And boycotting the Oscars…
Over the years, many A-listers have stood up and vetoed attending the coveted Academy Awards ceremony.
Each celebrity cited a different reason for their absence, including politics, need for sleep, or simply no longer caring about the accolades.
Ahead of the 2026 Oscars, Amanda Seyfried has revealed that winning a trophy isn’t high on her list of priorities.
During an interview with The New Yorker, the 40-year-old actress was asked if winning an Oscar was “important” to her.
Seyfried said, “No. Do you remember who won in the last 10 years?”
The “Mean Girls” star had two movies released on the same day in December, “The Testament of Ang Lee” and “The Housemaid.”
Seyfried’s limited crime series “Long Bright River” was released last March and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
“It’s not the wins that matter, it’s the nominations. The nominations move you forward,” she added. “That’s a fact.”
Keep reading to see all the stars who boycotted the Oscars.
elizabeth taylor
In 1967, the actress and her then-husband Richard Burton were both nominated for the thriller Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
However, Burton persuaded his wife not to attend the ceremony with him.
Burton, who died in 1984, had lost four times before, in “My Cousin Rachel” (1952), “The Robe” (1953), “Beckett” (1964) and “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” (1965).
He had no intention of continuing his winning streak.
Taylor, on the other hand, ended up winning Best Actress. The star, who passed away in 2011, also won an Academy Award for 1960’s Butterfield 8.
Burton continued to lose in 1969’s Anne of a Thousand Days and 1978’s Equus.
marlon brando
The beloved actor was a front-runner for the Best Actor award for his role as Vito Corleone in 1973’s The Godfather. Brand, who passed away in 2004, ended up skipping the ceremony and was replaced by Native American activist Sachen Littlefeather.
Littlefeather, who died in 2022, refused the award on Brando’s behalf on stage and read a speech for him about the mistreatment of Native Americans in the film. However, she was met with furious boos.
woody allen
The 90-year-old film director is notorious for skipping award ceremonies. In 1978, Allen won Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture for the romantic comedy Annie Hall, starring Diane Keaton.
Still, he chose not to appear. But in 2002, Allen attended the Oscars ceremony to introduce films made in New York City after the September 11 attacks.
In 1974, after the comedy science fiction film Sleeper was not nominated for an Oscar, he said, “The whole idea of awards is ridiculous.”
“I can’t follow the judgment of others, because if you accept it when others say you deserve an award, you have to accept it when others say you don’t deserve an award.”
paul newman
The actor was nominated for an Oscar six times, in 1959, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1982, and 1983, and won the award in 1987 for The Color of Money.
Newman, who died in 2008, did not attend the Oscar ceremony and explained to the Associated Press, “It’s like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. When she finally relents, you say, ‘I’m so sorry. I’m tired.'”
The star was nominated again in 1995 for “Nobody’s Fool” and in 2003 for “Road to Perdition.”
However, Newman won the prestigious Oscar twice, in 1986 and 1994.
eminem
In 2003, Eminem won Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself” in the musical drama “8 Mile.”
Eminem was reportedly asleep when his song won the award, so the artist’s co-writer Luis Resto accepted the award.
Eminem later confessed that he didn’t actually come to the venue because he didn’t expect to win.
Will Smith
In 2016, the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” alum took a stand against the annual show.
Smith, 57, who was not nominated for his 2015 sports thriller Concussion, decided not to attend in protest of the lack of diversity in the nominees.
For the second year in a row, all 20 main actor nominees were white.
“We’re part of this community,” Smith said on “Good Morning America” at the time. “But at this point, I don’t feel comfortable standing there and saying, ‘This is OK.’
The “Bad Boys” star is no stranger to attending award ceremonies. In 1989, he boycotted the Grammy Awards because the Best Rap Performance category was not televised.
“There’s nothing wrong with the Grammys as an award or the Grammys as an organization, it’s just the design of the 1989 ceremony,” Smith told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “We have chosen to boycott. We feel this is a slap in the face.”
Years later, at the 2022 Academy Awards, Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face on stage after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The academy board also banned star players from attending awards ceremonies for the next 10 years. Mr Smith later apologized to Mr Locke, 60.
Spike Lee
The 68-year-old filmmaker also boycotted the 2016 Oscars, despite receiving an honorary Oscar for his directorial achievements in 2016.
Like Smith, Lee also grappled with the lack of diversity.
At the time, the director posted a photo of a young Martin Luther King Jr. on Instagram and wrote, “My wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee, and I will not be attending the Oscars.”
Lee added, “This is no disrespect to my friends, host Chris Rock, producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs, or the Academy.”
“But how is it possible that for two years in a row, all 20 nominees in the acting category are white? And let’s not even mess with the other categories. We’ve had 40 white actors in two years and no flavas at all. Can’t we act?! Oh my god!!”
