Awards Season came to an end last weekend during the 2026 Oscars, and it was a big day for the horror genre. Sinners, which was was one of the best horror movies in recent memory, won big, and also had an incredible live performance of the song "I Lied To You". During that number the ballerina Misty Copeland appeared on pointe, and she recently broke her silence about participating in that iconic musical moment.
Sinners' Oscars performance was an epic version of "I Lied To You", featuring members of the cast in thrilling cameos. It allowed the audience to be transported to the Juke Joint of the film (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). Misty Copeland's cameo was thrilling, and during a chat with Variety she opened up about joining the celebration of Ryan Coogler's vampire flick. In her words:
To be a part of something like Sinners and that incredible cinematography in that scene in particular in the film. I was like ‘Yes! I’m going to somehow make this happen,’ even though I’m not dancing at the moment.
Back in December Copeland underwent hip replacement surgery to address various injuries from her decorated career as a ballerina, including bone spurs and cartilage loss. Despite this, she was happy to jump into the Sinners Oscars performance, which brought her back on pointe during a time when the power of ballet has been a hot button discussion.
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Midway through sinners, Sammie performs "I Lied To You", and the power of his music pierces the veil of time. Generations of music join the performance, including a ballerina who was inspired Copeland. So the fact that she got to step on the stage at the Academy Awards was a full circle moment. Later in the same interview she spoke about dancing again after her surgery, offering:
I put my pointe shoes on a couple of days ago… I did three steps so it was fine.
Misty Copeland's appearance at the Academy Awards come just weeks after Timothée Chalamet went viral for dunking on both the ballet and opera communities which he said "no one cares about." A ton of shade was thrown at Chalamet throughout the night, and Copeland performing on pointe just feet away from the Marty Supreme actor definitely turned heads. In the end he didn't win for Best Leading Actor, with that honor going to Sinners' Michael B. Jordan. Copeland gave the Black Panther actor his flowers, saying:
It was such an honor to be on the stage and share the stage with such incredible talent, and I’m so proud of Michael B. Jordan, who took home best actor.
The Oscars audience made it clear they favored Sinners, which took home a number of trophies but ultimately lost Best Picture to One Battle After Another. Still, it made history, especially given how the horror genre has historically been snubbed during Awards Season.
Sinners is streaming now on HBO Max, and is no doubt getting more views after taking home four Oscars (and being nominated for a record sixteen). We'll just have to wait and see what comes next from Ryan Coogler, including the highly anticipated third Black Panther movie.
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