The Oscars snubbed actors Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce during its 2020 “In Memoriam” segment on Sunday night. The montage, which highlights notable members within the film industry who have passed away over the past year, is an annual display featured at each Academy Awards event.
During the Oscars 2020 “In Memoriam” segment, Perry and Boyce — who both passed away suddenly and tragically in 2019 — were not highlighted, despite Perry having appeared in the film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which won two awards on Sunday evening.
The In Memoriam — which even included a recent notable death of someone outside the film industry, such as NBA star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash last month — was performed by teen pop singer Billie Eilish, who sang a cover of Yesterday by The Beatles.
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Perry, who rose to prominence in the entertainment industry by playing Dylan McKay on the popular TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, passed away at age 52 after suffering a massive stroke in March.
Boycem, who was perhaps best known for his roles in the action thriller Eagle Eye, the Disney Channel’s Descendants film franchise, and the TV show Jessie, passed away in July at the age of 20.
“It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron,” said a spokesperson. “He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated.”
It remains unclear why the Academy Awards omitted the actors from the 2020 In Memoriam, but social media users took to Twitter to make note of the apparent snub.
“Wait a minute? Let me see if I’m understanding this…the Oscars had a memoriam and somehow Luke Perry was excluded despite that he’s in one of the nominated films?!” tweeted one user.
“shame on the academy for not including luke perry in the ‘in memoriam’ tribute,” said another. “seeing as ‘once upon a time in hollywood’ was the last film he made before he passed AND it was up for best picture, I have no words other than I’m disappointed.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.