Some viewers tuning into the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday (March 2) were left confused an upset after Michelle Trachtenberg was seemingly left out of the In Memoriam segment days after her sudden death.
The 2025 Oscars honored many actors, filmmakers and other industry professionals who passed away over the course of the last year, including James Earl Jones, Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, Maggie Smith and David Lynch, to name a few. The segment, which was set to a live performance of Mozart's "Requiem – Lacrimosa," per People, also featured a touching tribute by Morgan Freeman for his late friend and legendary actor Gene Hackman, whose shocking death was also reported days before the show. However, viewers noticed that many famous faces no longer with us were left out of the emotional tribute.
Trachtenberg, who suddenly passed away February 26 at the age of 39, was notably absent from the segment on the telecast, causing fans to voice the frustrations about the "disrespectful" snub online, TMZ reports.
"Michelle Trachtenberg deserved her flowers!!!" one social media user wrote, awhile another said that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress "not being mentioned in the in memoriam section of the oscars is upsetting."
The Gossip Girl alum wasn't the only star missing from the In Memoriam on screen, Variety notes. Others snubbed from the in-show tribute include actors like Shannen Doherty, Tony Todd, Linda Lavin, Martin Mull, Chance Perdomo, Tony Roberts, Mitzi Gaynor and Olivia Hussey as well as documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.
Despite not appearing on the televised segment, many of the actors and filmmakers missing from the tribute are included on The Academy's official In Memoriam database website.