This Is Why We Shouldn't Underestimate The Importance Of Andrew Garfield's Public Grief

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04-03-2025

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During Sunday night's Oscars, there was a touching moment that ended up being somewhat overlooked — most likely due to the fact that it didn't involve any of this year's winners. I am, of course, talking about when Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn took to the stage to present the awards for Best Animated Film and Short.
As soon as they reached the mic, Andrew turned to his co-presenter and said: 'Goldie, Goldie, Goldie, can I tell you something really quickly? There's a person who gave my mother, during her life, the most joy, the most comfort, and I feel very lucky because I get to thank that person from the bottom of my heart. That person is Goldie Hawn.'
Goldie, 79, was visibly surprised by this heartfelt comment, and got choked up as she thanked Andrew for his kind words, saying: 'Thank you, sweetie, that really touches me.'
'I can feel her smiling at us at this moment,' Andrew went on. 'You've given us movies full of joy, you've lifted our spirits, and you've made us feel that all is right with the world over and over and over again.'
And this sweet moment is far from the first time that Andrew has publicly honored his mom, Lynn Garfield, who tragically died from pancreatic cancer in 2019. Last year, the British actor went viral when he opened up about his grief in a video with Elmo from Sesame Street. In the emotional clip, he tells Elmo: 'I'm just thinking about my mom today. She passed away not too long ago, and I miss her a lot.'
In December, Andrew opened up again in an interview with Sky News, revealing that he bakes his mom's 'incredible' chocolate chip cookie recipe every year on her birthday and the anniversary of her death. He shared: 'I will bake them, and we will all eat them, but I'll leave a few out for her somewhere, you know, like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus at Christmas or something."
'I have her perfume in my house, that my mom used to wear when I was a kid. I have it, like, in a very special place. I'll just like [smell it], when I need it,' he continued. "It's like in the missing and the longing, you actually get closer to the person. It's a weird thing. As we reach out in grief, we actually feel much closer to the person, so it's this weird conundrum."
Andrew had spoken about his grief for his mom many times before last year, too. He previously told Variety that he learned of her cancer diagnosis just before he went to North Carolina to shoot The Eyes of Tammy Faye in 2019, and that he only honored this work commitment after his mom encouraged him to go and promised to let him know when he needed to come home and say goodbye, which he was able to do.
Speaking to GQ, Andrew added that there was 'nothing left unsaid' between them, sharing: 'We had all the quality time we could possibly have while she was here. And those last two weeks I got to be with her were probably the most profound two weeks of my life.'
Then, in 2021, he made a pretty poignant remark during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying: 'I hope this grief stays with me because it's all the unexpressed love that I didn't get to tell her.'
Andrew echoed this sentiment in a 2022 interview with Channel 4, where he said: 'It's so strange because it feels very unique when it is happening, it feels like: 'Oh my God, I'm the only person that's ever lost their mother,' because it does feel so lonely and precise. It feels just like a precise agony, and for a period of time, I didn't want to, and I wasn't able to, do anything. I was kind of wasted, and the world didn't make sense, and it still doesn't because I miss her greatly, and I hope it never makes sense because I always want to miss her.'
In short, Andrew has been keeping his mom's memory alive for almost six years now, and the way that he hasn't stopped publicly speaking about her and acknowledging the lasting impact of losing a loved one has struck a chord with many. In fact, following his comments to Goldie at the Oscars, some came forward to say that Andrew's ongoing public grief has helped them through their own bereavements.
Discussing the moment on a Reddit forum, one person wrote: 'I think it's really beautiful how he publicly grieves his mother.'
'I also think it's really beautiful, in a way, that he still does it?' somebody else replied. 'She passed away in 2019, so some people may be like 'get over it already, move on.' But he seems really comfortable (idk if that's the right word) that her absence and loss is something he will always live with, and there isn't a set timeline for what it looks like to grieve someone. It's not like 'hey, you get three weeks for a grandma, six months for a father, maybe a full year for a mom you were close to.' Even though society kind of seems built around that idea? I don't know if that makes sense, but it is nice to me, a person who sobbed uncontrollably the other day because I miss my grandpa who died in 2007.'
'I lost my dad six months ago and I have cried every time Andrew Garfield has popped up on my feed since,' another commented.
One more shared: 'Andrew's public grieving and discussing grief in the wake of his mother has definitely helped me grieve mine. ❤️'
'I love how Andrew continues to keep his mother's memory alive after her passing. I hope if I ever have kids they'd feel the same way about me,' somebody else commented, while one more observed: 'Goldie looked genuinely so touched!! How sweet of him to honor her and his mother.'