The star of the Oscar-nominated Moana was hit by a rogue flag as she performed a song from the hit movie during the awards ceremony.
Auli’i Cravalho, who plays the title role in the animated film, sung How Far I’ll Go which is shortlisted in the original song category.
The 16-year-old was joined by backing dancers with giant blue flags, one of which swiped the back of her head as she performed at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
@auliicravalho You're okay right? I know flags shouldn't hurt that much but I wanna make sure pic.twitter.com/JT2EMgP4dM
— Emma (@RaptorGirl56) February 27, 2017
She gave an obvious wince during the incident but continued with the song and was praised for ignoring the obvious distraction.Viewers on social media congratulated the Hawaiian-born star on a “beautiful performance despite being hit by a flag”.
AULI'I GOT HIT IN THE FACE AND STILL HELD HER NOTE WHILE I CANT EVEN KEEP UP WHILE SINGING ALONG TO HOW FAR I'LL GO #Oscars
— c. (@generousbees) February 27, 2017
Turns out Moana's biggest struggle was avoiding getting hit in the face with a giant flag. #oscars
— Ken Guidry (@Keng324) February 27, 2017
Beautiful performance by @auliicravalho even after getting smacked in the face with a flag #Oscars
— Winter (@morrifi) February 27, 2017
Smacked in the head with a flag and @auliicravalho STILL kills it. I give her a YAAS QUEEN!!
— Craig Woythaler (@splodey) February 27, 2017