Oscars 2026: Brigitte Bardot, Eric Dane among stars snubbed during in memoriam tribute

The Oscars ceremony featured an emotional extended in memoriam segment saluting the actors and film-makers who died last year, but some movie lovers were left upset by several glaring omissions.

Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton and Robert Redford were among the stars honoured during the 15-minute tribute at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Monday, Hello! magazine reported.

However, fans on social media questioned why several other leading entertainment figures were not acknowledged.

French actor and 1960s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot failed to receive a mention during the segment, to the dismay of many internet users.

One viewer called the omission a “pretty astounding miss”, while another labelled it a “total shame”.

A third commenter claimed the Academy “missed the mark” with its presentation.

French actor Brigitte Bardot did not receive a mention during the Oscars 2026 in memoriam tribute. Photo / Supplied

Billy Crystal led the evening’s tributes, eulogising his When Harry Met Sally director Rob Reiner who was killed with his wife Michele Singer Reiner in December.

“My friend Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be: far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human,” Crystal said.

“And for us who had the privilege of working with him and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.”

Crystal’s When Harry Met Sally co-star Meg Ryan joined him on stage with other Reiner collaborators including Kathy Bates, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Mandy Patinkin and Jerry O’Connell.

Robert Redford was honoured by his The Way We Were co-star Barbra Streisand during the 2026 Oscars.

Rachel McAdams delivered a speech honouring Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, while Barbra Streisand took to the stage for a musical tribute to her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford.

“I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail and won the Academy Award for best director,” Streisand said of Redford.

Bardot’s exclusion from the presentation was welcomed by some online viewers, Euronews reported.

“Not really sad that a woman convicted several times for hate speech was excluded. Good riddance,” wrote one.

The Guardian reported a tribute to Bardot at the Oscars’ French equivalent, the Cesar’s, was met with boos from audience members.

The actor was convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred.

Grey's Anatomy's Eric Dane. Photo / Supplied

Eric Dane, who died last month after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was also left out of the tribute.

Producer Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy, defended the Oscars’ decision, telling Entertainment Tonight “he’s not a movie star”.

“You can’t fault the Oscars for the fact they were looking at movies and there were so many people who were lost, but Eric was unique to television,” she said, adding he will be “immortalised the way he should be” at the Emmys.