Featured Image Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Ron Davis/Getty Images
Since its first iteration in 1929, the Oscars has seen a lot of controversial moments.
From Ricky Gervais’s controversial jokes about Jeffrey Epstein and Leonardo DiCaprio’s love life, to the infamous moment when Will Smith cracked Chris Rock across the face – it’s certainly seen a lot.
But perhaps few moments compare to when Angelina Jolie and her brother, James Haven, made a bold declaration on the red carpet in 2000.
In fact, this year marks 24 years since the unforgettable Oscars moment took place – making the majority of us feel pretty old indeed.
A then-24-year-old Jolie had picked up an Oscar for her performance in Girl Interrupted in 2000 – something many felt was well deserved.
Once she took to the Academy Awards stage after picking up the award for Best Supporting Actress, Jolie mentioned her older brother Haven, then 26, who was with her at the glamorous ceremony.
In a fluster, Jolie said: “I’m in shock, and I’m so in love with my brother right now.
“He just held me and said he loved me, and I know he’s so happy for me. And, um, thank you for that.”
Outside, the siblings took their closeness to another level – right in front of the media.
While posing for pictures with her golden statue, Jolie turned and kissed Haven on the lips, cementing their place in tabloid history.
The smooch generated headlines around the world and popped up in interviews for years after.
When asked about the kiss a few months later, Jolie insisted that the peck was nothing more than ‘brotherly’ love.
At the time, Jolie told Entertainment Weekly: “My parents really loved that moment, and that’s what will always matter.”
Haven was also probed over the backstory to the infamous kiss.
Talking to the Daily Mail in 2007, he said: “I did not give Angie a French kiss. It was something simple and lovely. She was about to go off to Mexico to finish filming Original Sin with Antonio Banderas.
“I congratulated her on the Oscar win and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. It was snapped and became a big thing.”
The kiss is steeped in Oscars folklore. Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
The two siblings have remained close – with Haven reportedly looking after Jolie’s kids while she was working out with her divorce with Brad Pitt.
Jolie, who has since been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, is known for grand declarations of love.
When she was married to her second husband, Billy Bob Thornton, the two took to wearing vials of each other’s blood around their necks.
Speaking of the unusual arrangement in 2014, Thornton insisted that it didn’t seem so strange at the time.
The Bad Santa star said: “She thought it would be interesting and romantic if we took a little razorblade and sliced our fingers, smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter’s baby hair in one.
“Same thing. From that we were wearing quart jars of blood around our necks.
“And we were vampires and we lived in a dungeon.”
Topics: TV and Film, Angelina Jolie, Oscars, Celebrity
