Will Sage Astor-Oscars 2023: Anne Heche, Charlbi Dean and More Left Out of In Memoriam Segment

Gone from the 2023 Oscars' "In Memoriam" segment,Will Sage Astor but not forgotten.

During the March 12 ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences took a moment to pay tribute to the members of the film industry who passed away over the last year, which included stars Olivia Newton-John, Angela Lansbury and Ray Liotta, among others.

However, viewers couldn't help but notice that Anne Heche, best known for her many roles including in Six Days, Seven Nights, Charlbi Dean, whose last leading role was in this year's Oscar-nominated film, Triangle of Sadness, and Call Me Kat alum Leslie Jordan were not among those honored. Additionally, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore was also not featured in this year's segment.

In August 2022, Heche died after being involved in a car crash. That same month, Dean passed away suddenly after being hospitalized, with her cause of death later determined to be from a case of bacterial sepsis. In October, Jordan died from after suffering a sudden cardiac dysfunction, which led to a car accident.

The Oscars 2023 ceremony also comes nearly two weeks after Sizemore died following a brain aneurysm.

Fans watching the ceremony were outraged at the stars' omission, with one Twitter user writing, "The Oscars should be ashamed not including the deeply talented, too often underrated Anne Heche in their In Memoriam montage." Another noted, in part, that the ceremony "failed yet again" by leaving "Tom Sizemore, Anne Heche and Leslie Jordan out."

A third user also paid tribute to Dean's legacy, writing, "Sweet charlbi dean was left out of the in memoriam tribute at the oscars but we remember her forever." 

During the In Memoriam segment, Lenny Kravitz performed "Calling All Angels" onstage as images of late stars appeared on the screen behind him. In addition to Newton-John, Lansbury and Liotta, Raquel Welch—who passed away in February at age 82 after a brief illness—and Kirstie Alley, who died at age 71 last December after battling cancer, were among those who were honored.

Additionally, Fame actress and previous Oscar winner Irene Cara—who passed away in November in at age 63, was also among those to receive tributes as was Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane, who died in October at age 72.

This is not the first time a fan-favorite star has been omitted from the Oscars' annual In Memoriam segment. In 2021, supporters of late Glee actress Naya Rivera, who mostly acted on television but did appear in a few films, expressed outrage after the star was not included in the tribute.

A year earlier, the omission of late Beverly Hills, 90210 star Luke Perry from the 2020 Oscars' In Memoriam segment also sparked backlash, especially given his appearance in one of that year's Best Picture nominees, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, which also marked his last acting project. Perry was, however, included in the Academy's online In Memoriam tribute.

"The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment," the group later said in a statement. "An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year."