the wake of her win.However, there remains a running theory among fans that Cyrus' lukewarm reaction stemmed not from her loss, but from who was on stage at the time.Andrew Watt, who worked on Gaga's featured hit Abracadabra, had also previously worked with Cyrus in 2020 for Plastic Hearts.Fans have speculated the pair had a romantic relationship during that time, although neither have confirmed these rumours.Angela Bassett – 2023 OscarsWho can forget the utterly scathing look from Angela Bassett following her 2023 Oscars loss in the Best Supporting Actress category for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?Whatever the 'gracious loser face' is, consider Bassett's reaction the direct antithesis of that.The star exuded stink-eye of absolutely biblical proportions after unwillingly ceding the award to fellow nominee Jamie Lee Curtis.Not even managing a single clap, the star remained stony-faced as Curtis ascended the stage to raucous applause from the wider audience.Speaking out following the viral moment, Basset revealed she'd "felt deserving" of the award, and believed she was allowed to express disappointment at having lost.She revealed she'd felt "gobsmacked" at the result, and found it interesting that she was expected to hide her honest reaction.The win later sparked backlash among viewers, who believed women of colour had been overlooked in that particular category – in which Curtis was the only white nominee.Curtis' Everything, Everywhere All at Once co-star Stephanie Hsu also controversially lost out on the award, but was seen cheering her on as she rose to accept her statuette.Meryl Streep - 1988 OscarsBreaking up the slew of negative reactions with a much-needed positive is Meryl Streep.Ever the gracious loser, she rose to her feet and applauded Cher following her win for best actress in a touching show of support.In 1988, Streep was among the nominees for her work in Ironweed, however Cher secured the titular award for a revelatory performance in hit film Moonstruck.In what was later described as a "touching moment", Cher utilised her allotted acceptance speech time to recognise her fellow nominees – specifically thanking "Mary Louise Streep" (Meryl's birth name)."I feel so unbelievable that I did my first movie with her, and now I was nominated with her," Cher said, to which Streep responded by beaming and blowing her a kiss.Denzel Washington - 2000 OscarsUpon losing out to Kevin Spacey in 2000, Denzel Washington, who was nominated for his performance in 1999 film The Hurricane, admitted he was "bitter" following the loss.Recalling that night, the actor has since admitted to being struck by a "wave of shock" at the announcement.He more recently admitted the defeat effectively sent him into a 15-year "spiral".He recalled the exact moment Spacey's name was called, feeling as though the entire room turned to look at him in pity."I'm sure I went home and drank that night. I had to," he told Esquire.He described the period that followed as a "pity party," where he became so resentful of the Academy that he stopped watching the nominated films entirely.Sylvester Stallone – 1977 Oscars, 2016 OscarsPrior to the 1977 ceremony, Sylvester Stallone appeared in high spirits – his 1976 classic Rocky was up for a total of 10 nominations, and the star was later seen participating in a famous on-stage spar with Muhammad Ali during the show.But upon losing the award for best actor, Stallone appeared notably deflated.However, this sudden shift was later revealed to be completely unrelated to his Best Actor award loss.According to Stallone, his mother had been a no-show at the ceremony, refusing to attend unless her son also secured a front-row seat for her hairdresser.This devastating familial snub reportedly left him feeling "empty and abandoned" on what should have been the biggest night of his life – with the award loss in question adding insult to injury.But the most notable reaction did not actually come from Sly himself, but from his brother, Frank Stallone.After Sylvester lost the 2016 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Creed – a loss that shocked industry insiders – Frank launched into a Twitter tirade of epic proportions.The younger Stallone brother certainly did not hold back, labelling the Academy's decision "total Hollywood bullsh--" and taking aim at winner Mark Rylance with the stinging line, "Mark who?"He even went as far as suggesting Rylance should have been "embarrassed" to win over his brother.Sly eventually had to step in as the peacemaker, posting on Instagram that his brother was just being "emotional and protective."Bradley Cooper – 2024 OscarsBradley Cooper's 2024 Oscars loss followed an intense campaign trail for the titular Best Actor accolade.Following his ensuing defeat to Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer, the star displayed evident disappointment, with cameras capturing him seemingly trying to hide his reaction.This attempt at concealing his face went on to become a meme, and despite seven nominations, Maestro concluded the event empty-handed.This moment proved an embarrassing loss for the star, triggering wider discussions about the "awards show bait" phenomenon as a result.Kanye West – 2004 American Music Awards, 2006 MTV European Music Awards, 2009 Video Music AwardsNow notorious for his adverse reactions to awards show losses, the polarising singer – now referred to mononymously as 'Ye' – made his very first in a long line of outbursts at the 2004 AMAs.The headline-making incident occurred following his loss for Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson, wherein Kanye stormed out of the building in lieu of typical polite applause.He later told reporters he was "definitely robbed," famously adding, "I was the best new artist this year... I refuse to give any politically correct bullshit-ass comment."Just two years later, a pattern began to emerge.The artist famously stormed the stage at the 2006 EMA's after losing the Best Video award to Justice and Simian, launching into a tirade about why his Touch the Sky video deserved the win.The move shocked onlookers at the time, but was nothing compared to what would follow in later years.As we all know, this incident was certainly not the final time Ye would ascend the stage unprompted.The infamous "Imma let you finish" debacle has cemented itself as the most notorious stage-crash in awards show history.When a 19-year-old Taylor Swift won Best Female Video at the titular awards ceremony, a Hennessy-swigging Kanye hopped on-stage, snatching the mic from a shocked Swift's hand, and declared Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time."The ensuing fallout from the incident was so severe, even US president Barack Obama was caught on a "hot mic" referring to Kanye as a "jackass."Samuel L. Jackson – 1995 OscarsIt was the "sh--" heard around the world.The gold standard for candid awards loss reactions – as far from the 'gracious loser face' as one can possibly get – is presented to none other than comedy great Samuel L. Jackson.The incident in question occurred at the 1995 Oscars, prior to which Jackson was considered the top seed in the Best Supporting Actor category for a career-defining turn as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction.When veteran actor Martin Landau was announced as the winner for Ed Wood, the camera caught Jackson's immediate, unedited response.There came no smile – nor applause – from the actor. Instead, he clearly and emphatically mouthed the word "Sh--!" as the winner was named.FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details