Sean Ono Lennon leads Oscars 2024 UK Mother’s Day shoutout to Yoko Ono

Sean Ono Lennon might not be able to hold his mom’s hand on Mother’s Day but he can get the entire audience at the Oscars to send her greetings.

On Sunday night’s 2024 Oscars, Lennon snagged an Oscar win for his work on Best Animated Short “War Is Over” and he used his time at the podium to shout out his mom, Yoko Ono. “My mother turned 91 this February and today is Mother’s Day in the U.K., so could everyone say Happy Mother’s Day, Yoko.”

The audience joined in, calling out, “Happy Mother’s Day, Yoko!”

Lennon is the son of Ono and Beatles founding member John Lennon, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. An accomplished musician in his own right, he’s also an actor and has composed several film scores.

“War Is Over” uses Lennon and Ono’s beloved holiday song, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” and it depicts a chess game between two soldiers on opposite sides of World War I as their moves are carried back and forth to each other by pigeon.

The Beatles won an Oscar for Best Original Score in 1971 for Let It Be, a documentary about the making of their final album and their rooftop concert (the same events were also chronicled in Get Back on Disney+). But none of the individual members have won an Oscar, making Lennon’s win a first for the beloved rock band.

See the complete winners list, updating live from the Oscars.

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