Of the many things people took issue with during the Oscars was the In Memoriam segment. Some thought it was far too upbeat for the solemnity of the moment. Of course, there are inevitably those who are omitted for whatever reason. Others objected to the Academy deciding on a select few to be singled out. However, because of one such mention, we have a lovely story to tell so let’s focus on the positive.
Betty White, who passed away in December last year, was featured by the Academy because she was and remains a g*d damned treasure. Jamie Lee Curtis was enlisted to read the tribute to Betty. It was a surprise, however, when Jamie walked on stage holding a puppy in her arms, though. Most of us who knew of Betty’s enormous devotion to animals figured out why Jamie was holding a puppy, but I was pleased when she called for those who could to donate or adopt a rescue like Mac N Cheese, the lil’ guy in her arms. I got choked up because honestly, of all the tributes the Academy could have given her, promoting animal welfare would’ve been Betty’s favorite. And guess what? It worked. Before the night was over, Mac N Cheese became Mac N Cheese Travolta because John Travolta’s son Ben adopted him. Cue the tears.
Here’s some good news out of Oscars night: John Travolta’s 11-year-old son adopted the rescue dog Jamie Lee Curtis was snuggling during her Betty White tribute.
John, a presenter with his Pulp Fiction co-stars, shared on Instagram Monday that Ben adopted the pooch known as Mac N Cheese. The rescue had screen time during the controversial show because Curtis held the animal on stage during the in memoriam segment honoring animal rights activist White.
Ben, whose mom was the late Kelly Preston, was photographed holding the dog up to his cheek.
Curtis called the adoption a “MAGICAL ending to the story from last night,” in her own Instagram post.
Paw Works, the Camarillo, Calif., rescue also shared the news on social media, writing, “On a night of winners and losers, we think Mac N Cheese is the biggest winner of all!”
The Halloween star said she reconnected with Travolta — whom she co-starred with in the 1985 movie Perfect — at the Oscars. Shortly after she left the Dolby Theatre and was headed home, “someone texted me a photo of John holding little Mac N Cheese in the green room.”
“I thought it was so beautiful to see him with her and then today I found out that he and his son Ben have adopted beautiful little Mac N Cheese,” Lee continued. “It is an emotional end and a perfect tribute to Betty White.”
Obviously the most important part of this story is that Mac found a home. But the fact that the pup, who served as the symbol of the work done by an animal advocate, went to the home of a young boy who lost his mom – it’s a Hollywood ending for sure. Not to mention that Jamie and John are friends and they’d just reconnected as well. I just love all of this.
I am not going to pretend that the Oscars didn’t get so much wrong on Sunday. But they had a few moments in which they used their time and viewership correctly. The moment of silence for Ukraine and giving everyone a thoughtful statement to read during it was one. Using their platform to get a puppy adopted was another. Hopefully it wasn’t just one puppy and a few others find some homes as well. I don’t know Paw Works but looking over their website they educate and advocate for animals in addition to adopt so at first glance, I’m impressed. I’ll place a personal shoutout to DoVE Project who has the same goals of educating, advocating, and rescuing. (We also have a merch shop now.) If you can’t take on the responsibility of a pet yourself, you can always donate or sponsor locally. Or ‘adopt’ large game from a place like Game Rangers International.
And now that you’ve listened to me preach, you deserve pet pics:
Mac joins Crystal, who joined the family last year
And John’s pup Jinx
Photo credit: Instagram
Ben looks thrilled and so does Mac N Cheese! This is really sweet and the perfect way to honor Betty. Times are hard for most of us but if you can donate or volunteer. This made me so happy
WAIT KELLY PRESTON IS DEAD????
Couple years ago. I think she had breast CA.
Beautiful story, I have 4 rescue dogs and 2 cats, they fill my home with love and hair lol.
What a lovely antidote to the toxicity of the Oscars’ ending. That pup is adorable and clearly wee Ben’s new soul mate. So very happy for all concerned.
Yay!! Mac and cheeeeeze! Love it!
Oh I love it. Dog and boy are so adorable!
YAY!!! Congratulations to Ben and MacNCheese who is too adorable!!!!
I’ve mentioned before that our Merlin is a rescue from a terrible animal hoarding situation and then fortunately HE rescued US.
Life is not life to me without a cat.
Awwww Man-N-Cheese and his new family look adorable together! 😍
What a genuinely sweet story. I hope Ben and Mac&Cheese have many happy years together!
I didn’t realize Kelly Preston had passed.
Such a lovely tribute to Betty White, and a life changing day for Mac N Cheese. I (casually) know one of the founders of PawWorks and she is a tireless advocate for rescue animals all over CA. So much so that when they were getting started and were short on space, she housed many of the pets at her home, which she (and her husband) said was crazy. They do amazing work. Their Insta account is really cute and takes $ donations of any amount.
Well, this is adorable. Congratulations to Mac n Cheese on adopting the Travolta family!
May this beautiful boy and this incredibly adorable pup have a long and happy life together. The reward for rescuing these sweet souls is their never-ending, unconditional love.
I had no idea that Kelly and John had a lil boy this age. wow
Kelly Preston had this child in her late 40′ s, remember reading she was on hormone treatments to ovulate. She died of breast cancer 10 years later, with some talk at that time about the role of the hormone therapy in her cancer diagnosis.I followed this closely at the time as my daughter was taking hormone shots to prepare for IVF and was wondering about the long term effects.
Honking this! What a great story!