Was Bob Dylan Really Supposed to Present at the Oscars? A Producer Sets the Record Straight

Mar. 15, 2025

Bob Dylan in Los Angeles in February 2015.Photo:Michael Kovac/WireImage

Michael Kovac/WireImage

Bob Dylan’s absence at the2025 Oscarswas a running joke — and that’s all it was.

Mills also clarified that the jokeRolling StonesfrontmanMick Jaggermade about Dylan, 83, suggesting someone younger (like 81-year-old spring chicken Jagger) was Jagger’s doing.

“But Mick was always the first choice. It was like, ‘the ask is out to Mick Jagger — he’ll never do it.’ And he did! This was his first time at the Oscars, if you can believe it.”

Mick Jagger at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 2, 2025.Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

The Hollywood Reporterpreviously reported that Dylan was invited to present and perform at the awards show and claimed that he declined the offer.

When Jagger presented the Oscar for Best Original Song, he took the stage saying what an honor it was to be at the Academy Awards. He continued, “As much as I love doing it, I wasn’t the first choice to give this award out.”

“The producers wanted Bob Dylan to do it, but Bob didn’t want to because he said ‘The best songs this year are obviously inA Complete Unknown. You should find somebody younger.’

“I said, ‘OK, I’m younger than Bob! I’ll do it!’ So here I am,” the “Gimme Shelter” singer joked.

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HostConan O’Brienalso cracked wise about Dylan. “Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly,” the comedian quipped.

The other nominees in the category were “Mi Camino," also fromEmilia Pérez,The Six Triple Eight’s “The Journey,“Sing Sing’s “Like a Bird” andElton John: Never Too Late’s “Never Too Late.”

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Conan O’Brien at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 2, 2025.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

A Complete Unknown, the Dylan biopic had been nominated for eight Oscars and was shut out from the March 2 awards show.

source: people.com