Every year, the Oscars pays tribute to the screen legends and filmmakers who passed away over the past year.
The ‘In Memoriam’ segment is one of the most touching moments of the show and this year was no different.
The tribute was led by Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo Bocelli, who performed ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ while a video montage of the late stars played on the big screen.
Among those remembered were Friends star Matthew Perry, singer Tina Turner, as well as Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and South Korean actor and Parasite star Lee Sun Kyun.
Noticeably left out was Hong Kong pop diva Coco Lee, who died at age 48 on July 5 last year. And fans were not pleased.
After the segment aired, netizens took to social media to express their disappointment that Coco, who performed at the 2000 Oscars, was snubbed.
The theme song for Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, ‘A Love Before Time’, was nominated for Best Original Song and Coco was invited to perform the English version of the track at the Oscars.
Some reasoned that Coco was a musician, so it’s understandable she was not featured in the tribute, but others argued that so was Ryuichi.
However, Ryuichi, best known for his film scores for Hollywood blockbusters, had won an Oscar for his work.
In 1988, he took home the award for Best Original Score for his work on The Last Emperor, making him the first Japanese to win the honour.
He passed away at the age of 71.