This Nike ad about women getting called “crazy” and “irrational” was secretly the best part of the 2019 Oscars

The 2019 Oscars saw women—particularly women of color—win big in several categories. So it was fitting that a new Nike ad narrated by Serena Williams and aired during the show took the stereotypical trope of the “crazy woman” and turned it on its head. The brand hit hard with a message about “dramatic,” “delusional,” and “hysterical” women who have made history. It’s one of the most empowering things you’ll see today, and it was honestly one of the best parts of the entire show. 

“When we stand for something, we’re ‘unhinged,’” Williams says over a montage of female athletes showing emotion. “When we’re too good, there’s ‘something wrong with us.’ And if we get angry, we’re ‘hysterical,’ ‘irrational,’ or just being ‘crazy.’”

“So if they want to call you ‘crazy,’ fine,” Williams says. “Show them what crazy can do.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY

The Nike commercial, titled “Dream Crazier,” is currently #25 on YouTube’s trending page. Since it aired last night during the Oscars, it’s already been viewed over 3.5 million times.

The ad felt right at home during an awards show in which Ruth E. Carter won Best Costume Design for Black Panther, Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb took home the award for Best Animated Short for Bao, and Period. End of Sentence, a film about menstruation and its effects on girls’ education in developing nations, won for Best Short Documentary. All the women who took home awards last night showed us exactly what dreaming crazy can do.

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