Film fans expecting Chadwick Boseman to posthumously win Best Actor at the 2021 Oscars say the late actor was “snubbed” after the Oscar was awarded to Anthony Hopkins for The Father. Many expected Sunday’s presentation of the 93rd Academy Awards, which went against traditional order when it announced Nomadland as its Best Picture winner before the reveals of Best Actress and Best Actor, to end with last year’s Joker Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix presenting the award to first-time nominee Boseman. But in a move many are calling an upset, an absent Hopkins was awarded his second Oscar over nominees Gary Oldman (Mank), Steven Yeun (Minari), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), and Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
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“The #Oscars shifting Best Picture ahead of Best Actor just to snub Chadwick Boseman is why I’m losing faith in award shows,” reads a tweet from @JulianDelGaudio.
Reads a tweet from @RiseFallNickBck: “Are you seriously telling me the #Oscars rearranged traditional award presenting order just on the prospect Chadwick would posthumously win Best Actor and have a big celebration for him, only for Hopkins to win and not even be there for a speech so it just… ends??”
Twitter user @ungodlywests tweeted it “feels cruel” to “switch up the order of the awards to make your audience think you’re gonna give Chadwick some sort of tribute” only for the show to end with little fanfare. Boseman was the last actor highlighted in the ceremony’s annual In Memoriam segment.
Other users agreed. “They really used Chadwick as bait all to not even give him the Oscar,” tweeted @cinephilejen. “I’m so heated.” A tweet from user @fllenangels reads, “Them pushing best actor till the end just for Chadwick not to win was very fโed up and it feels like they exploited his death for views.”
@kylebuchanan struck a nerve with a viral tweet that has already amassed more than 10,000 likes, tweeting, “They build the entire show around a Chadwick Boseman ending and then Anthony Hopkins won and didn’t show up.” Here’s what other Oscars viewers are saying about the snub:
And the Oscar Goes to…
They build the entire show around a Chadwick Boseman ending and then Anthony Hopkins won and didn’t show up
โ Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) April 26, 2021
either way, re-organizing the show to make it end that was instead of best picture was not cool
โ gen๐ชด (@genevievecheng) April 26, 2021
Yeah, this just feels so wrong. How do you save the Best Actor category for last & then snub Chadwick Boseman… posthumously?!
โ ๐ (@JesTheMermaid) April 26, 2021
He had a truly phenomenal year. He will never win an Oscar now. #Oscars
“Exploited”
so from what i can gather the oscars producers pushed best actor to the end of the show assuming chadwick would win and it would be a nice moment, but then anthony hopkins won and he wasn’t even there so they just read the card and ended the show?
โ Law Boy, Esq. (@The_Law_Boy) April 26, 2021
(and, yes, i know the producers couldn’t have predicted who won, and, yes, hopkins was great too, but regardless they pushed best actor to the back because they knew people would wait for chadwick. they used his death for views either way)
โ holli (@fllenangeIs) April 26, 2021
“A Huge Upset”
That was a huge upset
โ Lissa Carlino (@EWallerCarlino) April 26, 2021
The #Oscars shifting Best Picture ahead of Best Actor just to snub Chadwick Boseman is why Iโm losing faith in award shows
โ Julian Del Gaudio (@JulianDelGaudio) April 26, 2021
“Bait”
I don’t even care about Chadwick losing, but the fact that the Academy used him a bait makes me mad. #Oscars
โ T’Challa Stan (@KhameekJ03) April 26, 2021
They really used Chadwick as bait all to not even give him the Oscar. I’m so heated..
โ jen๐ฌ (@cinephilejen) April 26, 2021
Snubbed
Now why would they make best actor last just to snub Chadwick and the winner isn’t even there I’m spinning
โ Free Britney Activist (@flawedcrystals) April 26, 2021
i mean if weโre being honest, awards literally donโt mean anything and art is dead. HOWEVER itโs obvious that the academy capitalized on Chadwickโs death and used it for views. so to then snub him of the oscar win when itโs literally the LEAST you could do to honor him? shameful
โ sav ๐ซ (@jedileiasolo) April 26, 2021
“Worth More Than Any Award”
NO ACADEMY AWARD FOR CHADWICK BOSEMAN? I’M PISSED.
โ Denizcan James (@MrFilmkritik) April 26, 2021
REST IN PEACE, KING. YOUR MOVIES WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/tsv1h0tTF9
Chadwick Boseman may not have won a oscar this evening but he won our hearts and thatโs what really matters. hope youโre doing good up there Chad.#Oscars pic.twitter.com/bwkEa9UMs8
โ mรฅrti โ ceo of paul rudd ๐ฉ (@IR0NLANG) April 26, 2021
Awards or no awards, we continue to remember and celebrate all of Chadwickโs amazing performances. ๐
โ Black Panther 2 Updates (@WakandaUpdates) April 26, 2021
#Oscars pic.twitter.com/2A5goL184j
Chadwick Bosemanโs performance in BLACK PANTHER will forever be etched into movie history. It captivated and inspired so many people and thatโs worth more than any award.
โ Bam Smack Pow (@BamSmackPow) April 26, 2021
FOREVER OUR KING. โค๏ธ #Oscars #Oscars2021 pic.twitter.com/lajEo5WcCa