Oscar Best Actress winner Frances McDormand's statuette briefly stolen

A man with a 'lengthy theft record' has been arrested after the awards ceremony on Sunday

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winner Frances McDormand had her statuette stolen at a post-show party by a man who allegedly snatched it from her table before he was arrested, police and witnesses said on Monday.

McDormand, 60, won Best Actress at Sunday's awards for her role as a rage-filled mother seeking justice for her murdered daughter in Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

90th Academy Awards - Oscars Show - Hollywood, California, U.S., 04/03/2018 - Frances McDormand wins the Best Actress Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

"Security at the Governors Ball are looking for this guy, who grabbed Frances McDormand's Oscar and ran out with it," said New York Times writer Cara Buckley, who was at the event and live-tweeted the drama.

Security at the Governors Ball are looking for this guy, who grabbed Frances McDormand’s Oscar and ran out with it. Wolfgang Puck’s photographer stopped him, got the Oscar back, and the guy disappeared back into the ball. Apparently Frances has said to let him go. #Oscars #Drama pic.twitter.com/5tlsx4Ulwt

— Cara Buckley (@caraNYT) March 5, 2018

She said a photographer working for celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck - who was providing the catering - stopped the man and seized the Oscar, before the thief disappeared back into the ball.

The Oscar winner had set it down and was chatting when it disappeared, according to Buckley, who added that McDormand had asked to "let him go."

Terry Bryant, accused of stealing Frances McDormand's best actress Oscar at the lavish Governor's Ball party, is seen in this still image from Reuters video in Hollywood, California, US, March 4, 2018. REUTERS

"We can confirm that an incident occurred at the Governor's event. There was an arrest made of a Terry Bryant for grand theft," a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department told AFP.



She wasn't able to give further details, except to confirm that the 47-year-old suspect had a ticket for the party.

Variety magazine reposted a Facebook Live video it said showed the suspect brandishing the golden statuette he says he won "for music" and joking, "Got this tonight! This is mine. We got it tonight, baby."

Bathong 😲

This guy, Terry Bryant, stole Best Actress winner Frances McDormand's Oscar trophy last night and used it to gain access to #Oscars parties.

He was arrested for felony grand theft after McDormond alerted the police of the theft & they tracked him down. pic.twitter.com/0fSkqRcsqk

— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) March 5, 2018

The man, dressed in a tuxedo with hair held back in hairpins, is seen in the 165-seconds of footage posted to the page of a Terry Bryant Djmatari kissing the trophy and allowing bystanders to touch it.

It was the second time McDormand had bagged the Best Actress statuette following her win for Fargo 21 years earlier, and her acceptance speech was a highlights of the evening.

In this file photo taken on March 4, 2018 actress Frances McDormand poses in the press room with the Oscar for best actress during the 90th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. PHOTO: AFP

McDormand, whose representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, delivered a rallying cry for the #MeToo movement against harassment and gender double-standards.



Placing her statuette on the stage, an animated McDormand asked all women nominated across categories to stand up and be counted.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.