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After an awards season that saw Chadwick Boseman become the front runner to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards, movie fans were left stunned as 83-year-old Anthony Hopkins, who was not in attendance at the ceremony, instead took home his second Oscar for his work in The Father.
Heading into the night, Boseman — who already took home the Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for Best Actor — was the odds-on favorite to take home the prize for Best Actor, as his betting odds closed at around -1500. According to The Action Network, those odds gave him a 94.3% chance of winning. Hopkins win wasn’t the only upset in the acting categories, though, as Frances McDormand (+400) took home her third Academy Award for Best Actress, beating out betting-favorite Carey Mulligan (+125).
Needless to say, movie fans were less than thrilled with the Academy’s decision to recognize Hopkins instead of Boseman and immediately took to Twitter to voice their disbelief.
The Academy trying to figure out why no one likes them#Oscars pic.twitter.com/rWnFrbRwMi
— Post Cred Pod (@PostCredPod) April 26, 2021
Wait they didn't save The Best Actor award in the end for a Chadwick Boseman tribute ?? pic.twitter.com/tzLrqCGOBV
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 26, 2021
Us rooting for Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ZJRJOtI4nP
— The Big Picture (@TheBigPic) April 26, 2021
chadwick boseman DESERVED the best actor award. his performance as levee in ma rainey’s is the epitome of what an actor should be im so upset wtf
— hayden🫀 (@mcuwaititi) April 26, 2021
ok so basically the oscars profited off of chadwick boseman’s death?? for views, clout, and money?? fuck this
— avery!!! ✧˚ · . (@averyofasgard) April 26, 2021
the academy…WATCH OUT. chadwick boseman AND viola davis getting robbed? yea no. #Oscars https://t.co/3bOz5dwweQ
— jai ⩔ (@wilsonscap) April 26, 2021
anthony hopkins rn not knowing he accidentally ruined the oscars pic.twitter.com/qEOfbiKAQh
— iana murray (@ianamurray) April 26, 2021
Speechless, nothing to say except I’m so damn glad this award season is over
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) April 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/chuuzus/status/1386520177731424258
So we’re really gonna snub Viola Davis AND Chadwick Boseman? That’s crazy… pic.twitter.com/G3t2dLjUYP
— Rhys🦋 (@rhyscarr__) April 26, 2021
Yeah the “let’s put Best Actor last so, obviously, we can celebrate the life of Chadwick Boseman” really backfired
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) April 26, 2021
Me when Chadwick Boseman didn't win for Best Actor#Oscars
https://t.co/EjFYg1wqA1— @summer0001 (@summer0001) April 26, 2021
They build the entire show around a Chadwick Boseman ending and then Anthony Hopkins won and didn't show up
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) April 26, 2021
Boseman wasn’t the only actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to be nominated for one of the night’s biggest prizes, as co-star Viola Davis was also nominated for Best Actress. In the other three acting categories, Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) won Best Supporting Actor, Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) won Best Supporting Actress, and Frances McDormand (Nomadland) won Best Actress.
His Academy Award-nominated performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is available to stream on Netflix. Rest in Peace, Chadwick.
RELATED: Netflix Releasing What’ll Surely Be A Devastating, But Necessary, Look At Chadwick Boseman’s Career
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