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A-List Stars Flip Out at Ultra-Unflattering Oscar Party Photos

“Nobody wants to be photographed like that!”

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker
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Updated
Jon Hamm and Jane Fonda at the 2026 Oscars Party hosted by Vanity Fair.

Getty Images

The Vanity Fair Oscar party is legendary for its exclusivity and glamour. Unfortunately, the 2026 guest list was missing a major VIP: good lighting.

In literal stark contrast to the flattering portraits of years past, celebrities found themselves glistening with perspiration under harsh, unfiltered lights, their stilettos awkwardly sinking into a dull gray carpet.

“It was just so unforgiving,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like being shot in extremely high-def. You saw a lot of excess pounds and wrinkles that used to be hidden. Nobody wants to be photographed like that!”

Kris Jenner attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026.

Reality star and famous momager Kris Jenner made Vanity Fair editor Mark Guiducci's guest list.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Many A-listers were horrified to see their photos from this year’s iconic Academy Awards afterparty, which marked new editor Mark Guiducci’s first time hosting the event.

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Shawn McCreesh (L) and Vanity Fair editor Mark Guiducci attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Shawn McCreesh (L) and Vanity Fair editor Mark Guiducci attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

The Condé Nast–owned publication’s annual celebration is famous for its striking and enviable photographs of invitees. The soft glow perfectly complements the looks its guests have spent hours on.

“When you posed for the paps at the VF gala, even the ugliest stars knew they’d come out all right. It was like magic!” one repeat partygoer told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve been shot at a million parties, but the setup for that party was always sublime.”

Timothee Chalamet (left) and Mia Goth pose for portraits on Vanity Fair's fuzzy slate floor.

Timothee Chalamet (left) and Mia Goth pose for portraits on Vanity Fair's fuzzy flooring.

Getty Images

Celebrities who snag an invite to Vanity Fair’s glitzy Oscar party are usually thrilled to post red-carpet shots. This year, they’re more likely to bury the evening’s photographic mementos in their backyards than to share them online.

Mia Goth attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026.

Mia Goth gazes past the camera outside the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 15, 2026.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

In the hands of Guiducci, the party was moved from the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art—and the legendary lighting did not appear to follow suit.

“It was so crazy-bright there, I felt like I was standing under klieg lights,” one attendee told the outlet of this year’s party.

Jeff Goldblum at the 2024 and 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars afterparties.

On the left, Jeff Goldblum and Emilie Livingston pose and smile at the 2024 Vanity Fair party; on the right, the pair appear stone-faced at the same event in 2026.

Getty Images

“It was just so unforgiving,” another said. “Like being shot in extremely high-def. You saw a lot of excess pounds and wrinkles that used to be hidden. Nobody wants to be photographed like that!”

Sofia Vergara attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

A washed-out Sofia Vergara, who typically looks luminous at red carpet events, squints toward a photographer outside Vanity Fair's Oscar Party on Sunday.

Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

“I genuinely feel bad for some of these women,” one person said. “One poor actress looked like a Diane Arbus character. She was on her phone looking at her pictures and shrieking at her publicist. I heard that she went home and cried herself to sleep. Nobody has heard from her since!”

As anyone who’s ever had a candid picture taken with flash knows, lighting significantly affects how a person appears in photos.

While soft front lighting minimizes undereye bags and makes the skin appear smoother, harsh overhead lighting does the opposite, accentuating every bump, blemish, pore, and wrinkle.

Heidi Klum at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026.

Supermodel Heidi Klum poses outside the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Chad Salvador/WWD via Getty Images

And if the bright lights accentuating every crevice and curve were not enough, attendees found themselves sweating in the heat generated by the bulbs.

“It was like a hundred degrees. I was literally having hot flashes,” one guest said.

Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Jeff Bezos pose outside the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

While Oscar winner Emma Stone did not meet Guiducci's "AAA-list" standard, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (right) and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, made the cut.

Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

“Mark only wanted the most AAA-list stars. He must have gone over that list a thousand times.”

Even the red carpet wasn’t safe from Guiducci’s updates.

Rather than a sleek, scarlet runway to strut, celebrities found themselves struggling to smile as they stood on a fuzzy, bathmat-like rug.

Adrien Brody attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026.

Adrien Brody waves to onlookers outside of LACMA for the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

The evening’s intense lighting is evident in portraits of those who made 2026’s guest list. But comparing them to past years makes the disparity glaringly clear.

Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, and Halle Berry at the 2020, 2023, and 2025 Vanity Fair Oscars Parties, respectively.

The glowing ghosts of VF parties past: Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, and Halle Berry at the 2020, 2023, and 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Parties, respectively.

Getty Images

Lest anyone think the changes lie in the celebrities themselves, take the portraits snapped of Nicole Kidman on the Academy Awards red carpet versus Vanity Fair’s gray one.

Nicole Kidman at the 2026 Academy Awards red carpet and at the 2026 Vanity Fair afterparty gray carpet.

Rosy-cheeked Nicole Kidman posed with confidence for photographers on the 2026 Academy Awards red carpet (right); later that evening, she attended the 2026 Vanity Fair afterparty, where she hid behind her hair.

Getty Images

One source told the Hollywood Reporter that, in an effort to recapture the magazine’s rapidly fading magic and exclusivity, Guiducci wanted an ultra-elite guest list.

“Mark only wanted the most AAA-list stars,” they said. “He must have gone over that list a thousand times.”

Even past Oscar winners didn’t make the cut: Emma Stone apparently didn’t make the cut.

Emma Stone smiles on the 2026 Oscars red carpet. She did not walk the Vanity Fair gray carpet.

Radiant Oscar nominee Emma Stone beams on the 2026 Oscars red carpet. She did not appear on the Vanity Fair gray rug.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

In a clip circulating online, the actress, who was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Bugonia, discussed her post-ceremony plans. She cited multiple celebrations, including the parties hosted by Universal Pictures and A24, but notably left out the Vanity Fair fête.

“It’s so weird,” she said. “Even if you’re nominated, it doesn’t mean you can go.“

Roosa Rahkonen
Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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