World-renowned actor Anthony Hopkins pulled off an upset at the Academy Awards Sunday night when he won the Oscar for Best Actor for “The Father,” becoming the oldest person in history to take home the award.
At age 83, Hopkins bested actor Christopher Plummer’s 2010 win for “Beginners” by just one year (Plummer was 82 at the time of his win). Despite the record win, Hopkins was not present Sunday night to accept the award and delivered his acceptance speech from his home in Wales the following morning where he honored the late-actor Chadwick Boseman, who was the expected winner for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
“Good morning,” Hopkins said in his acceptance speech. “Here I am in my homeland in Wales and at 83-years-of-age I did not expect to get this award. I really didn’t.”
“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early,” Hopkins added. “I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored. Thank you.”
Anthony Hopkins reacts to his #Oscars win and pays tribute to fellow Best Actor nominee, Chadwick Boseman. pic.twitter.com/z5MkFfR7wi
— Film Updates (@TheFilmUpdates) April 26, 2021
As reported by The Hill, Hopkins’ win over Chadwick Boseman sparked significant backlash, given that Boseman was the expected winner after winning the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. It also didn’t help that the show’s producers chose to climax with the Best Actor category instead of the traditional Best Picture (this was largely interpreted as an ode to Boseman’s potential win). People on social media were none-too-pleased.
“They build the entire show around a Chadwick Boseman ending and then Anthony Hopkins won and didn’t show up,” tweeted Kyle Buchanan. “Anthony Hopkins about to fire off a lip-sync TikTok instead of an acceptance speech.”
Anthony Hopkins about to fire off a lip-sync TikTok instead of an acceptance speech
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) April 26, 2021
“That was the worst, most racist #Oscars ending I’ve ever witnessed,” tweeted Jessica Fyre.
That was the worst, most racist #Oscars ending I’ve ever witnessed.
— Jessica Fyre 💫 (@TheJessieWoo) April 26, 2021
“Wait what was that Game of Thrones style ending?? Andra Day and Chadwick Boseman were robbed…” tweeted Joy Reid.
Wait what was that Game of Thrones style ending?? Andra Day and Chadwick Boseman were robbed… #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ykMorfq6qy
— Joy-Ann Pro-Democracy & Masks Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) April 26, 2021
“CHADWICK BOSEMAN GOT SNUBBED POSTHUMOUSLY?! I feel like… the entire goodwill of the evening just went down the tubes. He will now never win an Oscar, that’s horrible…” tweeted Grace Randolph.
CHADWICK BOSEMAN GOT SNUBBED
POSTHUMOUSLY?! 😡😱🤯😳😬
I feel like… the entire goodwill of the evening just went down the tubes.
He will now never win an Oscar, that’s horrible…#Oscars pic.twitter.com/EFKmEI2FQh
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) April 26, 2021
Though politics were center-stage at the Oscars on Sunday night, the show still had some classy moments, such as when Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress for “Minari” and when Jon Batiste thanked God after winning musical score for Pixar’s “Soul.” The most explosive moment of the night came when Tyler Perry rejected the far-left talking point that “All Cops are Bad” by asking America to meet him in the middle.
“In this time, with all of the internet and social media and algorithms and everything that wants us to think a certain way, the 24-hour new cycle … it is my hope that all of us would teach our kids, and I want to remember: Just refuse hate. Don’t hate anybody.”
“I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican or because they are black or white or LBGTQ,” the producer said. “I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer. I refuse to hate someone because they are Asian.”
RELATED: Tyler Perry’s Oscar Speech Goes Viral: ‘I Refuse To Hate Someone Because They Are A Police Officer’