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That television legacy is part of the reason some people defended the Academy’s decision, even while others found it difficult to accept. Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy, said after the ceremony that the Oscars are “looking at movies” and that Dane was “unique to television,” adding that she expected the Emmys to honour him “the way he should be.” At the same time, Rhimes made clear the loss was deeply personal, calling Dane an “incredible human being” and “a huge loss” for the Shondaland family. Her view has become one of the central explanations for the omission: that Dane’s fame was rooted primarily in television, even if audiences also knew him from film work.
That argument, however, has not fully settled the matter, because Dane’s career was never limited to television. AP notes that after moving to Los Angeles he built up credits on shows including Saved by the Bell, Married… With Children and Charmed, while also taking film roles including X-Men: The Last Stand. Reuters, citing his broader screen career, likewise noted that he remained widely recognisable beyond Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria. To fans, that made his exclusion harder to justify, especially in a year when the Academy expanded the televised In Memoriam segment and still left out several widely known performers. Social media reaction in the hours after the ceremony reflected that frustration, with viewers arguing that Dane had more than enough connection to film and popular culture to warrant inclusion on the broadcast itself.
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