Oscars Roasted Before It Begins Due To 'Champagne Carpet' Pivot

The 95th annual Academy Awards  tried something a bit different and viewers had trouble swallowing it.

For the first time in more than six decades, the red carpet  wasn’t red, but champagne-colored (supposedly). 

“I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed,” Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel joked Thursday at the unveiling ceremony, in what will probably be one of many references to last year’s infamous slap . 

The carpet pivot is among an array of big changes for this year’s ceremony, including an updated dress code and the addition of an Academy Award “crisis team.”

Oscars organizers said the color was supposed to evoke a beach at golden hour and was meant to be “soothing” and neutral so as not to clash with the orange tent erected over the area to protect attendees from the weather. 

According to Variety, the carpet was getting dirty already  long before the big names had arrived. And even before that, many viewers were not picking up the “sunset” vibe. (The word “beige” was getting thrown around a lot.) 

As for any celebrities who were dressed in champagne? You can only respond the way Oscar nominee Jamie Lee Curtis did:

See some of the other reactions below: