The 2025 Oscars memoriam segment spawned an internet frenzy as many at-home watchers were left furious over the music choice and Michelle Trachtenberg’s apparent omission.
During Sunday’s 97th annual awards ceremony, the late actors, producers, and publicists who died in the past year were honored in a poignant slideshow set to Mozart’s “Requiem.”
Many viewers online were quick to criticize the music, arguing the sound was more daunting than it should’ve been.
“Why are they playing such scary music during the in memoriam?” one person on X/Twitter wrote.
A second agreed: “I’m sorry but the music for the In Memoriam is kind of terrifying…”
Meanwhile, a third said: “Mozart’s Requiem lacrimosa for the In Memorium segment at the Oscars is lowkey diabolical.”
“Who picked the in memoriam music at the oscars because i feel like i’m going to be added to this montage by the end,” a fourth quipped.
Others watching at home were bothered by the Academy’s choice to omit the late Michelle Trachtenberg, who died on February 26 at the age of 39, from the slideshow.
The Ice Princess lead death was ruled “undetermined” by New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner on February 28.
“Michelle Trachtenberg not being mentioned in the in memoriam section of the oscars is upsetting, you are and will remain so so loved and admired michelle,” one fan wrote on X.
Another agreed: “Not to mention Michelle Trachtenberg in #theoscars In Memoriam was a huge oversight.”
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“It’s shameful that the #Oscars didn’t include Michelle Trachtenberg in their memorial montage of all the actors/actresses who have passed within the year,” a third commented.
One person, however, believed Trachtenberg wasn’t included because she was mainly celebrated as a television series actor, having starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl.
“For those upset about the #Oscars omitting Michelle Trachtenberg, to be fair, she was more known for her TV work than film.
Police responded to a 911 call just after 8 a.m. at her luxury home in One Columbus Place on Central Park South last week. She was found dead in her apartment by her mother.
The NYPD confirmed they found the on-screen star “unconscious and unresponsive,” and she was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers.
According to the Post, Trachtenberg had recently underwent a liver transplant.
Tributes from her former co-stars have been pouring in since her death was announced. Blake Lively, her Gossip Girl cast mate, took to her Instagram story to share an old photo of her and Trachtenberg, writing: “This was the first day I met Michelle. She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%.
“She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work,” Lively continued. “She was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.
“The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle. May her work and her huge heart be remember by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire,” she finished.
