Kathy Bates Tweets out Classic ‘Waterboy’ Response to Adam Sandler After His ‘Uncut Gems’ Snub

When the 2020 Oscar nominees were announced on Monday, Adam Sandler and Uncut Gems weren’t on the list, but Sandler appeared to take the news in stride, looking on a the bright side in a tweet supporting one of this year’s nominees.

“Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the Academy,” he wrote. “Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits. Congrats to all my friends who got nominated, especially Mama.” The tweet was accompanied with a photo of Kathy Bates in The Waterboy, the 1998 film that saw her play Sandler’s character’s mother. This year, Bates was nominated for an Oscar for Supporting Actress for her work in Richard Jewell.

“I love you my Bobby Boucher!!! You was robbed!!” Bates responded, referencing Sandler’s Waterboy character. “But Mama loves you!!! I learned a new urban slang word for you! You da GOAT!! Not the one we eat at home, Son.”

Sandler also received a message of support from Rob Schneider, who tweeted a photo of himself and Sandler.

“My pal, [Adam Sandler],” he wrote. “You don’t need an award to give you what you, my friend, have already won; the laughter from children young and old from all around the world. Mazel Tov.”

Prior to the nominations, Sandler had told Howard Stern on Stern’s radio show in December that if he did receive a nod, it would be a “funny big thing” and that he would be “there to win,” which would mean scrapping his usual casual attire for a Nike tuxedo. The comedian added that if he wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award for Uncut Gems, he would make a very different type of film for his next project.

“If I don’t get it, I’m going to f—ing come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay,” he said. “That’s how I get them.”

The notoriously media-shy Sandler had even done a bit of campaigning ahead of awards season, explaining that he felt the hard work put into the film warranted it.

“I did like an a—hole,” he said. “[Directors] The Safdie Brothers and everybody worked so hard on the movie that I didn’t want to do what I usually do and just go, ‘Eh, I can’t help you out there.’”

Uncut Gems, which arrived in theaters on Dec. 25, stars Sandler as Howard Ratner, a gambling addict who attempts to pay off his debts with a rare black opal, which ultimately triggers a chain of increasingly dangerous events.

Photo Credit: Getty / Archive Photos