Oscars 2021 Viewers Stunned After Chadwick Boseman Wasn't Named 'Best Actor'

The 2021 Oscars closed out with the award for Best Actor, something that seemed like a lock for [...]

By Andrew Roberts

The 2021 Oscars closed out with the award for Best Actor, something that seemed like a lock for late actor Chadwick Boseman. It also seemed like the show had set the final award up as a tribute to the late Black Panther star. But then Joaquin Phoenix announced Anthony Hopkins as the winner for The Father, leading to the Internet's collective jaws to drop.

Boseman's turn in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom had been collecting awards across the season, acting as a tribute to the late actor who died shockingly due to cancer. So most were convinced that Boseman would easily walk away with the Oscar. That did not happen, leaving pretty much everybody stunned.

"Yeah the 'let's put Best Actor last so, obviously, we can celebrate the life of Chadwick Boseman' really backfired," writer Mike Ryan posted on Twitter. "Holy s— Anthony Hopkins beating the late Chadwick Boseman AND Riz Ahmed AND Steven Yeun for Best Actor is just some go home with your heart in your belly stuff. What is even happening," CNN columnist Jeff Yang added.

"The Oscars were so sure that Chadwick Boseman was going to win that they REARRANGED THE ENTIRE CEREMONY so his category could be last, and then they gave the award to Anthony Hopkins instead...the most chaotic and unhinged thing I've ever seen," a third person wrote, adding to the shock that closed out the otherwise fun show. Here are how some are reacting:

The Big Switch

Boseman's Legacy is Already Sealed

Is There Someone to Blame?

Shock and More Shock

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