Author: Nick Reilly

NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM

Oscars viewers have expressed their disappointment after the late Luke Perry was left out of the In Memoriam montage during the prestigious ceremony.

In keeping with tradition, the ceremony paid its annual tribute to key figures from the film industry who have died in the 12 months.

Billie Eilish performed a cover of The Beatles’ Yesterday as the presentation played out, but Perry was noticeable in his absence after dying in March 2019.

The former Riverdale passed away after suffering a devastating stroke, with his family ultimately deciding to switch off his life support machine.

• READ MORE: Oscars 2020: The biggest talking points from Brad Pitt’s first win to Eminem’s unexpected appearance

Perry’s absence was particularly notable because he had also starred in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which was nominated for Best Picture.

One viewer wrote on Twitter: “Excluding Luke Perry from the Oscars in Memoriam was disrespectful. He appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which was nominated for Best Picture. Quentin Tarantino personally selected Luke to be in his movie so why not mention him?”

Another said: “To not feature Luke Perry, given his last role was in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is appalling.”

Others also noticed the absence of horror legend Sid Haig, who died last September, and Descendants star Cameron Boyce who died at the age of 20.

Meanwhile, the Oscars were dominated by history-making wins for Parasite –  which became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture in Oscars history.

It also won the awards for Best Director (Bong Joon-ho), Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Film Editing.

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor for his titular role in Joker, while Renee Zellweger scooped the Best Actress prize for her turn as Judy Garland in Judy.

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Snoop Dogg has denied threatening US anchor Gayle King after telling her to “back off bitch, before we come get you” for mentioning rape allegations faced by the late Kobe Bryant.

The rapper said on Twitter that he is a “non-violent person” and claimed King was being “disrespectful” for bringing up the allegations after the NBA star’s death.

He wrote: “P. S. A. From the peoples champ now carry on and be nice to others KB8/24.”

He explained: “Here’s a message to the people that need to know. I’m a non-violent person. When I said what I said, I spoke for the people who felt like Gayle was very disrespectful towards Kobe Bryant and his family.

“Now with that being said, I wouldn’t want harm coming to a 70-year-old woman. I was raised way better than that. I didn’t want no harm to come to her, I didn’t threaten her. All I did was say, ‘Check it out, you’re outta pocket for what you’re doing and we’re watching you. Have a little more respect for Vanessa, her babies and Kobe Bryant’s legacy’.”

Snoop added: “Anyway, I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing, y’all keep doing what you’re doing. We’re very non-violent, we just want to say that first and foremost we speak from the heart. Some of you have no hearts and won’t understand that.”

His clarification comes after he previously criticised Gayle for asking  WNBA star Lisa Leslie if she thought Kobe’s legacy was “complicated” by the 2003 sexual assault charge he previously faced.

“What do you gain from that? I swear to god, we the worst. We the fucking worst,” he said in the video.

“We expect more from you, Gayle. Why y’all attacking us? We your people! You ain’t come after fucking Harvey Weinstein, asking them dumb-ass questions. I get sick of y’all.”

It comes after 50 Cent also criticised Gayle King for asking Leslie about the rape allegations against Bryant.

Bryant was charged with felony sexual assault in 2003 after a 19-year-old woman accused him of raping her at a hotel in Colorado. The case was dismissed in 2004 after prosecutors said the woman didn’t want to testify in court.

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Spike Lee paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant at the Oscars last night by wearing a purple suit.

The seminal director, a diehard NBA fan, wore a purple suit with yellow trimming – the colours of Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers, as he attended the prestigious ceremony.

Confirming the nod to the late basketball star, the BlackKklansman director told MailOnline: “It’s for Kobe and it’s my way of paying tribute.”

As well as adopting the colours of the Lakers, Lee completed the look by featuring Bryant’s jersey number, 24, on his jacket lapel and the back of the jacket, and wearing a pair of his signature Nike shoes.

Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash last month alongside his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, had previously collaborated with Lee on Kobe Doin’ Work, a 2009 documentary that detailed the NBA icon’s preparations for a crunch game against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007-2008 season.

He said of Bryant’s impact on Los Angeles: “I just got here this morning and I see on the bus, everywhere, you can’t miss it.

“LA, the world, but especially LA, he grew up here, came in when he was 17 years old, and again, all of us human beings, and I include myself, we take for granted this great gift we have of being alive.”

Meanwhile, the Oscars were dominated by history-making wins for Parasite –  which became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture in Oscars history.

It also won the awards for Best Director (Bong Joon-ho), Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Film Editing.

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor for his titular role in Joker, while Renee Zellweger scooped the Best Actress prize for her turn as Judy Garland in Judy.

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Rapper Drillminister has told NME that he’s running for Mayor of London to provide a voice that will represent everyone in the capital.

The South London musician is vying to secure the top job in City Hall, amid stiff competition from the likes of incumbent Mayor Sadiq Khan, Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey, former Tory MP Rory Stewart and Liberal Democrat hopeful Siobhan Benita.

But despite never stepping into politics before, the rapper insists that he’s far more representative of Londoners than his rivals ahead of the crunch vote in May.

“Nobody in this race is a realer Londoner than me,” he told NME.

“So I don’t see how as a Londoner, when it gets to the crunch, unless you’re worried about policy or making things continue as they are, why you wouldn’t vote for me. They’re not realistic candidates because they have political agendas. I haven’t got one.”

He has also promised to unveil a pioneering manifesto and says it will provide sweeping changes to the ways that transport, homelessness and mental health are tackled within the capital.

When it comes to homelessness, he says he will look into reclaiming abandoned buildings, as well as introducing a contactless card that will allow homeless Londoners to secure key resources.

“I wanna look at abandoned buildings and government buildings that haven’t been claimed for a long time, renovating them into charities and safe spaces for minority groups, and people that are under threat, whether that’s LGBTQ backgrounds or people that don’t feel safe in their area. If you’re from an ethnic minority, or wearing a hijab and feeling under threat, you can go there and feel safe,” he said.

He also claimed that introducing a contactless card for homeless people will encourage further donations from the public.

“There’s a lot of people not wanting to give money to people in vulnerable situations. To enable people to have that safety in their own heart, and to know they’re doing a good deed, we’ll have a card where people can use it to get essential goods – whether that’s toilet paper, sanitary towels, food and drink.

“Just standard things that a bank card can do, and that will allow them to manoeuvre around the city.”

But if he emerges triumphant in May, will we finally see the man behind the recognisable gold glasses and balaclava? Don’t count on it.

“That’s not what the people want! The people don’t want the politics they saw in 2018 and 2019, they want Donald Trump politics. The biggest reality celebrity becomes the leading politician in the world. Right now, we need England to revolutionise politics. It has to have a shake-up, and I’m just here to give it a shake-up.”

You can watch NME’s entire interview with Drillminister above.

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