The Oscars or The Academy Awards is the most prestigious award ceremony in the Hollywood industry. These film celebrations are awarded only to the best and are often dreamed of by actors. However, there have been instances where some actors have boycotted the Oscars or refused to accept the award.
Actors going from Marlon Brando to Will Smith, have avoided the Oscar ceremonies. Some of the nominated ones have also refused to attend as a form of protest. Here are a few celebrities who are known to have boycotted the Oscars. Some of these instances are circumstantial while others are intentional.
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1. Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins is a prolific British actor and producer. He is best known for his roles in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ ‘Hannibal,’ ‘The Father’ and more. Hopkins won the best actor Oscar award in the 2021 ceremony but wasn’t in attendance. Due to the change of rules in the Oscars, he also could not video into the ceremony. Although, he, later on, posted a video on Instagram thanking the authorities.
2. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper and songwriter. His “Black Panther” song called “All The Stars” was nominated at the 2019 Oscars for the best original song. But the rapper wasn’t able to attend the function due to scheduling issues. Due to his absence, this was also the only nominated song that wasn’t performed in that year’s Oscars.
3. Will Smith
Will Smith vowed to not attend the Oscars in the 2016 edition, conditioning the reason on “a lack of diversity.” Although his movie ‘Concussion’ was not nominated that year, still he went forward in protest. He stated that all the 20 acting nominees of the Oscars were white, for the second year in a row.
4. Banksy
Banksy is a British graffiti artist, who prefers to keep his identity anonymous. In 2011, his debut film ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ was nominated for the best documentary film. However, Banksy decided to avoid the Oscars, when he was told by authorities that he couldn’t be allowed to attend the event wearing a mask.
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5. Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, actor, and producer. For his film ‘The Pianist,’ Polanski was awarded the best director award at the 2003 Oscars. However, the director was not able to attend. Anyway, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to attend since Polanski was a fugitive in the US due to some cases regarding unlawful sex. His award was accepted by Harrison Ford on his behalf.
6. Eminem
Eminem is probably one of the top rappers in the industry currently. In 2003, he won the best original song Oscar for the song “Lose Yourself.” However, Eminem was not present at the event and his award was accepted by his co-writer Luis Resto. Reportedly, Eminem was sleeping during the event, as he said that he didn’t think he had any chance to win.
7. Paul Newman
Paul Newman was a famous American actor and film director. Throughout his film career, he got six acting nominations at the Oscars and two honorary nominations. However, he finally got a win in 1987 for his film ‘The Color of Money,’ but wasn’t present to accept the award. Later in an interview, he said that after chasing something for so many years, he was finally tired when he actually got it.
8. Katherine Hepburn
Katherine Hepburn holds the highest record for the most number of Oscars won by any actor. Although she didn’t reject the awards, she was never once present in the ceremonies to accept the awards herself. She made her first appearance in 1974 at the Academy Awards, saying that “I’m living proof that a person can wait 41 years to be unselfish.”
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