Oscars Executive Defends In Memoriam Segment Amid Backlash Over Omissions Of Dharmendra, Eric Dane And Others

The 98th Academy Awards, held in Los Angeles on Sunday (March 15) night, sparked outrage and criticism among viewers after several notable stars, including Eric Dane, Brigitte Bardot, Bud Cort, James Van Der Beek, David Keighley and Indian actor Dharmendra, were missing during the In Memoriam segment of the live broadcast.

The 2026 Oscars In Memoriam segment paid tribute to the late Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, and other legends like Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton.

Amid the backlash, broadcast executive Rob Mills has reacted to the criticism. Here's what he said.

Oscar producer addresses In Memoriam omissions

During an interview with Variety, Rob Mills of Walt Disney Television, who oversees the Academy Awards telecast, addressed the backlash, defending the decision to omit some names from the In Memoriam segment from the Oscars 2026 broadcast.

When Rob was asked about the In Memoriam segment criticism, he said, “I think it’s the hardest thing they possibly do. It always is hard when they are sort of villainised for this. Yes, there’s always people who are left out. Unfortunately, we’re losing more and more people, and especially, we’re losing legendary people every year, so it is probably the hardest needle to thread,” he said.

“I do think what they did last night might have been the best In Memoriam in the history of the Oscars,” he added.

Mills also spoke about the segment in the interview with The Wrap, saying that conceptualising the segment is always a big task.

Hema Malini on Dharmendra's Oscars snub

In an interview with Subhash K Jha for Bollywood Hungama, Hema Malini, reacting to Dharmendra's omission from the Oscars tribute, said, “It is a shame, of course. A shame for them to have overlooked an actor who means so much to so many people across many parts of the world. Dharamji was known and recognised everywhere.”