At this week’s Oscars, we saw stunning red carpet statements, big wins for the cast and crew of Parasite, 1917 and Ford v Ferrari, and a heartfelt ‘In Memoriam’ segment honouring those who passed away in 2019.
Quickly after the segment aired, film fans took to social media to express their disappointment that a number of notable actors were left out, including Luke Perry, who died in March 2019 after suffering from a stroke.
Listen to the GOAT team unpack Luke Perry’s absence from the Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ segment as well as other awards season tea below:
Luke Perry is perhaps best known for starring in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Riverdale, but prior to his death, he made a brief appearance in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, a film that was up for a 10 Oscar nominations, and won two of them.
One fan wrote on Twitter, “Excluding Luke Perry from the Oscars in Memoriam was disrespectful. He appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which was nominated for Best Picture. Quentin Tarantino personally selected Luke to be in his movie so why not mention him?”
Luke Perry wasn’t the only late celebrity left out of the Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ tribute. Fans also pointed out that 20-year-old Disney star Cameron Boyce was excluded, as well as horror movie icon Sid Haig who died in September at age 80, and Carol Burnett Show star Tim Conway who died in May at 85.
A spokesperson for the Academy responded to the exclusions, saying as per Buzzfeed, it receives “hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment.”
“An executive committee representing every brand considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time.”
While Perry, Boyce, Haig and Conway were apparently honoured on the Oscars website, it doesn’t make up for the fact that they’ve been excluded from the main event. It only makes matters worse that one of these icons appeared in a film that won big on the night. Perhaps it’s time the Academy reevaluate its process when it comes to honouring late stars.
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