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The Oscars Left Alexis Arquette Out Of The In Memoriam Segment & People Are Livid

Christopher Luu
February 27, 2017, 6:00 PM
Picture Perfect/REX/Shutterstock.
Last night's Oscar ceremony gave people plenty to talk about. That Moonlight moment? It'll go down in the history books. The candy that rained down on the celebs? We'll forget about that until someone mentions it again next year. But something that's bringing a lot of emotions to the surface is the show's In Memoriam segment.
Last night, there were a few glaring mistakes — one of the producers mentioned is actually still alive. One of the biggest omissions, however, seems to be Alexis Arquette. Many viewers noticed right away that the actor, who died last year from complications related to HIV, was not included among her peers.
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"I’m really bummed. For the in memoriam, they left out our sister Alexis, and she was trans. We're living in a time right now where trans kids can't even go to the bathroom in schools and they're diminished in society," Alexis' sister, Patricia Arquette, told Vanity Fair. "It's really unfortunate that the Oscars decided they couldn’t show a trans person who was such an important person in this community. Because — trans kids — it could have meant a lot to them."
Alexis' fans pointed out that she has over 70 film credits to her name, including The Wedding Singer, Pulp Fiction, Of Mice and Men, and Last Exit to Brooklyn. Patricia told Vanity Fair that her sister wasn't only a respected actor, she was an important pillar of the trans community.
The Boyhood star explained that Alexis had “a great career as a male, and came out as a trans woman and lived her life in her truth... Her career was cut short, not by her passing, but by her decision to live her truth and her life as a transgender woman. Despite the fact that there are few parts for trans actors, she refused to play roles that were demeaning or stereotypical. She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people.”
Alexis wasn't the only star missing from the segment. Viewers noticed that Garry Shandling, Robert Vaughn, and more were also absent from the list.
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