Luke Perry Wasn't Included In The Oscars In Memoriam Tribute, And The Internet Isn't Happy

Luke Perry in Riverdale

Parasite’s surprising and historic big win at last night’s Academy Awards, seems to have assuaged some of the disappointment surrounding the nomination snubs with the general sentiment coming out of the ceremony appearing to be pretty positive. However, there are some new snubs that people are upset about and they have nothing to do with who went home with statues. Actor Luke Perry wasn’t included in the Oscars In Memoriam tribute, and the internet isn’t happy. Take a look:

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Thanks to his time on shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and more recently Riverdale, Luke Perry has amassed a dedicated fanbase and that fanbase is not happy that the actor wasn't recognized in the In Memoriam segment performed by Billie Eilish. Some of them expressed their frustrations with words and colorful language and others couldn't find the words and merely shouted. This snub was even more noticeably since he appeared in the Oscar nominated movie for best picture Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

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Alongside the outpouring of anger and disappointment, many fans noted the strangeness of Luke Perry's omission in particular from the Oscars In Memoriam segment. Take a look:

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This is...an excellent point. In an already long televised ceremony, it is impossible to include every person who passed away that worked in the industry at some level in the Oscars In Memoriam segment. As such, every year people are left out, it's not fair or something to be happy about, but it's the reality of the situation.

However, Luke Perry wasn't retired nor had he faded from the public consciousness when he passed away following a stroke in March of last year. He was still starring on the TV show Riverdale and he actually had a small role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, one of the most nominated films of this year's Academy Awards. With that factor, such an omission is rather surprising, but alas. So how did it happen? There are some theories on that.

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It's true that Luke Perry was primarily known as a TV actor thanks to shows like Beverly Hills, 90210, Riverdale and the oft-forgotten and underrated post-apocalyptic Jeremiah. But as noted above, he was also in movies and not just Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Luke Perry had roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the sci-fi classic The Fifth Element during the hilarious "Aziz light!" scene.

And although Luke Perry was primarily known as a TV actor, Kobe Bryant was primarily known as a basketball player and yet he was also honored. It should be noted Kobe did have an Oscar. And Luke Perry was not the only snub at the Oscars In Memoriam tribute.

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Horror icon Sid Haig, who had over a hundred credits to his name, including last year's 3 From Hell, was also left out. So too was actor Cameron Boyce who passed away at the age of 20 last year. Also missing was comedy and voice actor Tim Conway, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 85 and Rene Auberjonois who died just this past December.

Those are just a sampling of the omissions and the ones that elicited the greatest internet outrage. This happens every year and I don't know what the solution is to this, if there even is one. Perhaps some sort of montage of everyone's work and instead of giving everyone a specific title card with their name and the role they played in the industry, just do it like movie credits and just have a scrolling list of names. That way you can include as many names as possible without being choosy.

Awards season is over but the year is just beginning. Check out all of this year's biggest movies in our 2020 Release Schedule.

Nick Evans

Nick grew up in Maryland has degrees in Film Studies and Communications. His life goal is to walk the earth, meet people and get into adventures. He’s also still looking for The Adventures of Pete and Pete season 3 on DVD if anyone has a lead.