Farrah Fawcett’s Oscars Snub: Academy Apologizes

When the late “Charlie’s Angels” star Farrah Fawcett was left out of the “In Memoriam” segment of the 2010 Oscars on Sunday evening, it left many people outraged. This of course included her partner Ryan O’Neal, Jane Fonda, and film critic Roger Ebert.

But according to a report at people.com, Bruce Davis – the executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – has recently apologized to the friends, family and fans of Farrah Fawcett, for leaving her off the tribute to stars that had died in the past year.

Farrah Fawcett’s Oscars Snub: Academy Apologizes

In response to people’s complaints about her being missed off the “In Memoriam” tribute, Davis said “There’s nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all. They tend to be surprised and hurt.”

Davis then said that he understands that, and said that the Academy is sorry for it. Davis had originally thought about including Fawcett in the tribute, but then felt that her “remarkable television work” would be more appropriately honoured at the TV academy’s Emmys.

According to the report, Davis also defended his decision to include Michael Jackson, who was better known for his musical accomplishments than his screen work. This Davis said, was because the late pop star was the subject of a successful feature documentary last year.

  • Rose

    The academy always snubs people that should be mentioned every year. I remember past years where many many TV stars were so honored so that argument doesnt hold at all about Farrah Fawcett and others. Last year it was Estelle Getty and this year they should have also included Bea Arthur as well as Farrah Fawcett. All did movies as well as TV — especially Ms. Getty. There were a number of people last year — many directors and producers– as well as Ms. Getty when I looked up who passed away. Even if they wont admit it politics does play a role with the academy. It is a shame that they only choose to honor who they deem to be honored when so many others should be mentioned as well for all their accomplishments. Thank you for allowing me to vent on here –Maybe the academy should be reminded that without a fan base they wouldnt be where they are today, and speaking as a fan I am more and more disappointed in them as each year goes by.

  • joperry

    Mj should of never been in it. I am sick and tired of still hearing about him. Farrah deserved it her documentary was raw and truthful. You guys are idiots!

  • Mary P

    Farrah was a member of the Academy for over 40 years…..and they can't acknowledge her? But, they do Brittany Murphy??? VERY, very bad judgment.

  • Jeff

    Mr. Davis logic is feabile. Farrah Fawcett starred in far more MOVIES than Michael Jackson. He should be ashamed for his poor excuse.

  • xracerx

    This is the hypocrisy, elitism, and blatant callousness that comes with the conceit of power and authority to declare who and what is important and relevant. They are the arbiters of truth? Observe and relish in the Academy and their self-importance puffery.

  • Wendy

    If their reply was, not enough time that is why they didn't include her then they should have MADE TIME! This is a real shame and i do feel bad for her family

  • Wendy

    I totally agree with you Mary P

  • sc341

    It’s obvious that the media made this the big ‘controversy’ for this week even though it’s a non-story. I have the Memorial Tribute on my DVR and upon reviewing it after the controversy broke I looked at it more closely and the entire “In Memorium” tribute only lasted about 4 minutes and each person memorialized only got around 4.5 seconds on the air. Most of the people in the tribute were writers, directors, producers, people behind the scenes that few people except industry insiders have heard of. Then there were the actors that most people knew such as Patrick Swayze, David Carradine, Ron Silver, etc. I was not surprised that Michael Jackson was in, I expected that he would be because he was a global pop icon, he recently was in a movie “This Is It”, he had been in “The Wiz” and the media has stories about him daily. There is no question that he was a huge influence on our culture. “Thriller” was recently inducted into The Library of Congress” and it is the first short film of it’s kind (music video) ever to be inducted. Only about 20 films are inducted into the Library a year. So that is a huge honor for him. A week before the Academy Awards aired, his 3D film “Captain EO” re-opened at Disneyland and it got a very positive reception. Face it, people love his music and they love him. I read that he has sold around 30 million music cd’s since he passed. Millions of his DVD’s have also sold. There is no way they could have excluded this man. I feel bad for Farrah’s fans that the Academy excluded her, but it is in no way the fault of Michael Jackson. That they blamed him is highly unprofessional of them. They easily could have put her in their memorial tribute, now they are scapegoating Michael. It’s ridiculous. It’s also sad. I won’t bother watching next year. Hollywood makes me ill and so does the so called media.

  • stephen

    We lost a wonderful talent this year….Bea Arthur. The Oscar’s might have forgotten Bea but I haven’t.

    I found this clip of Miss Arthur's final interview with Bea discussing her career in her own words. The clip also shows Betty White, Carol Channing and Phyllis Diller. I think it’s for a show called, “Lunching with a Legend.”

    I'd hate for a full interview with Bea or the other legendary ladies in the clip to go unseen.

    http://www.lunchingwithalegend.com

    Cheers,
    Stephen