Michelle Williams has spoken out about one of the most shocking Oscar upsets ever: the moment Crash defeated Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture.
The romantic tale of two male cowboys directed by Ang Lee was widely expected to claim victory in 2005, but Paul Haggis‘ drama unexpectedly took home the top prize during the ceremony’s finale.
Williams, who currently stars in the new series Dying for Sex, appeared in Brokeback Mountain with Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Anne Hathaway. Now, two decades after its unexpected defeat, she’s sharing her unfiltered thoughts on the film that won.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens with Andy Cohen, Williams delivered a brutal dismissal of the ensemble drama, which many consider among the least deserving Best Picture winners, simply asking: “What was Crash?”
She emphasized the impact of Brokeback Mountain, noting that during press junkets, the film moved people to tears.
“People were so open about it,” she said. “And the, you know, I just remember doing the junket. You don’t really get an opportunity to see a lot of grown men cry. And it was really, that was the moment that I think that we all knew that it was going to be special to people.”
When Jack Nicholson revealed Crash as the Best Picture winner, he was observed mouthing “whoa” in apparent disbelief.
The 2004 film, featuring Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Thandiwe Newton, and Don Cheadle, has faced criticism for its heavy-handed approach to racial issues in Los Angeles.
Even Haggis, the film’s writer and director, admitted in 2015 that his work wasn’t “the best of the year,” stating: “You shouldn’t ask me what the best film of the year was because I wouldn’t be voting for Crash, only because I saw the artistry that was in the other films.”
The category’s other contenders included George Clooney‘s Good Night, and Good Luck – which recently debuted as a Broadway play – Capote with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Steven Spielberg‘s Munich.
Though Brokeback Mountain missed out on Best Picture, Lee secured the Best Director award. Speaking to IndieWire in 2024, the filmmaker suggested that bias among Academy voters at the time may have influenced the film’s loss.
He shared his memory of that pivotal moment: “I got my award, which was [second to] last to the big one, and I was walking off the stage, they called me down, and said, stay here. That’s your mark. Everybody assumes you will win, so stay at that mark.
“Right next to the stage was the curtain. The next was Best Picture. Stay here, just stay here. I saw Jack Nicholson, his profile, he opened the envelope, and I go, ‘Oh my god, oh my god.’ It took like 10 seconds before he announced, and then he went, Crash.”
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