The In Memoriam segment of the recently concluded 87th Academy Awards drew flak from netizens following the blatant absence of Joan Rivers among the personalities featured, according to Us Weekly.
In a statement given to The Hollywood Reporter, an Oscar representative elucidated that despite Rivers' exclusion from the feature, she was included in the gallery of the award giving body.
"Joan Rivers is among the many worthy artists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the In Memoriam segment of this year's Oscar show. She is, however, included in our In Memoriam gallery on Oscar.com," revealed the spokesperson.
Rivers had been hosting the pre-Academy Awards red carpet from 1995 to 2014. Her commentaries, which were aired in E!, had been constantly considered a staple portion of the ceremony.
Melissa Rivers, the daughter of the late host and comedienne, commented that the inclusion of her mother in the feature "would have been nice." She pointed out the impact Rivers had on the awards season following decades of covering and somewhat promoting the occasion.
However, Melissa shared that she and Cooper, her son, "have been overwhelmed with support and love" they received over the untimely death of her Rivers. "We choose to focus on that," she remarked.
Meanwhile, Kelly Osbourne shared her dismay over the alleged snub through the social networking site, Twitter. "Am I missing something or was @JoanRivers really left out of the #Oscars memorials? (sic)," Rivers' Fashion Police co-host posted in her page.
Michael Chiklis, who is widely commended for his roles in various TV shows such as American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy, and Vegas, also shared his disappointment over the exclusion of the late talk show host from the tribute. "@Joan_Rivers a glaring omission from the in memoriam segment. #Oscars," the actor posted in his Twitter account.
Apart from Rivers, the three-time Primetime Emmy winner Elaine Stritch and small screen actor Richard Kiel were also notably absent from the controversial segment.
The stars honored during the event included Mickey Rooney, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Luise Rainer, Robin Williams, Ruby Dee, and Elizabeth Pena. Also part of those showcased were Maya Angelou, Gabriel Marcia Márquez, and Malik Bendjelloul.
