Oscars ‘In Memoriam’: Fans React To Pace, Naya Rivera, Jessica Walter Omissions

The tempo of the song chosen for the In Memoriam segment was one of many unconventional choices by the producers of this year’s Oscars.

The fast beat of Stevie Wonder’s “As” divided fans Sunday, with many taking to Twitter to complain, some using memes, including the candy factory scene from I Love Lucy, to illustrate the breakneck speed of the video in some sections of the song that was hard to follow on the ABC telecast.

Still, despite the quickly flashing names on the screen, viewers spotted a few that were missing from the montage, most notably songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who received an Oscar Best Song nomination for That Thing You Do! in 1997.

To account for any omissions, the ceremony’s site always links to the full “In Memoriam“ gallery at Oscars.org, as it did this year. Watch the 2021 one here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRbfMvLO118

While Schlesinger is listed online, three actors not featured in the on-air tribute are also missing from the online gallery. The trio, whose omission drew criticism on social media, are Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter, whose film credits included a Golden Globe-nominated performance in Play Misty for Me; Glee‘s Naya Rivera; and Nick Cordero, who also was not included in the In Memoriam segment at the Primetime Emmy Awards. While Walter and Rivera are known for their TV work, and Cordero was primarily a stage actor, all have done some features.

Watch tonight’s “In Memoriam” video on top of the post.