Awards season continues its strong comeback as the Critics Choice Awards dominated Twitter for the week of March 7 to 14. The Sunday night show, which was originally supposed to air in January, but was delayed amid the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant, earned nearly 1.5 million engagements on Variety’s Trending TV chart during its three-hour broadcast on The CW and TBS.
The show was co-hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byers, and marked the continued return to in-person award shows following the Feb. 27 SAG Awards. (That broadcast topped Variety’s Trending TV chart two weeks in a row and landed in the 10th spot in this week’s roundup, proving viewers have missed chatting about red carpets and in-person awards.)
During the simultaneous CCA ceremonies in London and Los Angeles, there were several key moments that resonated with users, including a powerful speech from Halle Berry while accepting the SeeHer award, which brought Lady Gaga to tears. A self-deprecating speech from Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Billy Crystal was also a much-shared moment.
“Ted Lasso” and “Power of the Dog” walked away the night’s big winners, but best director winner Jane Campion stirred controversy during her speech in which she unexpectedly addressed Venus and Serena Williams, who were there to support “King Richard.”
“Venus and Serena, you’re such marvels,” she said. “However, you don’t play against the guys, like I have to.”
Critic’s Choice: The winner is Jane Campion!
Jane: Thank you. Now, let me attack Black women minding their own damn business.
— Sasha🇺🇦 (@SashaBeauIoux) March 14, 2022
That Jane Campion whiplash is a perfect distillation of white feminism.
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) March 14, 2022
Jane Campion, daughter of famous New Zealand theatre director Richard Campion & actress Edith Campion MBE, explains the challenges of being a white woman from an established family to Venus and Serena Williams. https://t.co/7IhXlrNIBw
— Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) March 14, 2022
“Spencer” star Kristen Stewart making her red carpet debut with fiancée Dylan Meyer, Will Smith extending his winning streak for best actor with “King Richard,” Selena Gomez’s CCA debut, and “Belfast” star Jude Hill’s adorable acceptance speech for best young actor were just some of the other moments that catapulted show engagement across the board.
Selena Gomez for the #CriticsChoiceAwards pic.twitter.com/pne79LsRbJ
— Selena Gomez Source (@GomezSource) March 13, 2022
Overall, the CCAs were this week’s clear Trending winner, with runner-up “Moon Knight” at Disney Plus only pulling in an eighth of their overall tweets, with 165,000 engagements. Still, viewers chatted up the anticipated March 30 debut as Marvel Studios continued pushing artistic “phase” posters online and the show dropped a new featurette, bolstering the series up four spots from No. 6 on last week’s list.
The many phases of Marvel Studios’ #MoonKnight, an Original series streaming March 30, only on @DisneyPlus. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/qy3vZrIyRf
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 10, 2022
Join Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and May Calamawy in a special look of Marvel Studios’ #MoonKnight, an Original series streaming March 30, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/dgBgq9M7Ch
— Moon Knight (@moonknight) March 10, 2022
Meanwhile Starz’s “Outlander” also climbed this week from fourth to third on the heels of a new episode on Sunday night that included a controversial birthing scene, and more steamy moments between leads Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe.
Welcome to the world Henri-Christian! #Outlander pic.twitter.com/0seAoST1aU
— Outlander (@Outlander_STARZ) March 14, 2022
Coming in fourth this week was “One Piece” at Hulu and Netflix, thanks to the release of a new chapter that solved a decades-old mystery. The official return/identity reveal of Joy Boy sparked plenty of buzz online and helped the manga series draw more than 81,000 engagements on Twitter following the release of a new episode on March 6.
Rounding out this week’s Top 5 was “The Kardashians” on Hulu, which earned plenty of engagements following an official first-look and premiere date announcement of April 14. However, an exclusive Variety interview with the family, who inked a nine-figure deal for the upcoming series, also went viral.
“I have the best advice for women in business,” Kim said in the interview. “Get your fucking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
The controversial comments drew reactions from followers and celebrities alike, including Jameela Jamil and David Cross, resulting in more than 75,000 engagements throughout the week.
I think if you grew up in Beverly Hills with super successful parents in what was simply a smaller mansion… nobody needs to hear your thoughts on success/work ethic. This same 24 hours in the day shit is a nightmare. 99.9% of the world grew up with a VERY different 24 hours. https://t.co/tvafFIyk92
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) March 9, 2022
No, I have the best advice, be born into a rich family, get a shit ton of plastic surgery, film and then release an orchestrated sex tape, parlay that planned noteriety into a “reality” show exploiting younger sisters and…viola! Easy peasy https://t.co/NysDvZyv5d
— david cross✍ (@davidcrosss) March 10, 2022
Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” which features a family inspired by the Kardashians, also earned a spot on this week’s list at No. 6. As Season 2’s March 25 debut date quickly approaches, virtual campaigns are pumping up fans who are sharing gifs, artwork and memes. A new trailer drop on March 9 also drummed up plenty of excitement.
With the Viscount announcing his marital intentions this season will the Ton see its most notorious rake turn a new leaf? pic.twitter.com/luvIyCHLxD
— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) March 12, 2022
How can one be expected to play by the rules when the only way to truly win is by breaking them? Bridgerton returns for Season 2 on March 25th only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/JVBcrPiefB
— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) March 9, 2022
Meanwhile, CBS’ “The Late Late Show With James Corden” cracked this week’s list at No. 7, thanks to a hyped up appearance by 5 Seconds of Summer; Netflix crime doc “Worst Roommate Ever” landed at No. 8; and the midseason return of “The Flash” came in at No. 9.