He was dressed to the canines.
Messi the dog, the beloved border collie that stole the show in the best picture nominated movie “Anatomy of a Fall,” wore a spiffy bow tie at the 2024 Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
The famous pooch was seen perched in a seat at the star-studded ceremony with his tongue hanging out as he wagged his tail with utter delight.
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Messi’s dapper black bow tie complemented his shiny black-and-white fur coat.
The darling doggy even got a shout-out in host Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue.
“Even though he’s a dog, [Messi] may have given the performance of the year in ‘Anatomy of a Fall,'” Kimmel said.
“Messi has an overdose scene. If you’ve seen it, you know he’s incredible,” Kimmel continued, before joking, “Honestly, I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu.”
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Messi was reportedly not expected to attend the 2024 Oscars, with a source telling The Hollywood reporter that the French dog’s presence at the annual nominees luncheon in February was a “one-off.”
However, fans were elated to see that Messi made his Oscars debut and gave the sweet pup an online round of a-paws.
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“The dog has more class and dignity than Jimmy Kimmel is offering right now,” one person tweeted.
“BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR MESSITHE DOG #oscars,” A second fan tweeted.
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“DEVELOPING: Messi the dog has lost it and is currently being restrained by multiple security guards from mauling Jimmy Kimmel after the latter’s third joke about movie runtimes being too long,” another joked, with a fan adding, “Messi the dog is 100% the best dressed at the #Oscars.”
“Messi the dog, the academy snubbed you but you already a winner in our hearts,” another wrote.
Earlier in the evening, Messi was seen with Kimmel backstage while he rehearsed in his dressing room.
This isn’t the first time a furry friend has attended Hollywood’s biggest night.
Last year, Kimmel brought a raondon donkey on stage as a shout-out to Jenny the donkey from the 2022 film, “The Banshees of Inisherin.”