Hollywood already brought plenty of drama to the big screen this year. But apparently, the 98th Academy Awards red carpet didn’t want to be left out.
There were feathers everywhere. There were gowns sparkly enough to make the paparazzi blind. And there was a particularly strange black veil that made viewers wonder whether the celebrity was on her way to a funeral
These were the worst-dressed stars on the 2026 Oscars red carpet, whose outfits were so hard that the internet couldn't stop roasting and judging hard.
#1 Chloé Zhao
Chloé Zhao’s Oscars 2026 outfit had viewers asking, “Is this a funeral service?”
Looking a little bit like she jumped out of a horror movie, the Hamnet director posed for the camera in a Gabriela Hearst gown.
The black ruffled gown had sweeping bell sleeves. And the look was topped off with a black veil, making one viewer ask, “Is she in mourning?”
“Is she mourning cus she knows she won’t win the Oscar?” asked another.
“Seriously? Is she going to the funeral of the Oscars?” one said, while another wrote, “No one is going to beat how horrible this is.”
Another wrote, “An outfit with a trash bag so we don't get lost, friend.”
“Gurl … you’re at the wrong award show for dressing up like that,” one said.
Many compared her to a witch, while others claimed she must be grieving the cancellation of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, which she was meant to direct.
“What potion or spell is she planning to conjure later?” one asked.
“She’s mourning the death of the Buffy reboot,” read one comment.
“Clearly…in mourning what @hulu did to the Buffy reboot,’ one speculated.
Another claimed, “She’s in mourning for Buffy.”
© Photo: Gilbert Flores/Getty Images
#2 Laura Lufési
Netizens took one look at Laura Lufési and guessed, “she just woke up.”
The actress, who was part of the Brazilian film O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent), wore a Misci-designed dress that was scored barely any points among fans.
“i just woke up too so i understand this,” one said.
Another wrote, “It’s falling apart! Missing a patch.”
“No, no no no … I don’t like it on Laura Lufési,” one commented online. “ … It almost feels like a craft project or a RuPaul’s drag race sewing challenge that you’re doing in one day.”
“This is awful!... Isn't there a dress code that says: FORMAL ATTIRE AND NO GETTING OUT OF THE POOL?” another wrote.
One said, “she looks like she’s wearing a sweet wrapper.”
“Big pass, 100% not Oscars material,” wrote another.
© Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
#3 Li Jun Li
Li Jun Li showed up ready to make a statement on the red carpet. But some people had a “please explain” kind of reaction to it.
The Sinners star wore a bright red Gaurav Gupta gown that featured the Indian designer’s signatural sculptural element on the bodice as well as its long, dramatic train.
“What dress is she wearing?” one asked.
“Wow!! I love it and I hate it at the same time,” said another.
“She's beautiful,” wrote another. “But I don't really like the dress.”
Another asked, “Was she high when she chose this?:
© Photo: Gilbert Flores/Getty Images
#4 Nicole Kidman
For her first Oscars appearance since her split with longtime husband Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman picked out a peachy pink Chanel outfit.
The dress was composed of a strapless peplum bodice and floor-length skirt, which had feathery embellishments and sequin detailing.
“So feathers are the theme this year?” one asked.
“Nicole is the good feather bird and Demi is the evil feather bird tonight,” said another, who also noticed the very many feathers floating around on the red carpet.
“We all agree that her stylist hates her, right?” one commented on Kidman’s dress.
“I just don’t understand why the dress, the background, and her skin are all the same color. She looks so good in black and jewel tones,” another chimed in.
“I love this dress, just not this color on her,” another seemingly agreed.
Others were happy to see her enjoy herself on the red carpet, saying: “Keith urban whoooo?”
“Looking better and happier on the red carpet than she’s looked in years,” wrote another.. See what a good divorce will do?”
© Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#5 Tania Fares
© Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#6 Teyana Taylor
Fans were expecting big, bold, and daring when Teyana Taylor showed up at the Oscars 2026. But many felt her Chanel gown didn’t have enough oomph.
She arrived on the red carpet with the condience of a Best Supporting Actress nominee, wearing a figure-hugging black gown with a sheer bodies and a sweeaping train. The layers of black featured white feathers that streamed down in a mermaid-style skirt.
“I like it BUT i expected more from her,” was one fan’s verdict, while another quipped, “It's ok not impressed.”
“I expected so much more from her, this is very underwhelming but she’s gorgeous,” said another.
“I like the look, but for Teyana at the Oscars I expected something a bit more dramatic or directional,” another wrote. “This feels more Vanity Fair after-party than main carpet.”
“It’s nice, would have loved to see something more jaw dropping,” wrote another. “In addition, the necklace is too busy for this dress. Wishing her good luck on bringing home the gold!”
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#7 Auli'i Cravalho
Auli’i Cravalho brought a whole lot of drama on the red carpet, wearing an Antonio Marras design.
The Moana star wore an ivory ball gown that had a voluminous tulle skirt. But most viewers could not look past the oversized rosette detailing at the bust.
“Yeah I don't like it,” one simply said.
“Looks like a big sad face,” one said, while another wrote, “I feel like her dress is going to start singing a sad show tune.”
“She’s young and beautiful she deserves a better dress,” One said.
“This is the third dress I've seen that looks very bridal-inspired,” another wrote. “Bows and feathers also seem to be in style tonight.”
“The bodice looks like a ram's head,” one said.
Another wrote, “the bodice just distracts from it all.”
“It reminds me of a toilet roll cover Barbie and dress my nan used to have,” said one critic.
“She is gorgeous,” said one fan. “I like the waist down of the dress but hate that top.”
© Photo: Frazer Harrison/WireImage
#8 Jihoon Kim
Everyone with a camera made sure to snap pictures of Jihoon Kim as she walked the red carpet.
The influencer made quite the entrance, wearing a body-hugging gown covered in shimmering crystals.
Her glitter-overload moment featured long sleeves and a train that swept the red carpet. But the look had some people concerned about a very important element in her outfit: the undergarments.
“Who is this ?” one asked.
Another wrote, “Where’s the underwear?”
© Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#9 Lola Kirke
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#10 Misty Copeland
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#11 Alice Carvalho
© Photo: Frazer Harrison/WireImage
#12 Arden Cho
“What’s on her arms?” the internet asked when Arden Cho showed up to the 98th Academy Awards.
The actress gave some love to her Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters by wearing a sculpted fishtail gown designed by the Korean designer, Miss Sohee.
“She’s a Korean couture designer. It’s fully hand-embroidered,” Cho said during a red carpet interview.
“It has a lot of Korean culture and history in it,” she added. “And, you know, it was a nice nod to our movie.”
Not all viewers approved the olive green shawl-like sleeves that cascaded from her arms to the floor.
“I’m really wondering what those green puffy long hands are for??” one asked.
“Not the kind of dressing we expected,” a second commenter said, while a third wrote, “The green puffy hand isn’t really giving but she looks good.”
“The black dress would have been okay without the green puffy sleeves,” read a fourth comment.
© Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#13 Beca Michie
“Oscar’s Ready,” Beca Michie told her 921K Instagram followers ahead of the big show!
The model and influencer shared several clips of herself getting ready, saying she was “obseesed” with her dress.
“I had them tailor the dress so that I look super snatched on the carpet,” she said about her dress. “Look how snatched this makes me look! I am obsessed.”
As she held up her heels for the camera, she said: “These are the shoes that we’re wearing. They’re very tall.”
“Will I fall in front of a bunch of important people at the Oscars? Probably,” she added. “But that’s okay.”
Some netizens tsk-tsked at her outfit, calling it “a mess.”
Many felt there was too much going on and said, “Several ideas combined and a bad result.”
“That dress needed to pick a lane,” another agreed.
© Photo: Matei Horvath/Getty Images
#14 Alice Smith
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#15 Ginnifer Goodwin
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#16 Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour had a moment onstage as she presented the award for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hairstyling with The Devil Wears Prada star Anne Hathaway.
But her black-and-white Dior outfit had fans saying, “No one would recognize her without her 80s hairstyle
“Hollyweirdos,” one commented, while another suggested, “She needs Demi Moore’s stylist.”
Another harshly called her “the worst dressed woman.”
“We have seen enough she can stay home with her grandkids now,” one said.
“Ok I am officially old and do not know fashion. To me, this is ugly,” wrote another.
Another wrote, “She’s wearing two different dresses.”
© Photo: Frazer Harrison/WireImage
#17 Janet Yang
It was hard to miss Academy Award President Janet Yang’s bright pink spectacle on the red carpet.
Mixing what appeared to be a bouquet and stage curtains, the film producer’s dress had oversized flowers and a cape that dramatically flowed down from her shoulders.
But Yang seemed to be all about embracing oneself unapologetically, having told Vanity Fair last year, “You should be yourself. We’re a bunch of crazy artists—nobody wants a bureaucrat.”
© Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
#18 Julia Aks
© Photo: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images
#19 May Hong
May Hong aimed to make a statement, but some viewers shook their heads in disapproval after she appeared on the red carpet.
The actress gave life to the character of Mira in the animated blockbuster KPop Demon Hunters, whose co-director and writer Maggie Kang and producer Michelle Wong became the first people of South Korean descent to ever win an Oscar in the animated feature category.
However, Hong’s black gown, with its mermaid-style cut and skin-baring panels on the side, did not receive much applause.
“I don't like the dress,” one said.
“Am I the only who thinks that she's overrated?” another quipped.
“What’s this - doesn’t look good,” another said about her dress.
Another wrote, “she's not dressing properly...respectfully.”
© Photo: Savion Washington/Getty Images
#20 Jayme Lawson
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#21 Ava Duvernay
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#22 Renate Reinsve
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#23 Hannah Bilka
© Photo: Matei Horvath/Getty Images
#24 Kelly Ripa
While many people attend the Academy Awards hoping to take home an Oscar, Kelly Ripa may have solved the problem by dressing up like one.
The actress and talk show host appeared on the red carpet with her husband of 30 years, Mark Consuelos, by his side.
Ripa’s strapless golden gown shimmered with sequins, and she kept her blonde hair in a sophisticated updo.
Her husband happily posed next to her in a classic black tuxedo, but one social media user claimed, “Mark looks annoyed with her.”
Viewers felt Ripa’s dress was oddly structured, saying: “She is beautiful, but that dress looks like she just stepped into a bag.”
“That dress is a no,” one said, while another wrote, “Dress doesn’t suit her proportions.”
“Do these people eat?!?” one asked.
“All I see is Hunger Games,” another said. “People are staving, losing their homes, war, death. But hey, gotta show off that fashion.”
Another wrote, “She is beautiful but I don’t like the top of this dress.”
“New meaning to stiff as a board, light as a feather … but she does look gorg,” another said.
© Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images
#25 Taylor Paul
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#26 Alana Haim
Viewers didn’t think Alana Haim’s look landed quite right on the Oscars 2026 red carpet.
The singer-actress was dressed in a sleeveless floor-length gown featuring a deep plunging neckline. A dramatic knee-high slit was also part of the design.
While the dress seemed striking, it was easily miss-able in a sea of glamorous gowns and sharp tuxedos.
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#27 Gracie Abrams
Singer Gracie Abrams was the proud plus one of her boyfriend Paul Mescal, who starred in the film Hamnet that earned eight nominations at the 2026 Oscars.
The couple posed for PDA-filled pictures, wearing matchy outfits for their glamorous date night.
The singer’s outfit seemed a little unconvetional for the Oscars, as she wore a 2-piece navy dress, with a sequined skin-revealing bodice and floor-length skirt. A sheer scarf was also seen trailing behind her on the red carpet.
Social media users made their disapproval known, with one saying, “She looks mess [sic].”
“Very classless,” one commented as the couple posed together.
“This just reminded me to unblock Gracie so I can block her again,” one bluntly said, while another wrote, “Her hair looks so bad omg.”
“She’s gorgeous but why does she lowkey look like Timothee Chalamet???” another asked.
© Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
#28 Lesley Barber
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#29 Marissa Mcmahon
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#30 Rei Ami
Rei Ami and her KPop Demon Hunters co-stars looked like they coordinated their black and gold looks for the annual award show.
But they revealed during a joint red carpet interview that their matchy looks were a happy accident and not something they had poured a lot of planning into.
“I did not expect us to match so well,” EJAE told an interviewer.
Audrey Nuna chimed in, saying, “We always do this. It’s really freaky.”
Rei Ami was dressed in a custom Rahul Mishra minidress that was paired with a massively long shrug.
“She looks gorgeous but that dress is a 5. Maybe it’s because of the angle,” one said.
Another wrote, “She’s cute but not the dress.”
“That misses the mark for sure,” said another.
© Photo: Myung J. Chun/Getty Images
#31 Amy Madigan
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