Fans criticised the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards after several notable television figures, including Chuck Norris and Nicholas Brendon, were left out of the tribute.
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards faced significant online backlash after several notable television figures who died over the past year were omitted from the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment.
Among the most prominent names missing from the tribute was Chuck Norris, the Walker, Texas Ranger star who died in March at the age of 86 following a hospitalisation in Hawaii.
Norris starred in all nine seasons of the CBS action series and also appeared in television programmes including The Goldbergs and Hawaii Five-0.
Nicholas Brendon omission draws attention
Another notable omission was Nicholas Brendon, best known for playing Xander Harris in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Brendon died in March at the age of 54.
His absence from the memorial segment drew particular attention because the same Emmy broadcast featured a reunion tribute to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with co-stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Anthony Head appearing on stage.
The contrast prompted fans to question why Brendon was not included in the broader tribute to television figures who had died during the year.
Other television figures left out
Other names reportedly missing from the segment included Daveigh Chase, known for Big Love and Lilo & Stitch: The Series, who died in June at the age of 35.
Also absent were Grizz Chapman, known for 30 Rock; Patrick Muldoon, whose credits included Starship Troopers and Days of Our Lives; and Jaye P. Morgan, a panelist on The Gong Show.
Actor and director Robert Redford was also notably absent from the televised tribute.
Fans expressed frustration across social media over the omissions.
One widely shared post stated: “Chuck Norris didn’t make the In Memoriam, they made a mistake.”
A friend of Daveigh Chase also told TMZ that the actress had been “snubbed” from the tribute.
Emmy tribute honours major television figures
The In Memoriam segment did feature lengthy dedicated tributes to several major entertainment figures, including Rob Reiner, Dolly Parton and Catherine O’Hara.
The ceremony also recognised other notable losses, including Hayden Panettiere and Bob Mackie.
Jamie Lee Curtis delivered a personal tribute to Reiner, her late friend and a posthumous Emmy winner at this year’s ceremony.
O’Hara’s Schitt’s Creek co-stars Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, together with her Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin, introduced the wider In Memoriam segment.
The omissions have since become a major point of discussion among viewers, particularly because several of the absent figures had established television careers spanning decades.