Cate Blanchett wants award shows off TV: ‘Have a great party where people can just let go’-OxBig News Network

Cate Blanchett attends the “Black Bag” UK Special Screening at the Curzon Mayfair on March 11, 2025 in London, England.
| Photo Credit: GARETH CATTERMOLE

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett says she prefers Hollywood awards shows to remain off television.

During her appearance on the podcast Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Blanchett said award ceremonies, including the Academy Awards, should “go back to the day when it wasn’t televised”.

The conversation began when Blanchett, 55, highlighted how rare it is to find spaces that offer privacy these days.

“There are so few spaces that you can go now, where you are private. That’s what I loved about the late ’80s, going to all of the dance parties in Sydney for Mardi Gras. People were just there.

“They were so present, you know, they were just together, collectively, having a great time. It was non-aggressive. No one was being recorded. No one cared what anyone did,” said the actor, who won Oscars for her performances in The Aviator (2004) and Blue Jasmine (2013).

Rogers and Yang noted that privacy is harder in the TikTok era, with lip readers analysing celebrity moments at televised events. “But now it feels like that chasm between that kind of event, that ideal, is widening from the thing that’s very common now at, like, an awards show where you’ve got lip readers, you’re being photographed,” Yang said.

To this, a confused Blanchett asked him, “Lip readers?” The duo explained the trend, which sees TikTokers trying to guess what celebrities are saying to each other at awards shows.

“I know it’s blasphemy, (but) go back to the day when it wasn’t televised. Bring that back and just have a great party where people can just let go,” the actor said.

“I mean, the fashion is great, and all of that stuff. We’ll find out in the end who won or who didn’t win. But it would be so nice if that happened behind closed doors. Absolutely a very different evening,” she added.

Blanchett currently stars in Black Bag, a spy thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. The film also features Michael Fassbender, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Rege-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan.