The 2020 Oscars took place last night, and the yearly “In Memoriam” segment left out a few stars who died in 2019, including Luke Perry. People watching the awards noticed the star’s absence from the video which honored several Hollywood notables who have died this year.
Highlighted during the annual Oscars segment included the more recent deaths of Kirk Douglas and Kobe Bryant, but Perry, who died in March 2019 after suffering a stroke, was not included despite having a role in the Best Picture nominated movie Once Upon a Time….in Hollywood.
People noticed and were not happy.
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?! pic.twitter.com/3nth2skJHp
— ericastwilight (@ericastwilight) February 10, 2020
shame on the academy for not including luke perry in the “in memoriam” tribute. 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.
— jen🤠 (@jenjkellerr) February 10, 2020
@theacademy Really? No Luke Perry included in the in memoriam tribute? Spare me that he was on TV…he was in the movie that was nominated for best picture…are you kidding me! Rude! #AcademyAwards pic.twitter.com/F7C9Eghmv8
— Katherine Yelen (@kyelen) February 10, 2020
The Beverly Hills 90201 star was hospitalized on February 27, 2019, and died five days later at only 52 years old. His rep announced his death in a statement at the time saying he was “surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancée Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends.”
Perry was honored during the in-memoriam tributes at both the 2019 Emmy Awards that took place in September last year and the 2020 SAG Awards last month, so his absence from the Oscars is surprising and did not go unnoticed by people watching the show live. While Perry is included in the Oscars In Memoriam gallery on the website, given one of his last performances was in the Best Picture nominated movie, it was a serious miss.
So fucking pissed that Cameron Boyce and Luke Perry weren’t included in the #Oscars2020 memoriam. pic.twitter.com/kiAjIrs0hn
— Peyton N. CHILLS IS OUT NOW!! (@Iowkeyherron) February 10, 2020
Perry wasn’t the only one missing from the segment, either. Cameron Boyce who is best known for his Disney roles on Jessie and the Descendants franchise, died in July after an epileptic seizure. He was only 20 years old, and he only made it on the Oscars online gallery as well.
These segments are likely a challenge to put together and someone is likely always going to feel snubbed, but these two missing felt particularly unkind given the impact their deaths had.