4 min readMumbaiApr 25, 2026 11:00 AM IST
One of the most talked-about moments from this year’s Oscar Awards involved Priyanka Chopra and Javier Bardem, who appeared on stage together to present the award for Best International Feature Film. During the presentation, Javier drew attention when he used his time on stage to call for “Free Palestine”. His remarks received a huge applause from the audience, while Priyanka, standing beside him, appeared momentarily taken aback. The moment quickly went viral on social media, where she faced criticism over her reaction.
Body Language and Non-Verbal Clues
Media trainers to the celebrities, Janice Sequeira and Nupur Singh Riat, were recently asked how they would advise public figures to handle such situations. Speaking to Variety India, Sequeira pointed out that Priyanka may have been briefly distracted just before Javier began speaking. “At the outset, first let’s discuss that incident by itself, right? I think it is clear that there was also a moment where she was caught off guard because right before he started talking, there was someone in the audience who cheered for the two of them, or for her, and she waved at them. And the narrative starts from there, that it was an inappropriate reaction while someone was talking about something so serious.”
Riat then emphasised the importance of body language in high-profile appearances. “The number one thing, that’s a key element in our training modules as well, is body language. You can say so much; your body and your face can convey so much emotion without saying a single word. So if, as a team, you anticipate something like this coming up, it would be important to prepare what you should be silently endorsing or sidestepping.”
Be fully attentive
Sequeira added that media training often includes rehearsing such non-verbal cues. “We would actually have told our client: let’s prepare your non-verbal cues. Which means that if Javier Bardem is talking about the war, are you going to be nodding? Are you going to be slightly more composed and non-reactive? What are you going to be silently conveying? Those non-verbal cues would be rehearsed.” She further added, “Number two would be: from the time you are up on that stage, your mind should be focused only on getting through that two-to-three-minute interaction and nothing else. So getting caught off guard by waving, in the long run, that clip doesn’t look great, right?”
She also stressed that Priyanka was sharing the stage with a presenter known for serious and political commentary, and therefore needed to remain fully attentive. “One would be being present in every second, because this is not like other presenters who come, crack a joke, and leave. This was different, you were with a very serious co-presenter, who you knew might talk about something like this. So, being present in every second, knowing that everything is going to be analysed under a microscope. And number two, like she said, body language.”
What happened on stage
Before announcing the winner, Javier said, “No to war and free Palestine,” drawing loud applause from the audience. Priyanka stood beside him, smiling and nodding slightly, before continuing with the presentation. She described the nominated films as “visceral and engrossing,” adding that their stories resonate far beyond borders.
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Priyanka Chopra at the Oscars
Priyanka has previously appeared at the Oscars multiple times. In 2016, she presented the award for Best Film Editing to Margaret Sixel for Mad Max: Fury Road, sharing the stage with Liev Schreiber. She also attended the ceremony in 2017, and in 2021, she and Nick Jonas announced the Oscar nominations.
