2022 Oscar snubs: Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more

The 2022 Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday morning. And among this year’s crop of nominees, there were some pleasant surprises, including Kristen Stewart clinching a nod for the Princess Diana biopic Spencer, Kirsten Dunst’s very first nomination for Power of the Dog (which also racked up 12 nominations), Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…BOOM!, and the Academy’s first deaf male actor nominee.

But of course, the Oscars can’t please everyone. And as usual, some glaring oversights are undoubtedly going to have ardent cinephiles kvetching. We’ve rounded up the biggest snubs, listed below.

Lady Gaga; House of Gucci

Ridley Scott’s unintentionally campy House of Gucci scored 2022 SAG nominations for ensemble and acting nods for Lady Gaga and Jared Leto, however, it only managed to score an Oscar nomination for Makeup and Hairstyling. Lady Gaga was widely speculated to land a nomination for Best Actress and the film for Best Picture — though no one was really surprised that Leto didn’t make the cut.

Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim

The son of late actor and frequent Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Haim singer both made their film debuts in the critically acclaimed Licorice Pizza. But despite the film getting nominated for Best Picture, its two leads were left out in the cold. Nevertheless, Haim’s performance earned her nominations for the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs.

Jennifer Hudson; Respect

We’ll save you the obvious joke here, but unfortunately, Hudson didn’t get her second nomination for Liesl Tommy’s directorial debut Respect, based on the life of Aretha Franklin. Previously, Hudson took home Best Supporting Actress in 2007 for Dreamgirls.

Ben Affleck; The Last Duel

Following the outrage of Affleck being nominated for a Razzie Award for his performance in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, many fans were rooting for the 49-year-old to score an Oscar nomination for what some people called one of the best acting performances of the year. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.

Ruth Negga; Passing

Rebecca Hall’s critically acclaimed feature debut, based on the 1929 Nella Larsen novel of the same name, was completely shut out of all Oscar categories. But it’s Negga’s absence that seems particularly egregious, as she was previously nominated for a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Jeffrey Wright; The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson’s comedy anthology likewise did not receive any nominations, despite featuring a murderers’ row of talent from Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand to Timothée Chalamet and Benicio del Toro. However, many people felt that Wright’s standout performance in “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner” deserved a nod. And as always, the set design was a treat.

Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Speaking of Ms. McDormand, many expected her to go two-for-two, following up her 2021 Best Actress win for Nomadland. But even literally starring as Lady Macbeth couldn’t make McDormand a five-time Oscar winner.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Many people thought DiCaprio would be a shoo-in to secure his seventh Oscar nod for Adam McKay’s end-of-the-world comedy Don’t Look Up. But while the film earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Editing, and Score, it was passed over in the acting categories.

Rita Moreno; West Side Story

The 2021 adaptation of the stage musical West Side Story received a total of seven nominations across the board, including Best Picture, Cinematography, Best Director, and Ariana DeBose for Best Supporting Actress. But Moreno, who also won Best Supporting Actress in the 1961 version, failed to become the first actress to be nominated for different adaptations of the same film. Oh well. At least she’s still got that EGOT.