Awards / Awards Shows

Billy Crystal doesn't feel the LEAST BIT bad for Seth MacFarlane for all of the crap he took for his performance as Oscars host this year ... telling TMZ dealing with haters is simply part of the gig.

Crystal was leaving a birthday dinner at Spago this weekend (he'll be 65 on Thursday) ... when we asked if he thought the critics were being too hard on the "Family Guy" creator for all of the boob, race, and Kardashian jokes he made at the Oscars (some of which were hilarious BTW).

But Crystal -- considered the GREATEST awards show host of all-time -- shrugged it off like it was no big deal ... telling us, "Everyone gets a hard time who does a show."

Billy didn't just make a good point -- he also gave us a pretty solid up-top high five.

Rest easy, prudes ... and Kardashian family ... 'cause "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane says there's "no way" he'll return to the Academy Awards as a host.

MacFarlane's hosting performance has been the subject of some major media scrutiny ... by people who take the awards WAAYYY too seriously ... yet, ratings for the show were reportedly UP this year.

Still, when Seth was asked on Twitter if he would ever return as the host ... he tweeted back, "No way. Lotta fun to have done it, though."

Oh, and in case you forgot the joke he made about the K-Squad ... here's what he said while talking about Ben Affleck in "Argo":

"First time I saw him with all that dark facial hair, I thought 'My god, the Kardashians have finally made the jump to film.'"

C'mon ... that's funny stuff.

Ben Affleck shaved his beard hours after winning the Oscar for Best Picture ... TMZ has learned.

The beard must have been Ben's good luck charm, because he jettisoned it at the "Argo" after-party at Craig's restaurant ... in the hallway right outside the bathroom. As for why he shaved in the hallway ... it had a convenient plug.

We're told a bunch of people took a whack at the beard.

As for why Ben felt the beard was good luck ... we're told Ben had facial hair when he re-emerged as a major Hollywood player.

How long till eBay?

The family of "Selena" star Lupe Ontiveros is incredibly upset she was left out of last night's "In Memoriam" presentation at the Oscars ... despite appearing in dozens of major films over the past 30 years.

Ontiveros -- who passed away in July 2012 -- had roles in "Real Women Have Curves", "As Good as it Gets", and "The Goonies" ... but is best known for her role as Yolanda Saldívar, the woman who murdered Selena.

Ontiveros' son Elias tells TMZ ... the whole family gathered to watch the awards show -- and was "disappointed" Lupe wasn't given her proper due -- especially considering some lesser-known people were honored over his mom.

You'll recall, George Clooney did warn some artists might be left out when introducing the tribute, saying, "For for those friends who are on this list tonight, and many others who aren't, we thank you for the memories."

Other celebs snubbed along with Ontiveros -- Andy Griffith, director Gore Vidal, Sherman Hemsley, athlete-turned-actor Alex Karras, and Sylvia Kristel.

He basically MADE HER CAREER ... but Elisabetta Canalis feels no obligation to root for her ex-boyfriend George Clooney ... telling TMZ she was hoping he LOST at the Academy Awards.

Elisabetta was out partying in L.A. Saturday night -- when she dropped the truth bomb, revealing that she wasn't pulling for Clooney's "Argo" to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Instead, Elisabetta -- who dated Clooney for 2 years -- told us, "Tarantino ... I LOVE TARANTINO!"

Back when they split up in 2011, George and Elisabetta released a joint statement saying the split was "very difficult and very personal."

This is pretty shocking ... a rep for the Academy tells TMZ, Michelle Obama was in fact the ONLY person in the White House to view the contents of the Best Picture Oscar envelope last night.

TMZ broke the story ... it's practically inconceivable that any package -- even a high-profile Oscar envelope -- would reach the First Lady without being thoroughly vetted first.

But a rep for the Academy tells us, "First Lady Michelle Obama was the first and only person to open the Best Picture envelope. PwC [PricewaterhouseCoopers] accountants are the only individuals who have knowledge of the results prior to their live reveal on the Oscars."

As we reported, TMZ spoke to the Secret Service this morning ... and they said, "We're not gonna comment on that."

Nothing goes better with "Pi" than a big, fat juicy In-N-Out burger ... just ask Best Director winner Ang Lee.

The man behind "Life of Pi" scarfed the hell out of a burger after the award show last night ... statue in one hand, glorious food in the other.

Lee puts the Ang in Angus.

Add "business mogul" to her resume -- TMZ has learned, 9-year-old Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis was personally responsible for an EXPLOSION in the doggy bag market this AM ... after rocking her puppy purse on the red carpet.

A rep for Poochie & Co. tells TMZ, the stuffed Yorkie purse was specifically designed for Wallis -- the youngest ever Best Actress nominee for her role in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" -- and sales skyrocketed this morning after Wallis debuted the bag on the red carpet last night.

We're told Wallis has been wearing the company's puppy purses to various media events since January -- resulting in a steady double-digit growth for the company -- but this morning, the company saw an exponential upsurge in sales numbers.

The rep tells us, the Poochie & Co. office has been flooded with calls and emails since this morning ... even from outside the U.S. ... and the company can barely keep up with demand.

As for why they chose to give her a Yorkie for the Academy Awards -- the rep says it's because one of Wallis' dogs is a Yorkie ... so it just made sense.

Wallis also owns a German Shepherd, but the rep said German Shepherds aren't "cute for girls."

WE COMPLETELY DISAGREE. As proof, here's a cute picture of a German Shepherd puppy. Suck it, haters.

Just in case you didn't love Jennifer Lawrence enough already, here she is flipping off the media moments after winning her Oscar for Best Actress last night.

Fresh from falling down on the way to the stage at the most important moment of her career -- and then playing it off perfectly in her speech -- the gorgeous 22-year-old "Silver Linings Playbook" star jokingly flipped the bird in the press room at the Academy Awards.

Take that, Argo f**k yourself.

11:40 AM PT -- Sources connected to the party tell TMZ ... Kwanten was invited to the party as a guest of George Clooney and his GF Stacy Keibler ... and SHOULD have been on the list.

We're told party organizers are trying to find out how Kwanten's name was left off the list ... but it's clear the actor wasn't trying to crash the party uninvited.

TV stars get no respect on Oscar night ... just ask "True Blood" star Ryan Kwanten ... who was embarrassingly REJECTED at the door of a huge Academy Awards party ... and TMZ caught the whole thing on tape.

Kwanten -- sporting a fancy bow tie -- arrived to Craig's in Hollywood with a handler last night ... when they came face-to-face with the security team guarding the front door.

Kwanten and his buddy insisted they were personally invited by Craig himself ... but the bouncer wasn't buyin' it.

Kwanten's handler even whipped out his cell phone and got someone important on the phone to vouch for him ... but when he gave the phone to the bouncer, the security guy STILL wouldn't let him in.

Eventually, Kwanten and his buddy took the note and walked away ... but not before the handler asked the bouncer which company he worked for ... insinuating that heads would ROLL over the rejection.

Don't worry Ryan ... at least you're still pretty.

It's a good bet Michelle Obama was not the first person to open the envelope for Best Picture ... and she may not have been the second, third or fourth.

It is inconceivable an envelope from the outside world could end up in the White House, in the First Lady's hands, without a thorough, inside-and-out inspection.

The upshot ... Michelle may be First Lady, but she wasn't first to know "Argo" took home the big prize.

We did some digging to find out exactly who handled the goods. The First Lady's press office said they'd call around to find out the answer and get back to us, but so far that hasn't happened.

Ben Affleck could probably use a ladder to get out of that hole he dug himself into at the Oscars last night when he called out the imperfections in his marriage to Jennifer Garner during his "Argo" victory speech.

You could hear the nervous laughter from the crowd when Affleck -- who was racing through his speech -- said, "I want to thank my wife ... for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases."

We respect his honesty ... and Garner was smiling when the camera cut to her ... but how do you think the comment went over at home, behind closed doors?

When he wasn't taking up all of Ben Affleck's victory speech time -- "Argo" producer Grant Heslov says he managed to avoid THE GREAT TOILET DISASTER at the Oscars last night using a time-tested technique ... he held it.

Heslov -- along with his wife Lisa -- took his freshly scored Best Picture statue out to party at Craig's in Hollywood last night ... when we asked about the plumbing catastrophe at the Dolby Theatre.

Heslov told us he wasn't "personally" affected ... but he's one of the lucky ones.

As we first reported, the lobby was soaked in toilet water after a water pipe burst in one of the bathrooms.

So far, officials have not revealed the person who dropped the nasty toilet-bomb that destroyed the pipes ... but our money's on Anne Hathaway.

Someone reportedly unloaded in one of the bathrooms at the Oscars and flooded the lobby ... TMZ has learned.

We're told a water pipe burst inside the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, just before the opening curtain was pulled. The custodial staff handled the situation with vacuums.

No one on stage has mentioned it ... but it's apparently quite a thing.

L.A. City Fire did not know the nature of the leak, but there is one report from someone on scene that a toilet triggered it.

Even with Justin Bieber hair, Oscar winner Charlize Theron is always stunning.

Flawless.