John Travolta has revealed that the puppy held by Jamie Lee Curtis onstage at the Oscars during a tribute to Betty White has found a permanent home within his family.
On Sunday, Curtis paid tribute to White during the In Memoriam segment of the 94th annual Academy Awards, which saw the Halloween star appear on-stage with a puppy named Mac N Cheese in celebration of White’s dedication to animals.
Following the awards ceremony, Travolta revealed that his 11-year-old son Ben had adopted the dog.
“Ben adopted this dog from last night’s Oscar tribute to Betty White. Thank you @curtisleejamie & @pawworks,” the actor captioned an Instagram photo of himself, Ben and the puppy.
The gesture prompted praise from Travolta’s followers, who expressed their joy over the adoption. “Made my morning,” one person commented, while another said: “Omg how wonderful and sweet of you and your family!”
Curtis then reposted the photo to her own Instagram, where she described it as a “MAGICAL ending to the story from last night”.
The actor also went on to reflect on her friendship with Travolta, with Curtis revealing that she and the actor “reconnected” at the Oscars. “We starred together in the movie Perfect back in 1984,” she wrote, adding: “I had already left the Dolby theater last night after honouring Betty White and was on my way home when someone texted me a photo of John holding little Mac N Cheese in the green room before his presentation of the Best Actor Oscar.
“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 and are taking her home today.”
According to Curtis, the adoption was an “emotional end and a perfect tribute to Betty White,” with the actor then adding that Travolta’s decision to adopt the puppy with his son “shines a light and AMPLIFIES the message that heroes” such as White supported, that “rescuing animals and offering them shelter from the storm of life and a warm and loving home is one of life’s most important actions we humans can take!”
Curtis concluded the caption with the hashtag #AdoptDontShop.
During Curtis’s tribute to White at the Oscars, which saw her cuddling the puppy, she noted that the late star was a “woman who cared so much, not just for her two-legged friends, but for animals just like this,” before adding that the “greatest gift” fans could give to The Proposal star is by opening their “heart and home and adopt[ing] a rescue dog”.
“Thank you Betty. Thank you for being a friend to us all,” she added.
Earlier in the night, Curtis revealed that she’d also paid tribute to White through her choice of gown designer, as she explained that she’d decided to pick a dress by Stella McCartney because she and her fashion line also advocate for animal rights.