Big stars drive viewership of the Oscars, but when they’re not in the race, there’s less reason for people to tune in.
Pre-pandemic, there was keen interest in red carpet coverage. What people — especially Oscar’s prime +25F demo — wanted to know was, “Who are you wearing?” They also wanted to see the stars’ pricy borrowed jewels, their mani-cam ring fingers & their shoes-to-die-for. Most of all, they loved seeing stars being people-just-like-us.
No one knows yet what Omicron or the next cursed variant will allow us to do 3/27, but it’s already clear that stars will be missing that night who’d likely have helped boost ratings. Among those snubbed: Lady Gaga (pictured) for HOUSE OF GUCCI, despite her SAG, BAFTA & Critics Choice noms + NY Film Critics win; Daniel Craig for his final time as James Bond in NO TIME TO DIE; & Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in RESPECT, despite her SAG & People’s Choice nods.
Also, Bradley Cooper, despite his SAG nom for LICORICE PIZZA; Leonardo DiCaprio for DON’T LOOK UP (repeating his 1998 TITANIC snub), despite his SAG & BAFTA nods; & Ariana Grande, despite her Critics Choice best song nom for co-writing DON’T’s “Just Look Up,” a likely Oscar showstopper if she got to perform it.