Amid outrage that actors Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce were left out of the In Memoriam tribute at the 2020 Oscars, the Academy has released a statement explaining the omissions. “The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment,” the statement read. “An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year. Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce are remembered in the Oscar.com gallery.”
While the inclusion, along with 161 other fallen members of the film industry, in the online gallery is touching, fans do not believe it’s enough. Luke didn’t make the Oscars telecast, despite starring in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, a film nominated for 10 awards that night. Luke passed away in March 2019 after a sudden stroke. He was only 52 years old. “Wait a minute? Let me see if I’m understanding this…the Oscars had a memoriam and somehow Luke Perry was excluded despite that he’s in one of the nominated films?!” one incredulous fan tweeted. “F**ked up that Luke Perry wasn’t included in that In Memoriam when he was literally in a Best Picture nominated film,” said another.
Cameron, who starred in the Grownups and Descendants movies, was just 22 years old when he died in his sleep in July 2019, after suffering an epileptic seizure. Though his resume may not have been as storied as some of the filmmakers honored by the Academy during the broadcast, his career was just beginning. “Cameron Boyce had such a huge impact into a lot of people’s lives including people in the film industry. just cause his career centered mostly around Disney didn’t make him any less of an actor. him being left out of the in memoriam just felt wrong,” a devastated fan tweeted.
Actors Tim Conway, Sid Haig, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Michael J. Pollard were also snubbed by the Academy. It’s a shame, because the In Memoriam was gorgeous. Billie Eilish sang a beautiful rendition of The Beatles‘ “Yesterday”, while her brother, Finneas, backed her up on piano. As Billie, decked out in black Chanel, sang, the faces of those we lost in 2019 and early 2020 flashed on the screen. That included Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in January 25, and Kirk Douglas, who died of natural causes at the age of 107 just days before the Oscars.