Oscar slammed after Anthony Hopkins wins Best Actor over late star Chadwick Boseman in ceremony rearranged to make it final award

The victory of Anthony Hopkins in a hugely anticipated Best Actor category, which was moved by the organizers to cap off the show, rattled some feathers with incensed Boseman fans. They accused the organizers of “disrespecting” the legacy of the late star, who died of cancer in August last year.

Boseman was considered a slight favorite to win the trophy for his performance in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and “just edge out Anthony Hopkins,” as Variety put it, who was nominated for his role as an Alzheimer’s-stricken man in ‘The Father’.

Fans’ hopes that this would be the case received a boost when the Oscars changed the traditional running order of award presentations, which usually ends with Best Picture rather than Best Actor, without much explanation.
 

hope everyone enjoyed the last oscars ever

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) April 26, 2021

“The Oscars were so sure that Chadwick Boseman was going to win that they REARRANGED THE ENTIRE CEREMONY so his category could be last, and then they gave the award to Anthony Hopkins instead… the most chaotic and unhinged thing I’ve ever seen,” BuzzFeed’s deputy editorial director Spencer Althouse tweeted.

Film Critic Dan Murrell echoed the sentiment, saying the producers of the ceremony had made “a huge mistake” by seemingly building the show around the nomination.
 

Wow, what a massively bad idea. And this overshadows the fact that both Anthony Hopkins and Chadwick Boseman were brilliant and one of them had to win. The spotlight is now shining solely on the producers. Huge mistake. From In Memoriam on, this show was a disaster.

— Dan Murrell (@MurrellDan) April 26, 2021

An absent Anthony Hopkins winning over Chadwick Boseman during a ceremony built to end around a Boseman win while Joaquin Phoenix awkwardly stumbles through it all is...wow. Chaos!

— Jacob Hall (@JacobSHall) April 26, 2021

award shows need to stop nominating people who pass away if they aren’t going to give them the award. chadwick boseman gave unbelievable performances in his short time and to not give him that award after all he’s done is repulsive. it’s disrespectful to him and his family

— chloe (@piscescinema) April 26, 2021

anthony hopkins rn not knowing he accidentally ruined the oscars pic.twitter.com/qEOfbiKAQh

— iana murray (@ianamurray) April 26, 2021

So glad this was an in person event, but...

Nomadland should’ve been the final award.
The show needed a host. Period.
Clips clips clips we need clips and music from winning movies.

None of these missteps happened because of the pandemic. ??‍♀️#Oscars

— Tomris Laffly (@TomiLaffly) April 26, 2021

“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: Disrespecting Nomadland So We Can Also Disrespect Chadwick Boseman,” an angry movie fan wrote in summing up the situation.

Some, however, found a silver lining in the Oscars’ debacle, arguing that the apparent misfire by producers might actually mean that there were no leaks about the outcome of the vote this time around.

Let's look on the bright side: They've now scientifically demonstrated that the Oscar producers don't know who won in advance. It's a tribute to award security.

— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) April 26, 2021