The widow of a horror film icon Tony Todd called out the Emmy Awards for snubbing her late husband from Sunday night’s televised “In Memoriam” segment.
Fatima Cortez Todd, the wife of the late “Candyman” actor, said she was disappointed that the prestigious award show did not mention him in the live broadcast.
“Tony had a long list of TV credits but he was not respected as much by the industry he gave his artistic life [to],” Fatima told Entertainment Weekly.
The BAFTA Award-nominee, who died of natural causes in California at age 69 in Nov. 2024, was most known for starring as “The Candyman” in the horror franchise, five “Final Destination” movies, voicing Zoom in the “The Flash” television show and multiple characters in “Star Trek” video games.
“The award shows look over many who should be honored,” Fatima said. “That’s on them.”
She claimed that her late husband tried to keep a positive attitude, even though the industry wasn’t always fair during his decades-long career.
“He was classically trained and always given great support by his fans,” she said. “Ultimately, he gave his all because he loved his work. Many times he was told that he should have had a role he didn’t get. He still maintained his generosity of spirit.”
The actor was also left out of the “In Memoriam” segment during the Oscars in March.
Sunday night’s Emmy Award segment, which featured stars who have passed away, was introduced by ”The Cosby Show” actress Phylicia Rashad.
It opened with a touching tribute to Rashad’s former co-star, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, before Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson performed the song “’Go Rest High on That Mountain” as names like “Nip/Tuck” actor Julian McMahon and “Good Times” star John Amos were featured on the screen.
But notable names like wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan, “King of the Hill” voice actor Jonathan Joss and “Sopranos” actor Jerry Adler were left out of the live broadcast and only mentioned in a separate list shared on the Television Academy’s website.
“Every year, the Emmy Awards and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies each present an In Memoriam video,” the Television Academy captioned under the extended video online.
“Given only a few minutes to honor those who have passed, there is a limit on how many people can be acknowledged on the broadcasts. We’ve presented a more extensive video, listing the hundreds of names of television colleagues we’ve lost in the past year.”