Oscars producers refused to let Anthony Hopkins deliver a speech via Zoom.
Instead of celebrating the night in glory, The Father star reportedly slept through the night while safely at home in Wales.
Leading up to the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, Hopkins’ reps begged producers to let the 83-year-old accept his award for “Best Actor” over a virtual call. After making history as the oldest actor to win the nod, Hopkins didn’t even get a few minutes in the limelight.
The news comes as a major shock to many seeing as the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting elderly populations at disproportionate rates, so Hopkins was certainly justified in his decision to avoid traveling at all costs.
Rumors regarding the scandal point to English actress Olivia Colman who is known for her leading work in The Crown. Some spectators offer the excuse that Colman was initially supposed to accept the award on Hopkins’ behalf.
However, such an arrangement would have been practically impossible according to The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan. Buchanan weighed in with his expertise in a tweet where he debunked the unlikely claims on Monday afternoon. “She’s busy shooting a movie and only showed up for her category,” he wrote.
https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/1386773488577302530
Colman is a die-hard Hopkins fan who accepted a role as his co-star long before she even analyzed her script for The Father. “First thing I heard was that Anthony Hopkins was in it, I said OK before I even read it,” she said according to The Daily Express. But despite all the admiration, there’s really no evidence to suggest she would’ve been available to represent Hopkins at a major award ceremony.
For some spectators, Hopkins’ big Oscar win was a scandal all on its own. Before any winners were officially announced, many fans speculated the late Chadwick Boseman would take home the title for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Following the event, model Winnie Harlow was spotted walking into a limo by TMZ where she described Boseman’s loss as “insane” when asked about how the Academy was handling diversity this year.
In response to the controversy, Boseman’s brother Derrick was quick to speak out.
“he doesn’t view Chadwick not winning an Oscar for Best Actor as a snub because every nominated actor was excellent and deserving of the award . . . the family isn’t upset or agitated whatsoever that Chadwick’s name wasn’t called at the end of the Oscars ceremony,” says TMZ.
Hopkins even honored the deceased actor who lost his life to colon cancer in a belated acceptance speech on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early,” he reveals in the video. Hopkins adds that he “really did not expect this” when describing how he felt after finding out his performance was selected for the top prize.
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