And the Oscar goes to…
Anyone but the producers after a very questionable “In Memoriam” at the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. Like years past, amid the lavish festivities, the ceremony paused to honor fallen creatives, with Angela Bassett presenting the segment this time. Acknowledging the devastating amount of lives lost during the pandemic and at the hands of injustice, she said:
“In 2020, we were united by loss. As of April 25, 2021, there were recorded over 3 million souls lost around the world to COVID alone.”
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She continued:
“Considering the enormity of our collective loss, and the often incomprehensible times we’re living through, we wish to also acknowledge those precious lives lost to the violence of inequality, injustice, hatred, racism, and poverty. To all of those who left our lives too soon, we cherish the moments that we had the honor of having with you.”
It felt like the moment was hitting the right notes… until the clip rolled. ICYMI, ch-ch-check it out (below).
Unfortunately, the nearly five minute presentation felt anything like a proper tribute to the former performers. Viewers had a lot to say on the incredibly bizarre style of the glitzy slideshow that transitioned at a faster speed than usual and the odd, upbeat song that played along. Here are some of Twitter‘s best reactions:
“[Producer] Steven Soderbergh said ‘a lot of people died this year we’re doing the in memorial at 1.5x speed’”
“This year’s Oscars In Memorial played accidentally at podcast 1.5x speed”
“Uh, some of these are going by faster than the squished credits in an episode of LAW & ORDER on TNT”
“What an absolutely bizarre way to do the In Memoriam. You literally couldn’t even read a lot of these names before they were gone. Maybe we could have cut 30 seconds from trivia?”
“Rushing through the in memorial is bizarre. What on earth???”
“Man, even the In Memoiram was a huge tonal miss tonight. ‘3 million people died during a pandemic this year…so here’s a weirdly upbeat song while we click through the slides faster than usual.’”
And this hysterical I Love Lucy callback perfectly sums up the experience of watching the clip:
The director to the editors of the "In Memoriam" segment #Oscars pic.twitter.com/PZaUOM03LL
— Julia Ricci (@julsrich) April 26, 2021
LOLz!! Oh, and let’s not forget this whole thing was preceded by Glenn Close twerking to Da Butt! Talk about a tonal shift!
Going from Glenn Close doing da butt to the In Memoriam pic.twitter.com/FORAQzYE3Y
— Carrie Courogen (@carriecourogen) April 26, 2021
The #Oscars jumping from Glenn Close twerking to the In Memoriam pic.twitter.com/ltfuhJRDzK
— Daniel (@theshapeoffilms) April 26, 2021
Seriously, who planned this??
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Other viewers were simply disappointed that many beloved entertainers were excluded from the segment, including Naya Rivera, Arrested Development‘s Jessica Walter, and former Oscar nominee Adam Schlesinger. Taking matters in their own hands, fans took to social media to pay their respects.
#Oscars didn't, so I'm doing it.
IN MEMORIAM OF NAYA RIVERA. pic.twitter.com/qWDoezisFX
— celeste ミ☆ (@heyaspetsch) April 26, 2021
Me realizing the In Memoriam segment excluded both Jessica Walter and Adam Schlesinger pic.twitter.com/xA2zwqN969
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) April 26, 2021
Even Rachel Bloom, the creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, called out the Academy for not recognizing Schlesinger, who died of COVID-19 complications last April. She wrote:
Adam Schlesinger was nominated for an Oscar for writing "That Thing You Do!" in 1997. I don't know why he wasn't in the official In Memoriam segment tonight (especially because he wrote one of the greatest film songs of all time) so I'm honoring him here. #AdamSchlesinger
— Rachel Bloom (@Racheldoesstuff) April 26, 2021
While Walter and Schlesinger were recognized on the official In Memorial photo gallery (HERE), the Glee alum was not.
We get that there were far too many people to include in the televised event and that producers had to make difficult decisions over who gets screen time, but clearly the direction of this entire segment missed the mark! If viewers can’t even read the names of those being honored, what’s the point of the tribute?
Everyone remembered at the Oscars deserved an equal amount of time for those to acknowledge and grieve their loss… especially considering how devastating a year it has been and the lack of proper memorials for so many! And why exclude some high-profile actors whose careers have left such lasting legacies? It simply doesn’t make sense. Reactions, Perezcious readers??
[Image via WENN/Avalon/Sheri Determan & ABC/YouTube]
The post The Oscars Face Backlash For Bizarre 'In Memoriam' Segment & Not Including THESE Beloved Actors! appeared first on Perez Hilton.