After one of the strangest and most controversial Oscar races in recent memory, a polarizing movie, warranting tons of strong opinions online, inevitably rose to top. The Sean Baker film Anora won five of its eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Actress for Mikey Madison.

It’s been a weird road to Oscars glory for the critically-lauded movie, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The comedy-drama, about a strip club dancer whose fairytale marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch suddenly goes haywire, generated early buzz but took a backseat for much of awards season, losing screenwriting and direction awards to films like Conclave and The Brutalist. The movie shockingly left the Golden Globes empty-handed.

While the film experienced a bit of a lop-sided awards season, it had a steady presence online as one of the most discoursed movies of the past year — second only to two-time Oscar winner Emilia Pérez. While the movie impressed most critics and clearly the Academy, Anora has been a lightning rod on film-interested corners of X, Letterboxd, and among sex workers and even the movie’s own army of stans.

First, there was the revelation from Madison that she didn’t use an intimacy coordinator for the film’s sex scenes after being given the option by Baker. It quickly raised

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