Shegraced the red carpet for years interviewing Hollywood's biggest stars andcritiquing their fashion choices, so when it came time to the "In Memoriam" segment at the Oscars Sunday night, many were shocked that the late Joan Rivers was notincluded.
Joan Rivers seen signing a copy of her latest book months before her untimely death Photo: Getty Images
The iconic comedian may not have been considered a movie star, but her presence inHollywood for decades was one that should be remembered, according to fans andindustry insiders. Many took to Twitter to announce their disappointment in theAcademy for the snub. Famous television critic James Poniewozik wrote, "Did I miss Joan Rivers? Ordid the Oscars?" And TV host Scott Nevins said, "Shameful that @TheAcademy still treated @Joan_Rivers like crap even after death.Get over yourselves."
Meryl Streep introduced the 'In Memoriam' segment at Sunday night's Oscars Photo: Getty Images
Arepresentative for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences quickly defended theirdecision by releasing a statement. "Joan Rivers is among the many worthyartists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the 'InMemoriam' segment of this year's Oscar show. She is, however, included in our 'In Memoriam' gallery on Oscar.com," they said.
Proving she made her mark in Hollywood, hundreds of people paid tribute to her Walk of Fame star after her passing Photo: Getty Images
The81-year-old, who passed away in September during what was supposed to be aroutine procedure, appeared in several films including The MuppetsTake Manhattan and Spaceballs. She also wrote and directed the 1978 comedyRabbit Test.
Celebrities like Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic attended Joan's funeral in September in New York City Photo: Getty Images
Broadway legend Elaine Stritch was another notable left out ofthe segment despite her work in everything from 1957’s A Farewell to Arms to September to 2005’s Monster-in-Law.
