Viewers baffled over ‘bizarre’ Promising Young Woman scene played at Oscars

Film picked up Best Original Screenplay at last night’s Academy Awards

Viewers were left bemused after seeing which “bizarre” scene from Promising Young Woman the Oscars organisers chose to showcase the film.

Emerald Fennell’s revenge thriller starring Carey Mulligan was nominated for five awards at yesterday night’s Oscars ceremony (25 April). The London-born writer-director took home Best Original Screenplay.

As is customary, a snippet of the film was shown to audiences during the broadcast. However, viewers were left baffled by the Promising Young Woman scene that was chosen.

In it, Mulligan’s character, Cassie, is serving Ryan (Bo Burnham) in a coffee shop. After Ryan misspeaks and accidentally insults Cassie, he tells her that she can spit in his coffee if she wants.

Cassie spits in the drink and Ryan asks her out on a date before sipping the coffee.

“Bo Burnham starred in a film nominated for Best Picture at the #Oscars and the clip they showed was him drinking spit lmao,” wrote journalist Patrick Muldowney.

“Yes NOMADLAND won Best Picture but I can’t stop thinking about them playing the spit scene from Promising Young Woman,” added another person. 

A third user said: “They had to show the Promising Young Woman spit scene in its entirety.”

In a play on the title of the 1978 revenge thriller I Spit on Your Grave, someone else wrote: “PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, or I SPIT ON YOUR COFFEE: the most daring, envelope-pushing film of 2014.”

“Congratulations to Nomadland. Congratulations to the spit scene from Promising Young Woman,” added another person.

Someone else said: “They know how to make crazy plot twists. Like that time they yelled La La Land and then the crew had to give the Oscar to Moonlight. Classic. But nothing beats the plot twist when they show a scene from Promising Young Woman and the scene was… Wait for it… THE SPIT SCENE.”

“Me: Promising Young Woman is great and you all should watch it. The Oscars: here’s the spit clip,” concurred another user.

Many people were confused as to why the Oscars organisers had chosen this scene over the thriller’s arguably more powerful moments.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of Promising Young Woman here.