All eyes were on the star canine Messi from ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ during the 2024 Oscars, but it turns out that the dog might’ve not actually been at the ceremony.
All eyes were on the star canine Messi from Anatomy of a Fall during the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday (March 10), but it turns out that the dog might’ve not actually been at the awards ceremony.
The border collie appeared in several viral moments during the night, including when he seemed to be clapping for Robert Downey Jr.’s first-ever Oscar win for his role as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer.
Nevertheless, everything might not be as it seems.
Critic Chris Gardner from The Hollywood Reporter tweeted a behind-the-scenes video from the starry night showing a dog in a controlled audience in the Dolby Theatre pre-recording footage. He wrote in the caption, “Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall was not due to attend the #Oscars but there is a look-alike in front of a camera in the Dolby filing a segment with a small audience.”
Later in the evening, Gardner gave an update: “These cutaway shots of the dog are from this moment, fyi. The dog isn’t seated right now as far as I can see.”
Gardner later walked back his claim that the dog was a “lookalike” and said that Messi was in the building during the prerecorded segments.
