Hugh Jackman is putting his foot down against a potential Oscars nomination for Ryan Reynolds in a hilarious way. In a video he posted to Twitter on the morning of Jan. 4, the 54-year-old actor and singer pleaded with the members of the Motion Picture Academy to not nominate the song “Good Afternoon” from Ryan’s latest holiday movie for AppleTV, Spirited, for the Original Song trophy at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. “It’s 2023 and I really really wanted to send out a positive message at the beginning of the year, but recent events have made that impossible,” Jackman began his video as he sat on a white chaise.
But don’t get me wrong … pic.twitter.com/8ymOYUOq9m
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) January 4, 2023
He went on to praise how “great” Spirited, a musical comedy retelling of Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol, is and even said he watched it with his entire family and “had a blast.” He specifically commended the performances by stars Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer, as well as the writers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who composed the music and lyrics for The Greatest Showman, in which Hugh starred. He then pivoted to speaking about their song “Good Afternoon,” which he called “brilliant.”
“However,” he continued, “I’ve just heard the Academy have shortlisted ‘Good Afternoon’ in the Best Song category. Now, Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the Best Song category would make the next year of my life insufferable. It would. I mean, I have to spend a year with him shooting Wolverine and Deadpool. Trust me, it would be impossible. It would be a problem.”
Making sure his concerns were crystal clear, he added, “So, just to recap: love Spirited, love Will, love Octavia, love the song ‘Good Afternoon’. But please, please, from the bottom of my heart, do not validate Ryan Reynolds in this way. Please.”
Ryan, 46, quickly noticed the comical jab and replied with a tweet of his own. “I think the deepfakes that sung and danced for Will and I would love to perform at the Oscars,” he wrote.
Disagree. I think the deepfakes that sung and danced for Will and I would love to perform at the Oscars. https://t.co/tjI8NwfdKc
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 4, 2023
Hugh is currently on his last leg of his run in Broadway’s The Music Man and then will reprise his role of Wolverine in Deadpool 3, which stars Ryan as the titular character. They announced the news in Sept. 2021 through Twitter, pleasantly surprising fans in the process.
Luckily, Hugh can get some of his animosity toward the father of three (with one on the way!) during the third installment of Deadpool, as he explained that Wolverine and Deadpool will not be getting along during an appearance on The Empire Film Podcast. “[Wolverine is] frustrated by him [and] wants to be a million miles away from him or wants to punch him in the head,” he explained. “Unfortunately, he can’t be a million miles away from him in this movie, so I’m probably going to punch him in the head a lot.”