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The Academy Awards Oscars aired Sunday evening, April 26, 2021, with a different look, a few firsts, and a couple of surprises. If the show being held in a Los Angeles former train station with 1930 decor and nominees attending via satellite was not already something to get used to, viewers received another first.
When the last award of the night, which is usually Best Picture, was changed to Best Actor, the audience thought it was done to honor Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in August 2020, for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” To some viewers’ surprise, he did not win.
Many felt that the twist in honoring the Best Actor last was created by the producers, which seemingly had set the atmosphere for his win. LaToya Morgan felt it was how they arranged it that upset viewers, not that Boseman did not win.
Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times tweeted that after building the show around Boseman, Anthony Hopkins won but was not physically present. BuzzFeed’s Spencer Althouse said the ending was the most chaotic ending he had ever seen.
The Best Actor Award went to Anthony Hopkins for his role in “The Father.” Hopkins is 83-years-old, the oldest recipient of the Best Actor award ever. He played the role of a man who has dementia. Hopkins, who did a great job in the role offered a tribute to Boseman, who he said left us too early.
I’m very grateful to the Academy. I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early. I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored.
In the caption, Hopkins also thanked “The Father” director Florian Zeller, his wife, and his family.
Boseman won, posthumously, a Golden Glove, NAACP Image and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as the trumpeter in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the awards on his behalf.
The preceding awards seemed to show Boseman winning Best Actor, as Hopkins won the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award.
Social media reacted to the Hopkins’ win with critical comments such as Boseman was snubbed; the evening went down the tubes, and “He will never win an Oscar, that’s horrible.”
Written by Brenda Robinson
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
New York Post: Why Chadwick Boseman Lost To Anthony Hopkins with Oscars Voters; by Johnny Oleksinski
The Washington Post: A Surprise Oscar Win Denies Chadwick Boseman Fans The Tribute They Expected; by Sonia Rao and Lateshia Beachum
New York Post: Anthony Hopkins Wins Best Actor Oscar Amid Chadwick Boseman Outrage; by Nadine DeNinno
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Christy’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of The Celebs Fact’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License