--- title: This Is Why Jodie Foster Was Using Crutches at the Oscars description: Jodie Foster appeared onstage at the Oscars to present an award — and she did it all on crutches. Here's why she needed them for the night. canonical: https://time.com/5186639/jodie-foster-crutches-oscars/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-05T21:38:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:20.071Z og:title: Here's Why Jodie Foster Was Using Crutches at the Oscars og:description: No, it didn't actually have anything to do with Meryl Streep og:url: https://time.com/5186639/jodie-foster-crutches-oscars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13443cfa4293e96/698929bf929fad5beebefd47/jodie-foster-jlaw-oscars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4044 og:image:height: 2275 og:image:alt: 90th Annual Academy Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why Jodie Foster Was Using Crutches at the Oscars twitter:description: No, it didn't actually have anything to do with Meryl Streep twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb13443cfa4293e96/698929bf929fad5beebefd47/jodie-foster-jlaw-oscars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # No, It Wasn't Meryl Streep Pulling an _I, Tonya_. Here's Why Jodie Foster Was Using Crutches at the Oscars > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Awards season has been in full swing for nearly two months, all leading up to Sunday's 90th Academy Awards_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 5, 2018 9:38 PM UTC  Actors Jodie Foster (L) and Jennifer Lawrence speak onstage during the 90th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Actors Jodie Foster (L) and Jennifer Lawrence speak onstage during the 90th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Kevin Winter—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 5, 2018 9:38 PM UTC When Jodie Foster and [Jennifer Lawrence](http://time.com/5186002/jennifer-lawrence-emma-stone-oscars-2018/) appeared onstage at the [90th Annual Oscars](http://time.com/5186280/oscars-2018-ratings-low/) on Sunday night to present the award for [Best Actress](http://time.com/money/5185502/what-is-an-inclusion-rider-frances-mcdormand-oscars/), audiences were surprised to see that former Oscar winner Foster was using crutches to make her big entrance on the [glitzy,](http://time.com/5185003/oscars-stage-design/) bedazzled stage. Helpfully, Lawrence asked her what was up. “She _I, Tonya’ed me_,” Foster joked, referencing Meryl Streep, who was seated in the front row, and the Oscar-nominated movie that hinges on Nancy Kerrigan’s [infamous injury.](http://time.com/5045902/tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan-1994/) The two went on to lightly poke fun at Streep’s vaunted Hollywood status before getting down the business of awarding the honor — to Frances McDormand for her work in _Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri._ But of course the truth is that Streep had nothing to do with Foster’s need for crutches. Instead, Foster was injured after she took a fall while skiing earlier, as [_Entertainment Weekly_ confirmed](http://ew.com/awards/2018/03/05/oscars-jodie-foster-crutches/) with her publicist. (Perhaps she was a little _too_ inspired by Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn’s [Olympic runs](http://time.com/5127838/mikaela-shiffrin-2018-winter-olympics/)?) The Streep joke just made for much better onstage banter. In any case, props to Foster for handling her injury with humor and grace, even matching her blazer-and-pants combo with her sharp black-and-white crutches. Hopefully she’ll be back to hitting the slopes in no time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5186639/jodie-foster-crutches-oscars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5186639/jodie-foster-crutches-oscars/"},"headline":"No, It Wasn't Meryl Streep Pulling an I, Tonya. 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