Although Sunday night’s Oscars in memoriam segment made sure to include Shelley Duvall — who died in July 2024 and was noticeably absent from the Emmys tribute that year — and made a last-minute inclusion of Gene Hackman — whose death was announced on Thursday — they forgot to pay their respects to a young actor who died less than a week ago and spent the majority of her life working for the industry, Michelle Trachtenberg.
Trachtenberg, best known for her roles in “Gossip Girl,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and her breakout role in the book-to-movie adaptation of “Harriet the Spy,” where she starred alongside Rosie O’Donnell, Eartha Kitt, and J. Smith-Cameron, had a total of 62 acting credits to her name when she died on February 26 at the age of 39, which her fans were quick to point out, taking to social media to express their anger over the Academy’s slight.
“The Oscars not honoring Michelle Trachtenberg in the memoriam is absolutely disgusting,” one fan wrote in a post to X, along with a montage of clips showcasing the actor’s talent.
“Feels like a major oversight the week that a 39-year-old who grew up in the industry suddenly died,” another fan commented in a post to the platform.
In addition to Trachtenberg, the segment left out a number of other recent deaths in the industry, including Shannen Doherty, Tony Todd, Linda Lavin and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.
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