Give Them Their Flowers: 20 Award Season Snubs We're Still Salty About

Are you even a person if you didn’t feel gutted by Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Oscar Grant III? Jordan’s performance deserved recognition from both the Academy and the Golden Globes, but, for some reason, his performance was overlooked by both.

And, while we’re at it, let’s not forget Octavia Spencer’s stunning supporting role as Grant’s mother Wanda. 

We still think about late actor Michael Clarke Duncan’s role as John Coffey, a stand out performance in 1999. While Clarke received nominations, he lost the Oscar to Michael Caine and the Golen Globe award to Tom Cruise. 

Ali had strong competition during the 2002 awards season. So, while we can’t  be completely mad that Smith lost the Best Actor award at the Oscars to Denzel Washington for his role in Training Day, we really wish there were some way for the Academy to acknowledge one of Smith’s best roles. 

While the Golden Globes gave Grier recognition for her role in Jackie Brown, the Academy looked over the actress’ performance and decided to go more of a beige route for the 1998 awards. 

Like Smith’s nomination for Ali, we can’t be completely mad that the Academy awarded Best Actor to Jamie Foxx for his role in Ray over Cheadle’s in Hotel Rwanda. Still, the actor’s phenomenal performance is one we wish would have been awarded. 

The film may not have been perfect, but Elba’s performance as the Commandant definitely left us shook. While his performance was recognized by the Golden Globes, the Academy, again, decided to go a more beige route for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role nominations.

It’s been 25 years since the release of What’s Love Got To Do With It and we’re still upset about Bassett’s loss at the 1994 Academy Awards. A word to Academy voters, Angela still has more exceptional roles to come.

How The Color Purple received 11 Oscar nominations and didn’t win one is beyond us. We’re still heated about this and Oprah’s loss at the 1986 awards. Like Angela Bassett, Oprah has more roles under her belt.

Yes, Michael B. Jordan is on this list twice because, ONCE AGAIN, our man was snubbed by the Academy in order to give Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar for crawling around in the woods in The Revenant. 

And, let’s not forget that Creed director Ryan Coogler was also snubbed by the Academy and Golden Globes.

While Selma earned an Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song, DuVernay was snubbed for Best Director. How? We don’t know. Had DuVernay been nominated and won, she would have become the first Black woman to win a directing Oscar. Still, the Golden Globes recognized DuVernay with a nomination during the 2015 awards season, making her the first Black woman to be nominated for directing. 

Moonlight took home three Oscars during 2017’s award season, but you know which Academy Award the film did not take home? Best Achievement in Directing. Who do we have to fight?

Gina Prince-Bythewood deserves her flowers for this film. Overlooked by the Academy and Golden Globes, the famed director’s film has become a classic. 

Hidden Figures, one of 2016’s most buzzed about films, only received two nominations from the Golden Globes and three from the Academy during the 2017 awards season, neither of which included a nomination for Taraji P. Henson’s portrayal as Katherine Johnson. How Sway?

While Haddish is too booked and busy to be mad about her Golden Globes snub, we still are and #weready.

Denzel Washington didn’t play Malcolm X, he embodied the man in this 1992 film. Washington was nominated for the Academy Awards’ best actor but lost.

Eddie Murphy is known for being one of the greatest comedians and actors of all time and even won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.But despite his successful body of work he’s never won an Oscar, even after being nominated for his role in Dream Girls.