Amanda Seyfried mouthing “I love her” is all of us to Yuh-Jung Youn.
During the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday, Minari star Yuh-Jung Youn marked two milestones: first, for being the first Korean actress to win an Oscar, and second, for meeting Brad Pitt for the first time.
Speaking to a sparse audience at the ceremony, Youn started her acceptance speech by first acknowledging the Ad Astra star who was tasked to give out the golden statuette.
“Mr. Brad Pitt, finally. Nice to meet you,” the 73-year-old greeted the actor. “Where were you while we were filming in Tulsa?
“[I’m] very honored to meet you!” Youn said while trying to “put herself together.”
She then went on with her speech that sustained her priceless wit. Youn noted in jest how various media presenters would mispronounce her name, then went on to acknowledge her win, and how she didn’t believe in competition. In her mind, besting the other talented nominees — including Glenn Close whom she admires — was, perhaps, due to luck.
“Tonight I have just a little bit of luck, I think. I’m luckier than you,” she quipped. “And also, maybe it’s the American hospitality for the Korean actor. I’m not sure.”
She also dedicated her win to her two sons who made her “go out and work.”
“This is for my sons who made me go out and work. This is the result, because Mommy worked so hard.”
Youn made history at this year’s Academy Awards for being the second Asian woman to win an acting award as well as the first Korean to do so. She took home the Best Supporting nod for her role as the endearing, spiritual grandmother Soon-ja in Minari, which was also nominated in a total of six categories including Best Picture. Youn’s award came 50 years after her feature film debut in South Korea with “Woman of Fire.”
The first-ever Asian woman to win an Oscars statue accepted it just mere minutes before Youn: Chloe Zhao, who won Best Director for “Nomadland,” which bagged Best Picture.
During the post-event presser, Youn continued to charm audiences with her clever responses, including one that answered how Brad Pitt smelled when they posed after her win.
“I didn’t smell him. I’m not a dog,” Youn said with a laugh.
She also shared how she briefly “blacked out” after Pitt announced her name, but was also impressed at how he pronounced it.
“I can tell he practiced a lot–he didn’t mispronounce my name,” Youn said to the press. “That moment, when I got there, I [was] just lost. What I was supposed to say, ‘Should I begin?’ or something?”
“Maybe I just blacked out a couple seconds. What should I say, ‘Where am I?’ or something like that?”
Where others saw a fangirl moment, others saw a roast. This is because Pitt’s production company, Plan B, was actually behind Minari. Thus, either Youn really loved seeing the Troy actor for the first time, or she was calling him out for only seeing him for the first time during the Oscars.
Regardless, it’s Yuh-Jung Youn’s call if she wants to shoot her shot — she’s the one holding an Oscar anyway.
