John Travolta pays moving tribute to Olivia Newton-John at the 2023 Oscars

UPGRADE DAY

Emotions ran high as John Travolta paid tribute to his late Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John at the Oscars on Sunday. 

The actor took the stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to present the In Memoriam sequence and pay tribute to the actors and technicians of the motion picture industry who have died over the past 12 months.

“In this profession, we have the rare luxury of being able to do what we love in life and sometimes to do it with people we love. Since tonight is a celebration of the work and accomplishments of our community over the past year, it is fitting that we celebrate the lives of those we have lost,” he began.

As he prepared to make a special reference to Olivia Newton-John, who died in August 2022 at the age of 73 from cancer, emotion took hold of him. “Through their immeasurable contributions, each of them has left an individual and indelible mark that we share and that informs us. They touched our hearts. They made us smile and became dear friends to whom we will always remain desperately devoted,” he said to the cheers of the audience.

The Australian actress was the first to appear at the screen as Lenny Kravitz began performing his song Calling All Angels on the piano. Ray Liotta, Louise Fletcher, Robbie Coltrane, Irene Cara, Nichelle Nichols, Burt Bacharach, Angela Lansbury, Gina Lollobrigida, James Caan, Raquel Welch and Kirstie Alley also appeared during the footage.

Some netizens have then criticized the Academy on Twitter for forgetting Anne Heche, Tom Sizemore and Charlbi Dean during his tribute.