Adam Sandler Decided to Wear Shorts to the Oscars, but It Was for a Bit

The Oscars are usually an occasion when actors and other people involved with movie-making decide to dress their best. They put on a suit, get their hair done, or wear an elaborate gown. One person who notably bucked that trend this year, though, was Adam Sandler, who showed up to the ceremony in athletic shorts and a hoodie.

Following the discovery that Adam had dressed down for the occasion, many wanted to know why the actor had gone so casual. Here's what we know about his attire.

Adam Sandler is famous for wearing athletic shorts and a hoodie whenever he's not being asked to wear something more formal. In spite of that reputation, though, there were some who were surprised that the Sandman had decided to go so casual for a pretty important ceremony.

As it turns out, though, Adam's casual dress was part of the joke. Host Conan O'Brien called him out in the audience for dressing improperly, leading to a lengthy back and forth where Adam got to do his thing.

The bit climaxed when Adam walked out of the Dolby Theatre, but only after inviting those in attendance to join him for a pickup basketball game after the ceremony.

Conan said that, while he wanted to involve Adam in his opening monologue, the specific idea of having the comedian show up wearing the clothes he's most comfortable in came directly from Adam.

“We had an idea for Sandler,” Conan told Entertainment Tonight. “Adam and I are old friends, and I called him up. He liked the idea, and then he said, ‘I have another idea.’ And it involved him dressing in the way that he’s most comfortable — which of course was his idea because he doesn’t want to put on a tux. And then his idea was so great. I mean, that was all Adam. Adam’s the king.”

Adam's casual attire at the Oscars has earned some comparisons to the way that President Zelenskyy was dressed in the Oval Office during a recent White House visit. During that visit, a right-wing reporter asked Zelenskyy why he doesn't wear suits for these meetings.

While some people online made fun of Zelenskyy for his choice of ensemble, the difference in circumstances between Sandler and Zelenskyy is quite stark.

Zelenskyy wears war fatigues at all times, and has since the war started, because he is expressing solidarity with his people, who were invaded by Russia and are still at war. He is not wearing those clothes to be disrespectful, he is doing it because he is the leader of a nation under attack. Zelenskyy is far from the first war-time leader to take this approach, even on foreign trips.

Sandler's phony disrespect at the Oscars was just a joke. Zelenskyy's outfits are deadly serious, and there's a real, carefully thought out reason for him to wear them. There's no reason to believe that Sandler was making fun of Zelenskyy. All he was doing was wearing the outfit he wanted to to the Oscars.