The Joe Budden Podcast Episode 912 | Heaven Sent

TL;DR

Joe Budden and crew recap the 2025 Oscars, celebrating Michael B. Jordan's Best Actor win for Sinners and debating the night's standout moments.

Key Points

• 1.Joe Budden opens the episode sick from a birthday dinner. He celebrated his dad's 70th birthday at an Italian restaurant in Harlem, eating rigatoni with pork sausage and crab cake, which left him hugging a smart toilet all night.
• 2.The crew skipped watching the Oscars live. Joe missed it for a Knicks vs. Warriors game, then fast-forwarded through it afterward, skipping everything except Sinners, Frankenstein, and One Battle After Another.
• 3.Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners. The crew was emotional watching the speech, with Joe admitting he was tearing up at home during Jordan's off-the-dome acceptance speech.
• 4.Jordan's speech honored his acting predecessors. He specifically named Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith, and Halle Berry as inspirations who bet on him.
• 5.Joe admitted to past harsh criticism of Michael B. Jordan. He referenced old podcast takes where he said Jordan only had 'two sentences in Creed,' calling those some of his worst takes and celebrating Jordan's growth.
• 6.Jordan physically differentiated his twin characters in Sinners. He reportedly manipulated his jaw and eyebrows — locking one character's jaw to create dimples — so the twins appeared visibly distinct without heavy makeup.
• 7.Sinners won four awards despite 16 nominations. A Slate article calling it 'the biggest loser' of the night upset the crew, with Joe calling the framing 'tacky' and noting Variety also published early negative takes.
• 8.Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay for Sinners. The crew praised the ongoing creative partnership between Coogler and Jordan, calling their repeated collaborations 'hand to hand' excellence.
• 9.Sean Penn won Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another over Delroy Lindo. The crew debated whether Lindo deserved a lifetime achievement recognition, but agreed Penn's larger role in the film justified the win.
• 10.Conan O'Brien's hosting received a middling review. The crew called his performance 'blah' at best, noting the presenter bits were so bad they made him look good by comparison, with his intro and outro being the highlights.
• 11.The Sinners blues performance 30 minutes into the show was praised. The crew loved seeing blues on a big stage and said the young blues performer needs to drop a five-song EP immediately.
• 12.Tiana Joy's enthusiastic reactions drew online criticism. Some accused her of being fake or performative for screaming when others won, but the crew largely defended her, saying it was consistent with her known personality.
• 13.The crew debated whether PTA's headlock from Tiana was appropriate. Ish and others said it was understandable given months of filming together, but some felt the winner deserved an uninterrupted walk to the podium.
• 14.Joe called out the whitewashing of Black American male actors. He said Michael B. Jordan's win felt great partly because of frustration with British Black actors being cast in American roles, shouting out Damson Idris for F1.
• 15.Ava DuVernay publicly unveiled her long-term partner on the Oscars red carpet. The crew debated the right timeline for unveiling a significant other publicly, with Joe suggesting eight months minimum and starting at a smaller event than the Oscars.