The Truth Behind Oscars' In Memoriam Segment Production and the Selection Process After Viewers Were Left Raging Over Major Stars Being Snubbed — 'Always Has a Rustle of Drama Beneath The Surface'
The selection process for the Oscars' In Memoriam segment has been revealed following this year's outrage.
March 5 2025, Published 8:45 p.m. ET
RadarOnline.com has gone inside the makings of the Oscars' annual In Memorial segment after viewers were outraged over Shannen Doherty, Tony Todd and Michelle Trachtenberg being snubbed from the touching tribute.
In between long-winded speeches and coveted award presentations, the star-studded award show takes a moment to honor those the industry lost since the previous year's show.
But this year's segment sparked outrage after Doherty, Todd and Trachtenberg, who passed mere days before the event, were left off the tribute.
Trachtenberg died days before the Oscars but was left out of the In Memoriam segment.
While some viewers would expect the award show's producers to handpick which late industry greats are included in the slideshow, the selection process is actually left to an executive committee, which represents the 19 branches of the Academy.
In an effort to avoid backlash like what was seen after this year's tribute, the selected honorees are kept a secret by the committee members.
The committee is also the reason why names like Doherty, who died aged 53 in June, was left off.
Doherty was also excluded from the tribute despite her roles in cult classic films Heathers and Mallrats.
Despite her roles in cult classics like Heathers and Mallrats, the Charmed star was most famous for her TV work. The same method of thought could also be applied to Trachtenberg, who died aged 39 on February 26.
Trachtenberg made her mark on the industry in hit TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, though her breakout role was in the kids movie Harriett the Spy.
As for Todd, who died aged 69 in November, viewers were perplexed at how the Candyman star was left off the list.
Fans were outraged over horror film legend Todd being snubbed in the tribute.
Online outraged fans wrote: "He was underrated in his whole career, even in death RIP CANDYMAN."
Another echoed: "I normally keep out of all the weird stuff with award ceremonies, but this one was truly disrespectful to me. A true icon of film and TV and always awesome with fans. Such a shame I'll never get to meet him, but whoever's in charge of the memoriam at the Oscars should be ashamed."
A third wrote: "The fact that he had many years of acting, including blockbusters like Platoon and The Rock besides his horror films, it is unbelievable that they didn't honor his passing."
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While some fans were astonished at the choices, the time constraint for the four minute segment was also said to be factor in selection decisions.
Former Academy director Bruce Davis told the Hollywood Reporter: "We have to recognize all the art forms that go into the creation of motion pictures. And if you include all the people, the steam goes out of the boiler very quickly."
Michael Schulman, Academy Award expert and author of Oscar Wars, added: "It's an Oscar ritual that always has a rustle of drama beneath the surface.
"No matter what happens, there will be 10 headlines about who was snubbed posthumously, and there's nothing that can be done about it."
