Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph says that “the fastest way to an Oscar is on a pole.”
Ralph plays Barbara Howard in ABC’s mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. The fourth season of the beloved series premiered this past October and is currently airing, with the season finale scheduled to be released on April 16, 2025.
What did Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph say about winning an Oscar?
During the 97th Academy Awards — which were held on Sunday, March 2, 2025 — Ralph expressed some thoughts about the 2025 Oscar winners and what she believes is “the fastest way” to get an Oscar.
“Well, I was disappointed that Wicked didn’t get more, but I was absolutely excited for Paul Tazewell…I have told people over and over again, the fastest way to the Oscar is either on a pole or — I’m telling you,” she said in a video shared on Reddit. “Sex sells, baby. Sex sells.”
Tazewell made history on Sunday night for being the first Black man to win Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards. He won for his work on 2024’s Wicked.
“I’ve been designing costumes for over 35 years — that has been on Broadway and now it’s film,” he said, via AP News. “There was never a Black male designer who I saw that I could follow and see as an inspiration. But to realize now that it’s actually me.”
Best Picture, meanwhile, went to Sean Baker’s Anora, which is about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch and then gets mixed up in the family’s complicated affairs. Mikey Madison also won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva in the movie.
All episodes of Abbott Elementary are available to watch on Hulu. The first three seasons of the show can also be streamed on Max.
