Oscars viewers rage over ‘absurd’ In Memoriam segment that misses out Eric Dane tribute

Oscars viewers were left feeling disappointed after this year’s In Memoriam segment (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Oscars viewers were quick to express their fury after this year’s In Memoriam segment failed to mention stars including Eric Dane and James Van Der Beek.

Held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and hosted by Conan O’Brien for the second time, the 98th Academy Awards took a break from dishing out trophies midway through to honour the names we’ve lost over the past 12 months, including tributes to Rob Reiner, Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton.

In emotional scenes, Canadian actress Rachel McAdams was welcomed to the stage to remember Diane Keaton, whom she described as a ‘legend with no end’ following her death from bacterial pneumonia in October. She was 79.

Appearing emotional, the Mean Girls star said: ‘For over 50 years, luminous on screen and indelible in life, believe me when I say, there isn’t an actress of my generation who is not inspired by and enthralled with her absolute singularity.

‘She wore so many hats, literally and figuratively – actress, artist, author, activist – but no hat more important to her than being mother to her two children. She meant so much to so many of us.’

Audience members then rose to their feet for Barbra Streisand, who paid tribute to her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford, who died in his sleep in September. He was 89.

Canadian actress Rachel McAdams took to the stage to honour Diane Keaton (Picture: Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images) Music legend Barbra Streisand sang after speaking fondly about Robert Redford (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Streisand hailed him as a ‘brilliant, subtle actor,’ as well as a man ‘with backbone,’ and, at the end of her speech, she launched into a rendition of her song Memory from the film.

While those watching at home were undeniably tearful over the tributes, while a film played honouring many other late film stars, it didn’t go unnoticed that not everyone who perhaps should have been was featured.

The In Memoriam clip included tributes to Tom Stoppard, Terence Stamp, Diane Ladd, Catherine O’Hara, Val Kilmer, and Robert Duvall.

However, Dane, who died on February 19 this year, aged 53, after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was absent, as was Van Der Beek, who died eight days earlier, aged 48, from colorectal cancer.

Despite being known largely for their TV work – Dane on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, and Van Der Beek on Dawson’s Creek – they have both also starred in a string of films.

Taking to X upon the realisation, @ftelordi called it ‘absurd’ to not feature Dane, while @MonicaVianatb asked if he had been ‘forgotten’.

Fans were left raging after Eric Dane was missing from the tributes (Picture: Matt Baron/Shutterstock) Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek was also absent (Picture: Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

‘eric dane not being in the oscar’s in memoriam is criminal and disappointing’, tweeted @outerspacemar.

‘I’m glad we’re all mad Eric Dane wasn’t in the memorial’, raged @KaiEnigma.

‘so weird not to do a tribute to james ver beek and eric dane??’, wrote @hopeIessromntic.

When it was suggested that perhaps the two stars’ tributes had been added online instead, the user declared that this is ‘not good enough’.

Indeed, the Oscars uploads a full In Memoriam page to its website, which includes extra tributes not featured in the live ceremony.

Both Dane and Van Der Beek have been added alongside black and white photos.

The emotional scenes brought people to tears after a high number of losses over the past 12 months (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

They weren’t the only late stars missing from the In Memoriam segment, though.

Viewers also noticed that Brigitte Bardot, who has also been added to the online tributes page, was missing.

The French actress, model, and animal rights activist died aged 91 in December from cancer.

Despite her glittering showbiz career, though, her politics were divisive, which is why some believe the Oscars chose not to platform her tonight. She had publicly made racist and homophobic comments and expressed opposition to interracial marriages and to immigration.

@DannyDrinksWine argued that ‘the job of the Academy is to remember [her] for [her] contributions to cinema’, stating that her ‘political opinions shouldn’t come into consideration here.’

The decision was also blasted as ‘shameful’ by @somebobcat8327, while others remained largely unbothered.

‘Not really sad that a woman convicted several times for hate speech was excluded,’ wrote @InfoEd.

Metro‘s Film Expert Tori Brazier is on the ground at this year’s Oscars and was in the auditorium when the In Memoriam segment took place.

Giving her take on the atmosphere, she said there was a ‘noticeable shift to sombreness in the room ahead of host O’Brien introducing the segment and noting the unusually high number of people who would be honoured.’

‘McAdams struck a beautiful note of warmth and sincerity in paying special tribute to both O’Hara and Diane Keaton, appearing a little choked up when recalling Keaton’s fondness for a song as the room audience listened intently,’ she recalled.

‘There was also a lot of appreciation for Streisand’s tribute to Redford, especially the musical ending, as she fondly recalled being “Babs” to him.’

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