Count the audience at the 2025 Oscars among those who took great satisfaction in seeing Mick Jagger onstage.
Especially since he wasn’t on the evening’s program!
Instead, the 81-year-old Rolling Stones frontman surprised the crowd with his appearance to present Best Original Song. Not, presumably, because he was a last-minute replacement for that other guy, but because some living legends are better left to provide unexpected delights.
With the strains of “Sympathy for the Devil” preceding him, Jagger was announced to great fanfare, the obviously jazzed crowd rising to their feet as he preened and peacocked accordingly. (Even Elton John gave husband David Furnish a wide-eyed OMG look as they joined in the appreciation.)
“You’re so kind, thank you so much,” Jagger said, hand to heart. “Thank you so much, everyone. Very kind of you, my goodness.”
Then it was back to the business of presenting. “I’m very honored to be invited to give this award for the Best Original Song tonight. As much as I love doing it, I wasn’t the first choice to give this award out. The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this.” (See the whole list of 2025 Oscar winners.)
Dylan was the absentee butt of a number of good-natured jokes since the biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as the revered but enigmatic artist, was nominated for eight Oscars.
“Bob didn’t want to do it,” Jagger continued, “because he said the best songs this year were obviously in the movie A Complete Unknown. Bob said, ‘You should find somebody younger.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m younger! I’m younger than Bob, I’ll do it.’ So here I am.”
And Jagger is, indeed, two years younger than Dylan.
He ended up presenting the honor to “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, written by Clement Ducol, Camille and the film’s director Jacques Audiard.
The song topped fellow Emilia Pérez contender “Mi Camino,” as well as “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight, “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing and “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late.
But the octogenarian icon didn’t call it a night after that. He may have enjoyed a cozy cup of tea at some point, but he ended up at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party with partner Melanie Hamrick. They share 8-year-old son Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger, the youngest of Jagger’s eight children.
The Rolling Stones were on a world tour as recently as last year, yet this marked a rare red carpet event for the Englishman in Los Angeles. And while he’s on this side of the pond, he’s been making the most of it, also attending Chanel and Charles Finch’s annual pre-Oscars dinner March 1 at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge.
See all the stars Jagger and Hamrick ended up partying with at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party:
Zoe Saldaña
In Saint Laurent.
Timothée Chalamet
In Tom Ford.
Lily-Rose Depp
In Chanel.
Sydney Sweeney
In Miu Miu.
Keke Palmer
In Versace.
Miley Cyrus
In Maison Margiela.
Lindsay Lohan
In Balenciaga.
Selena Gomez
In Armani Privé.
Halle Berry
In Georges Chakra and Jared Jewelers jewelry.
Camila Cabello
In Alexis Mabile with Revlon makeup and Hairtamin’s Peptide Dry Shampoo, working with celebrity hair stylist Rikke Gajda to achieve the flawless look.
Kendall Jenner
In Mugler.
Cynthia Erivo
In Vivienne Westwood.
Hunter Schafer
In 16Arlington.
Ana de Armas
In Louis Vuitton.
Mikey Madison
In Dior and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Demi Moore
In Gucci, Boucheron jewelry and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Kim Kardashian
In Balenciaga and Aprés Nail.
Sarah Paulson
In Marc Jacobs.
Hailey Bieber
In Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade
Gabrielle in Carolina Herrera and Tiffany & Co. jewelry. Dwyane in Prada. Both with Aprés Nail manicures.
Olivia Wilde
In Chloé.
Megan Thee Stallion
Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom
Katy in Miss Sohee. Orlando in Brioni and Porsche Design watch.
Lizzo
In Christian Siriano and Le Silla shoes.
Olivia Rodrigo
In Roberto Cavalli.
Kaia Gerber
In Valentino and Effy jewelry.
Rita Ora
In Prada and Tous jewelry.
Colman Domingo
In Dolce & Gabbana.
Jessica Alba
In Dolce & Gabbana and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Emma Chamberlain
In Jean Paul Gaultier and David Yurman jewelry.
