Oscars: Brad Pitt hilariously recoils from Janelle Monae's microphone in opening performance

'Brad's look of fear was priceless when she held the mic near his face'

Oscar viewers watched on in laughter as Brad Pitt recoiled from Janelle Monae as she handed him the microphone during her opening performance.

With no set presenter at the 92nd Academy Awards, Monae graced the stage to open this year’s ceremony with a performance of “Come Alive (War of the Roses)” alongside Billy Porter.

During the rendition, she made her way to the front row and placed the microphone in the face of stars including Margot Robbie, Cynthia Erivo and Tom Hanks.

At one stage, she spotted Pitt singing and, taking it as an indication that he wanted the microphone, handed it to him – but the actor, who later delivered an emotional speech after winning Best Supporting Actor, jokingly pulled away, looking uncomfortable.

Viewers reacted to the moment on social media.

South Korean black comedy Parasite was the evening’s biggest winner, making history by becoming the first ever foreign language film to win Best Picture.

Other winners at the 2020 ceremony included Laura Dern, who took home the prize for Best Supporting Actress.

As expected, Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor for Joker following which he criticised inequality and paid tribute to his brother River Phoenix, who died in 1993.

Meanwhile, Olivia Colman had the audience in stitches before presenting Phoenix with his award.

Find a full list of the 2020 Oscar winners here.