Culture

Yuh-Jung Youn Spent Her Oscars Acceptance Speech Flirting With Brad Pitt And Honestly, Same

I don't think there's ever been a more relatable Oscar winner.

by Michelle Rennex  26 April 2021
Yuh-Jung Youn Brad Pitt

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Yuh-Jung Youn has not only made history as the first South Korean actor to win an Academy Award, but will now also go down in history for having the funniest Oscars speech to date.

Youn won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of feisty grandma Soon-ja in Minari, which was an exciting result for such a stacked category that also featured Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Olivia Colman (The Father), and Amanda Seyfried (Mank).

When presented the award by her crush Brad Pitt, 73-year-old Youn naturally started her speech by fan-girling over the actor.

“Mr Pitt, finally! Nice to meet you. It’s an honour to meet you. Where were you when we were filming in-person?” Yuh-Jung Youn started her speech, directing her question to Pitt, who is actually one of Minari’s executive producers.

Once she was done flirting with Brad Pitt, Yuh-Jung Youn then decided to savagely note how everyone always seem to pronounce her name incorrectly.

“As you know I’m from Korea, and actually my name is Yuh-Jung Youn and most of European people call me Yuh Youn and some of them call me Yuh Jung but tonight… you are all forgiven.”

“I cannot believe I am here. Ok, let me pull myself together,” Youn continued before thanking the academy members who voted for her, and her Minari family, in particular director Lee Isaac Chung. Yuh-Jung Youn also took the time to acknowledge those nominated alongside her in the most hilarious way.

“See, I don’t believe in competition. How can I win over Glenn Close? I’ve been watching her many performances. All the nominees, five nominees, we are the winners for different movies. We all play different roles. So we cannot compete with each other,” the actress started.

“Tonight I’m here, I think I had just a little bit of luck, I think, maybe. I’m luckier than you. And also maybe it’s American hospitality for the Korean actor? I’m not sure. But anyway, thank you so much.”

Yuh-Jung Youn also took the moment to thank her two children, who forced her to go out and work which eventually led to her Oscar win.

“I like to thank my two boys, who made me go out and work. This is the result because mummy worked so hard.”

Backstage after her win, Yuh-Jung Youn also allegedly clarified that while she was excited to meet Brad Pitt, she still kept her cool.

When asked what Pitt smelled like, Youn set the record straight: “I didn’t smell him, I’m not a dog.”

Now I don’t know about you, but I am forever obsessed with the icon that is Yuh-Jung Youn.