Real or Fake: Did Oscars Viewership Actually Plummet 58% After Ariana Grande’s Opening Performance?

Last night, March 2, was Hollywood’s biggest night, the Oscars. Per usual, the event celebrated the tradition of film and gave out awards to veterans and rookies. The celebratory four-hour event paid tribute to all the best films of the year, however, it seems the majority of viewers only tuned in to watch one thing. That one thing was Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “History of Oz” Wicked medley performance.

Grande and Erivo took the stage at the very beginning of the show, and Grande started things off by performing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” Subsequently, Erivo closed out the medley with her crescendo in “Defying Gravity,” and after that, it seems that the majority of the world also tuned out—or at least that’s the rumor being spread around social media. According to the X account, Ariana Data, the Oscars viewership dropped a whopping 58 percent following the two’s performance.

The author wrote in the post, “Viewership dropped 58% after the finale of Ariana Grande’s and Cynthia Erivo’s ‘History of Oz’ medley performance.” However, take this statistic with a grain of salt, as no major sources have vetted this information. Rather, it seems to be a culmination of fan reactions, as well as a narrative perpetuating Hulu’s streaming mishap.

Did Hulu Have Something to Do With The Oscars’ Rumored 58% Drop?

Many Oscar viewers were watching the awards show on Hulu. However, as the night came to a close, the streaming service’s broadcast of the show cut out right before the Best Actress and Best Picture Awards were given.

It is highly unlikely that there is any correlation between the 58% drop and the Hulu outage, as Erivo and Grande’s performance happened far before the technical mishap. Specifically, their performance happened approximately three hours before the last two awards were given.

That being so, the 58% drop in viewership seemingly exists merely as speculation. Furthermore, even if this were vetted as true, it is unlikely that Hulu’s mistake had anything to do with it. So, as of now, the “fact” is only a rumor and a grand assumption.

Aside from the hearsay and outrage, Wicked walked away with two Academy Awards.

Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/FilmMagic