The lead-up to the 94th Academy Awards was filled with plenty of head-scratching moments, from the decision to not air eight categories live to Rachel Zegler needing an online push just to get invited as a presenter. One of the more bizarre moments came last week when the Academy announced a slate of Oscars presenters who are not from the film industry. The announcement was widely ridiculed online and will lead to more confusing comments during the broadcast.
On March 21, the Academy’s fifth slate of presenters included actors Stephanie Beatriz, Jennifer Garner, Tiffany Haddish, Bill Murray, and Elliot Page. H.E.R., who won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah, was also on the list. However, it also included surfer Kelly Slater, Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, and skateboarder Tony Hawk. They might be legends of their fields, but those fields are far from celluloid. DJ Khaled is also set to present, even though he doesn’t have any Oscar nominations on his resume.
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Thankfully, many of the other presenters taking the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood are involved with movies. Zegler, who starred in the Best Picture nominee West Side Story, will be there as a presenter after all. Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin were picked to present the eight Oscars that will be handed out during the hour before the live broadcast starts. Three-fourths of last year’s acting winners – Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Kaluuya, and Youn Yuh-jung – are also presenting tonight. (Frances McDormand is not among this year’s presenters, so it’s not known who will present Best Actor.)
‘DJ Khaled has not seen any of these movies’
The announced performers also raised some eyebrows. Four of the five Best Original Song nominees will be performed, while the Encanto hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” will be performed live for the first time even though it was not nominated. DJ D-Nice and The Samples will also take the stage. The in-house band includes Travis Barker and Sheila E.
Tony Hawk defends presenting at the Oscars
The backlash was so quick that Tony Hawk swiftly responded. He pointed out that he has starred in movies, including all four Jackass movies.
‘They’re just picking names out of a hat’
Scroll on to see more responses to the weird group of presenters.
‘An open mic lineup’
“Until I looked at the names, I thought this was an open mic lineup,” one person tweeted.
‘Is this a joke?’
“You’re all going to feel silly when DJ Khaled gives a moving five-minute speech about Lawrence of Arabia and the power of cinematography,” Vanity Fair journalist Katey Rich wrote.
‘Shouldn’t they all have some kind of connection… to the film industry?’
The 94th Academy Awards are produced by Will Packer with Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes as hosts. The Best Picture nominees are Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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