Chadwick Boseman’s family says the Oscars didn’t snub him

Fans may still be reeling over the fact that Chadwick Boseman didn’t win the Best Actor trophy at Sunday night’s Oscars  (stream the full show now on CTV), but his family isn’t holding any grudges. At least that’s the word from the late actor’s brother, Derrick Boseman.

TMZ caught up with the sibling following the April 25 presentation to collect his thoughts on Anthony Hopkins (The Father) winning Best Actor instead of Boseman, who was nominated for his final work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And unlike the many critics out there who thought Boseman should have been honoured, his family is totally fine with it. In fact, Derrick told the publication that he and the rest of the actor’s family would prefer that fans not call it a snub because all of the nominees were deserving of the award.

Chadwick “always described them to me as a campaign,” Derrick added, revealing that an Oscar win would have been “an achievement, but was never an obsession.” He also added that the family sends well-wishes to Hopkins on his win, “I’m sure [Anthony] would if Chad won.” Probably, given that once Hopkins got out of bed in Wales the next morning and learned that he’d won, he gave a shout-out to Boseman in his impromptu acceptance speech video.

For those who need a refresher, Hopkins won the Best Actor trophy at 93^rd awards in a category that also included Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Gary Oldman (Mank), and Steven Yeun (Minari). Although Hopkins had won the best acting category at the BAFTAs, it was Boseman who won the category at the Critics Choice Awards and at the Golden Globes. So he was considered the frontrunner heading into the ceremony, and there were plenty of people who were shocked when presenter Joaquin Phoenix called out Hopkins’ name instead.

Even Hopkins seemed bewildered in his thank you video that was eventually shared across social media. The 83-year-old (who became the oldest ever winner at the awards with his win), was the only nominee who didn’t stay up to see the results. Furthermore, it could be argued that the show producers were equally shocked. They had set some high expectations in advance of the broadcast, promising a movie-like feel to the show, giving out Boseman NFTs in the swag bags, and even moving the Best Actor presentation to the very last presentation of the night, which is a slot that has always been dedicated to Best Picture. (Best Picture went to Nomadland, by the way.)

The fact that no one was there to accept the award on Hopkins’ behalf has since been compared to the ending of The Sopranos: all hype and zero delivery. It was, however, a fitting ending to a show that tried to experiment with a long-running format and failed to really impress. Not only did the show crash in the ratings to an all-time low, but L.A. commuters were pretty peeved that they had to take alternative methods of transport as the show took over Union Station.

Despite Boseman’s family being so gracious in the wake of the late actor’s loss, it still stings for fans who were hoping the man would finally be recognized for his work. This was the first time the actor had ever been nominated at the Oscars, despite critically acclaimed turns in movies like 42, Get on Up, Marshall, and of course Black Panther. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was the actor’s final role. Boseman filmed the part of Levee while secretly undergoing treatment for colon cancer before he passed away last August. He was 43 years old.

Watch the full 93rd Academy Awards on CTV.ca and the CTV app.

BEFORE YOU GO: Everything you need to know about the 93rd Academy Awards

[video_embed id='2188540']BEFORE YOU GO: Everything You Need To Know about the 93rd Academy Awards[/video_embed]