Host Jimmy Kimmel took a shot of tequila before announcing the 2024 Oscar winners. Florence Pugh and more also took shots of tequila with Guillermo. Sure, Don Julio seems to have been the big sponsor at the Academy Awards this year, but this isn’t the first time tequila has been a major part of awards season. In fact, The Rock took a shot before he showed up and got an eyeful of John Cena’s (mostly) nude moment, and the whole thing is harkening back to a moment shared between Margot Robbie and America Ferrera as well.
Let’s unpack this whole thing. First of all, The Rock did some red carpet Oscars interviews, but he wasn't a giant figure this year. That is to say, he’s still a large human and larger-than-life, but he was not there as an awards contender. Instead he presented the award for Best International Film with Bad Bunny that ultimately went to Zone of Interest. So, he had a little bit of responsibility, but not enough to deter him from taking a shot of tequila (or more) beforehand.
The actor admitted as much on his Instagram recently as he prepped for the big night. He threw on a Dolce & Gabbana look and some accessories from Bulgari, not to mention his own Papatui skincare, then he pulled out some Teremana tequila from the freezer and took a shot, writing,
The very last thing that I always gotta do, it’s always very ceremonial, whatever the event is, I always gotta pour myself one shot of Teremana Anejo, my favorite. You can see the frost, right outta the freezer, here we go. This one is to the Oscars; this one is to our entire industry of Hollywood; I’m so proud. What an incredible night tonight. I’m so proud of all my friends, even my new friends I’m gonna meet tonight. But all these incredible performances, commitment, talent, mastery of craft . But probably the thing I love most is everyone’s passion… congratulations. That’s good.
Immediately afterward, and fully dressed, The Rock hopped into a car (he was not behind the wheel) and said, ‘let’s go Rock The Oscars.’ It’s exactly what happened as he and Bad Bunny had a memorable intro segment and another moment went viral when he and John Cena had a quick exchange after his big naked bit onstage.
The Rock Was Not The Only Tequila Partaker This Awards Season
Of course, Teremana is Dwayne Johnson’s own tequila brand, so it was product placement at its finest, but one thing I like about The Rock is he puts his money where his mouth is. He’s certainly on trend, as well, as tequila was all over awards shows this season.
Guillermo is known for doing tequila shots on the carpet, and at the 94th Academy Awards, he produced some cute shots to take with Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, not to mention other a-listers. The Rock's actually in this video taking a second shot of tequila with Guillermo, so he was doubly prepared to go onstage and present.
But my favorite moment comes when Florence Pugh downs her shot and exclaims, 'Woo!' afterward. Take a look.
Just a few weeks ago, America Ferrera was being interviewed about her various nominations for Barbie when she happened to drop a tidbit about tequila ahead of the Golden Globes, mentioning that she and Margot Robbie also took a tequila shot. She said she’d never done it before, but called the occasion “kind of nice.” As Robbie was the instigator, I’d be willing to bet that was not her first carpet tequila shot.
It’s definitely not her first Hollywood tequila shot, as she said previously that alcohol helped her work through her Wolf of Wall Street sex scene. She was nervous about the nudity, though I'd argue people were more interested in Margot Robbie's feet in that movie...
Elsewhere, Matthew McConaughey, who coincidentally has his own tequila line Pantalones, also said he’s seen a trend of snobbery amongst Hollywood elite who like tequila shots. Whether or not that's true, certainly all the tequila on the red carpet is proving the alcohol is popular. We'll have to wait and see if next year maintains the same trend.
