Oscars 2021: Why People Are Mad at the 'In Memoriam' Segment This Year

This year's Oscars "in memoriam" segment was a heartbreaking moment during this year's unique ceremony. Since it has been 14 months since the last Oscars, producers sadly had more celebrities to pay tribute to in a short period of time compared to previous segments. While viewers are usually angry about missing names, this year, many were stunned by how short the segment was. It also did not help that Chadwick Boseman, who some expected to win Best Actor and did not, never got a full tribute during the broadcast.

The 93rd Academy Awards did still mention Boseman, who died from colon cancer at age 43, in the brief segment. Boseman starred in two acclaimed movies in 2020, Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and George C. Wolfe's adaptation of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. His performance in Ma Rainey earned him an Oscar nomination, as well as a Golden Globe and SAG Award. Boseman is only the sixth actor ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar posthumously and could be the second overall, following Network's Peter Finch in 1977.

Many other beloved Oscar winners and nominees were featured in this year's segment. Sean Connery, who was the big screen's first James Bond and won an Oscar for his supporting role in The Untouchables, died in October 2020 at 90. Olivia de Havilland, who won Best Actress for To Each His Own and The Heiress, died in July 2020 at 104. Christopher Plummer, an Oscar-winner for Beginners, died in February at 91. Cloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show, died in January at 94.