Wait, was Messi the dog at the Oscars or not?

It was the triumphant narrative of the night. After the entire studio system turned against him, trying to close the doors on the industry’s biggest night, one performer nevertheless showed up and was embraced by all at the 2024 Oscars. We speak, of course, about Anatomy Of A Fall star Messi the dog. His appearance in the audience on Sunday night was a delight for Anatomy fans and canine lovers alike, but new video shared on Monday revealed the sinister truth: Messi wasn’t really among the actual star-studded audience at the live show.

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Last week, it was reported that the studios felt bringing Messi to the Oscars nominee lunch gave Justine Triet’s film an unfair advantage during the voting window (because everybody loved the dog so much). It’s unclear if this professional jealousy was meant to bar Messi from the Academy Awards, but a source from NEON nevertheless suggested that the Oscars luncheon was the only trip abroad scheduled for the Parisian pup. So, it was a surprise when Messi turned up in the audience, once as the punchline of a Jimmy Kimmel joke that he should replace Tim Allen in The Shaggy Dog and another time applauding Robert Downey Jr.’s Best Supporting Actor win. (He also faux-peed on Matt Damon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star at the end of the show.)

Ryan Gosling, for one, seemed delighted to see Messi in the audience, but his appearance was a bit of movie magic. A clip circulating on Twitter/X showed that the video was pre-recorded with a group of fake audience members around him. It’s not entirely a surprise, really; even the best dog actor—which, by all accounts, Messi seems to be!—might struggle to sit still and be a good boy during a three-hour awards show. Plus, dogs can’t really clap like that.

Was Messi in the country for the Oscars at all, or did he film his parts of the show when he was in the U.S? That much is uncertain. (The A.V. Club has reached out to NEON for comment.) What is certain, however, is that no matter where in the world Messi is, he’s beloved by all! Nice try to the big studios, but they can’t possibly suppress his star.