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The Academy’s broader defence is that these choices are never simple. According to the account given to TMZ, the committee process involves weighing hundreds of submissions and making recommendations against severe time limits, even though the online memorial remains available throughout the year. That explanation fits a problem the Oscars have faced repeatedly. The In Memoriam segment has become one of the ceremony’s most scrutinised sections precisely because omission can feel harsher than poor placement. Once a name is missing, viewers do not tend to think about committee procedures or broadcast timing. They think about the life, the death and the silence.
This year, the issue was amplified because the 2026 broadcast made room for major personal tributes to a handful of towering figures. Robert Redford was honoured by Barbra Streisand, while other celebrated names also received prominent recognition. That structure may have made for an emotional show, but it also intensified the visibility of everyone excluded. When audiences saw time devoted to individual salutes yet did not see Dane or Van Der Beek appear in the montage, the omissions looked less like the unavoidable result of a compressed package and more like deliberate choices about hierarchy.
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