Oscars 2018: Best Actress awardee Frances McDormand's trophy stolen at after party; thief arrested later

Oscar-winner Frances McDormand had her statuette stolen at a post-show party by a man who allegedly snatched it from her table before he was arrested, witnesses and police said on 5 March. McDormand, 60, won best actress for her role as a rage-filled mother seeking justice for her murdered daughter in Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. [caption id=“attachment_4378013” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Frances McDormand wins the Best Actress Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri at the Oscars 2018. Reuters/Lucas Jackson[/caption]

“Security at the Governors Ball are looking for this guy, who grabbed Frances McDormand’s Oscar and ran out with it,” said New York Times writer Cara Buckley, who was at the event and live-tweeted the drama. She said a photographer working for celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck — who was providing the catering — stopped the man and seized the Oscar, before the thief disappeared back into the ball. The actress “had set it down and was chatting” when it disappeared, according to Buckley, who added that the actress had said to “let him go.” “We can confirm that an incident occurred at the Governor’s event. There was an arrest made of a Terry Bryant for grand theft,” a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department told AFP. She wasn’t able to give further details, except to confirm that the suspect had a ticket for the party. McDormand was seen “crying emotionally outside the Governors Awards ball after giving up the search for the statuette on the premises,” USA Today reported. It was the second time she had bagged the best actress statuette following her win for Fargo 21 years earlier. McDormand’s acceptance speech was one of the most memorable moments of a relatively uneventful telecast. She delivered a rallying cry for the #MeToo movement, which seeks to end harassment and gender double-standards, as she accepted her Oscar. Placing her statuette on the stage, an animated McDormand asked all women nominated across categories to stand up and be counted. “Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed,” McDormand said. “Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours — whichever suits you best — and we’ll tell you all about them,” she added. Also nominated in the best actress category were Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), Sally Hawkins (The Shape Of Water), Meryl Streep (The Post) and Margot Robbie (I, Tonya). McDormand’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.