Everybody Can’t Stop Talking About Ballerina Misty Copeland And The Cast Of “Sinners” Performance At The 2026 Academy Awards
Ballerina Misty Copeland joined the cast and musicians from Sinners for a live Oscars performance of the film’s Best Original Song–nominated number “I Lied to You, ” a starring stage moment that drew strong reactions in the theatre and intense online discussion.
Misty Copeland’s Solo, Front-Row Reaction And Comeback
The Sinners segment at the ceremony featured a solo spotlight for Misty Copeland, with images from the event showing an actor in the front row as the dancer performed. Social posts noted fans’ emotional responses to seeing Copeland back on stage after a hip replacement, with some viewers saying they cried tears of joy as the number unfolded.
Earlier in the awards season discussion, Timothée Chalamet had said in an interview with Matthew McConaughey that he did not want to work in ballet or opera if those art forms were being kept alive despite waning interest. Speaking to CBS News, Misty Copeland had replied, “There’s a reason that the opera and ballet have been around over 400 years. And I think that when you have access, you have the opportunity to be a part of something, it can change your life. ” Those exchanges added context to the attention given to her appearance during the Oscars performance.
How the Oscars Rendition Of “I Lied to You” Played Out
For the live rendition of “I Lied to You, ” Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq played guitar and were joined onstage by a broad lineup that included blues legend Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Shaboozey, Eric Gales, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Misty Copeland. The staging recreated the film’s barn and juke joint scene, complete with string lights, dancers in period clothing and camera work that threaded through the crowd to mimic the movie’s dizzying dance-floor effect.
Ludwig Göransson co-wrote the song with Raphael Saadiq, and while “I Lied to You” was performed on the telecast, the Best Original Song award went to “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters. Göransson did take home the trophy for Best Original Score and dedicated the award to his father for introducing him to John Lee Hooker and gifting him his first guitar.
Sinners arrived at the ceremony with a record-breaking 16 nominations and left with four statuettes: Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Actor. The live performance and reactions to Misty Copeland’s appearance quickly became a major part of post-show conversation, with viewers and commentators sharing strong, personal responses to the moment.
The performance and the social reaction around it have become a prominent part of the Oscars coverage, underscoring how a single staged sequence can shape public discussion on awards night.
