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WASHINGTON (CNN) -

Hollywood stars turned the stage into a soapbox at the Oscars on Sunday night, advocating on issues ranging from NSA surveillance to equal pay; the Voting Rights Act to immigration reform.

Even before the stars hit the main event, the red carpet was tinged with political protest, with actress Reese Witherspoon taking to Instagram to call for entertainment reporters to ask questions with more depth than the usual, "Who are you wearing?" of female stars.

Gender equity got another star turn with perhaps the most well-received speech of the night, given by Patricia Arquette for her Best Supporting Actress win from "Boyhood." She called for women to be paid the same as men, a reference to the fact that Congress hasn't passed the Fair Pay Act, which remains divisive with Republicans.

"To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights," Arquette said, reading from prepared text. "It's our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America."

The audience went wild, and gifs of Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez's delighted responses blew up across social media. Pro-women's rights groups, including EMILY's List and the Center for American Progress, along with a handful of Democratic lawmakers, tweeted support.

".@pattyarquette THANK YOU for using your special moment to stand up for #equalpay for women! Congratulations on your Oscar!" tweeted Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Immigration reform got its moment on stage as well when Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won Best Director for "Birdman" and cracked a joke about the fact that last year's Best Director winner, Alfonso Cuaron, was also Mexican.

"Maybe next year the government will inflict immigration restrictions," he said. "Two Mexicans in a row. That's suspicious, I guess."

And the documentary exploring the story of government whistleblower Edward Snowden, "CitizenFour," nabbed an expected win for Best Documentary. The film's director, Laura Poitras, was joined on stage by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who also helped interview Snowden for the doc. Poitras praised Snowden and "all the other whistleblowers," and he, in return, congratulated her through a statement released by the ACLU.

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Equal pay for women, immigration reform take center stage at awards show