This is what's inside the unofficial and slightly controversial Oscar swag bag
Mel Gibson lost the Oscar for Best Director and Meryl Streep didn't win Best Actress, but they can at least cry into their swag bags, filled with thousands and thousands of dollars worth of random items.
This year's Oscars host, Jimmy Kimmel, and each of the nominees in the actor, actress, supporting actor and actress, and director categories received gift bags put together by Lash Fary. They were given so many products that they actually didn't come in bags — they were crammed into two large pieces of luggage. The most expensive retail item included was the $599 Oomi Intelligent Smart Home, the Los Angeles Times reports, which allows the A-listers to control their lights and security systems at home through an app. They also were gifted trips to Hawaii, Italy, Northern California, and the Golden Door spa; customizable Crayola crayons; an electric scooter; and a CPR kit.
None of this is sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and last year they sued Fary, alleging trademark infringement. Fary told the Times he makes it clear his gift bags, distributed by Distinctive Assets, are not affiliated with the Academy. He also revealed that only about 10 percent of nominees ever redeem the trip vouchers — in 2009, for example, Viola Davis, then nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, received a free African safari, Fary said, and she calls him every year for an extension. This is a marketing expense for the companies that participate, he said, as "we're not doing this as philanthropy. One of the questions I often get is, why are we gifting people who are rich and famous? Well, a gift doesn't have anything to do with a person's means or their bank account. And it's not exactly free, because the brands get to leverage the celebrities' names."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Can the UK avoid the Trump tariff bombshell?
Today's Big Question President says UK is 'way out of line' but it may still escape worst of US trade levies
By The Week UK Published
-
Beyoncé's record-breaking night at the Grammys
Talking Point Long-denied Album of the Year win rights a 'historic sense of grievance'
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: February 3, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published