Jafar Panahi stared blankly as “Marty Supreme” actor Kevin O’Leary showed up in a bonkers look for the Academy Awards red carpet.

Shark Tank star’s unhinged Oscars red carpet look elicits blank-stare reaction from prestige filmmaker

Jafar Panahi stared blankly as "Marty Supreme" actor Kevin O'Leary showed up in a bonkers look for the Academy Awards red carpet.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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March 15, 2026 7:52 p.m. ET

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Kevin O'Leary and Jafar Panahi at 2026 Oscars. Credit:

Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty; ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty

Academy Awards viewers (and attendees) have taken a bite out of *Shark Tank* star Kevin O'Leary's gaudy Oscars red carpet look... and, judging by one filmmaker's blank-stare reaction, it might not taste so sweet.

The wealthy investor, businessman, and *Marty Supreme* actor hit the red carpet at Sunday's ceremony while wearing a silver-accented robe, which he accessorized with a flashy necklace. The chain held a case with NBA cards inside, similar to the $19.5 million collection he wore to the Actor Awards earlier in March.

In video captured on the Oscars red carpet (below), O'Leary showed off the look — and his necklace — to photographers, while the camera panned over to show a blank-faced *It Was Just an Accident *director Jafar Panahi staring at the garish display from afar.

Kevin O'Leary's 2026 Oscars red carpet look.

Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty

The moment quickly went viral on social media, as many users chimed in to deride O'Leary's fashion.

"Jafar’s face watching this f---ing clown," one user wrote, while another added, "In which, we are all Jafar Panahi."

Ahead of the Oscars ceremony, Panahi — an Iranian filmmaker whose work sparked pushback from his home country's government — was sentenced to one year in prison in the region, over alleged propaganda.

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Elsewhere on the red carpet, O'Leary spoke to reporters about controversy surrounding his costar, Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet, who recently landed in hot water for making dismissive comments about performing arts like opera and ballet.

“He’s a really great guy,” O’Leary told *Variety* at the event, adding that he placed a bet on the results of the evening as well.

“I just put 1,000 bucks on Kalshi walking in here that he’s going to win, because I know the voting stops long before that controversy happened. The kid is a great kid. He took a bum rap on that. And by the way, gave a lot of promo to opera houses and ballet.”

Elsewhere at the 2026 Oscars, singer-songwriter Josh Groban addressed the controversy, telling the outlet, "We need the arts to remind us what our humanity is, who we are as human beings when everyone is trying to tell us how different we are and how angry we should be. We need these art forms to bring us together."

Watch Panahi stare at O'Leary's outfit on the Oscars red carpet in the video above.

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Source: “EW Academy”