The executive director of the film academy said that Farrah Fawcett wasn’t included in the Academy Awards’ In Memoriam segment because the actress was better known as a TV star. It was a difficult decision for the committee that assembles the segment, said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis, who added that he’s not surprised some people are upset.

Fawcett’s family issued a statement saying they were "deeply saddened" and "bereft with this exclusion of such an international icon who inspired so many for so many reasons." Davis said the academy committee thought that while Fawcett appeared in movies, she was better known for her "remarkable television work" and would be more appropriately honoured by the television academy at the Emmy Awards.