Some stars say Vanity Fair’s Oscar party literally cast them in a bad light.
A-list attendees reportedly complained about “unusually bright” lighting and “unforgiving” photography after a high-profile Academy Awards soiree held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday.
“It felt like standing under the Krieg lights,” one guest told The Hollywood Reporter after the ultra-exclusive festival, which VF reorganized with a pared back guest list, reduced outside press and a new venue.
Another participant joked that under the bright lights, she looked like she was experiencing early menopause.
“It was like 100 degrees,” an anonymous guest told THR. “I was literally having hot flashes.”
Hollywood industry insiders noted that the annual event was known for its “sublime” red carpet lighting when it was traditionally held at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills.
One source, described by THR as a “longtime party goer,” noted that “meticulously orchestrated” and attractive lighting used to be “the secret to a successful Oscar party.”
“I’ve been photographed at millions of parties, and the party setup has always been sublime,” they told the outlet. “When I posed for the dads at the VF Gala, I knew that no matter how ugly the stars were, they would be okay. It was like magic.”
But officials noted that this year’s lighting “appeared to have been shot in very high resolution.”
“I could see a lot of extra weight and wrinkles that were previously hidden,” they shared. “No one wants to be photographed like that!”
The new light gray carpet at Sunday’s event seemed to make matters worse.
Another guest complained: “I feel really bad for some of the women.” “One poor actress looked like a Diane Arbus character. She was shrieking at her publicist looking at pictures of herself on her phone. I heard she went home and cried herself to sleep. I haven’t heard from her since!”
The photos were leaked on social media, and TikTok trolls mercilessly mocked the poor celebs.
THR further claimed that the morning after Hollywood’s biggest night, some stars chose to share photos taken during Guy O’Seary and Madonna’s star-studded party rather than the Vanity Fair photo.
One official said there were problems with VF’s move to LACMA. Plans to unveil the museum’s new David Geffen Gallery fell through due to lack of preparation, and the party was moved to a separate, less grand wing.
“Despite the problems, this is my first time here,” Guest told the outlet on Monday, before quipping, “If I get invited, I’ll go again next year, but I hope they don’t hire the lighting designer who did 405.”
The event’s frontman, Vanity Fair editor Mark Guiducci, was apparently stressed out by the lighting incident, but everything went well in the end, Vanity Fair officials said.
“For the first hour, everyone was worried that Mark was having a nervous breakdown,” she claimed, noting that Mark’s mood “visibly brightened” later in the evening when he was seen stripping off his green velvet tuxedo jacket to cuddle up to his boyfriend at a bar.
Page Six reached out to a representative for Condé Nast, the publisher of Vanity Fair.
