Lady Gaga Just Received The Most Devastating News About The Oscars—What Does It Mean For Her Acting Career?!
February 15, 2022 by Marissa Matozzo
Lady Gaga, 35, really can do it all— sing, dance and act— as proven once again in her impressive, impassioned performance as Patrizia Reggiani in the November 2021 film, House of Gucci. For her portrayal of the former wife of Maurizio Gucci (played by Adam Driver), the head of the Gucci fashion house in the 80s, she earned nominations for the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and BAFTA Awards— but surprisingly—not the Oscars.
The one Academy Award nomination that House of Gucci earned was for Best Hair & Makeup, which the film’s makeup artist, Frederic Aspiras, garnered praise for. The long-awaited drama film also stars Jared Leto, Al Pacino and Salma Hayek, none of whom, (and not even Driver) were nominated for Oscars. We’re shocked!
We’re not alone—Lady Gaga’s fans (who refer to themselves as “Little Monsters”) have been sharing their surprised reactions and disappointment on Twitter, responding to the multi-talented actress being snubbed for her devoted role. In the film, many Gucci fans and critics say, Gaga’s portrayal is an accurate and dedicated depiction of Reggiani, who was convicted in 1998 of ordering her former husband’s murder (he was shot dead in 1995, as seen in the film).
House of Gucci aims to show the couple’s relationship from its very beginnings to its grisly demise, all while featuring epic fashion and style moments (and so many great ones from Gaga) all the while.
“Has the @TheAcademy lost their mind? How dare y’all snub Lady Gaga for House of Gucci! Did yall not see the movie????” wrote one fan. Another tweeted, “Lady Gaga’s snub is quite literally unprecedented,” explaining that the actress made “all 4 major precursors” but “missed an Oscar nomination.” As one other fan wrote, “I’m just really upset about this Lady Gaga Oscar snub and I can’t get over it. This is a surprise!”
On February 8th, soon after The Academy shared their nominations for the 2022 Oscars ceremony, Gaga headed to Instagram to congratulate makeup artist Aspiras for their film. She posted a sweet photo of her and Aspiras together and wrote in her caption, “I could not be happier for a man I call my brother, who I’ve worked with for the last 15 years, @fredericaspiras, for his nomination in Makeup & Hairstyling for House of Gucci.”
Like the class act she is, she also shared her best wishes and support for the other nominees as well. “And to all the nominees this year, congratulations on all your hard work, dedication, your nomination and YOUR magic—you all deserve major recognition for what was a truly beautiful landscape of performances and accomplishments this past year,” Gaga wrote. “Your dedication during Covid, your huge hearts, and your ability to tell amazing stories is a gift to the whole world during what is for many a very hard time. Congratulations my friends. Bravo!”
Gaga’s fans continue to express their disdain towards The Academy for excluding her from its “Actress in A Leading Role” category and for lacking to nominate House of Gucci for “Best Picture.” Although Gaga is firstly internationally known as a singer, songwriter and musical performer, she’s also had her fair share of recent film roles as a starring actress, like her portrayal of Ally Maine in 2018’s A Star Is Born and supporting roles in crime drama films like 2014’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and 2013’s Machete Kills.
An Oscar for Gaga (for acting) feels long-awaited and well-deserved when looking at her extensive talents. She did win the Academy Award for “Best Original Song” in 2019 for her song, “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born, but fans think she deserves to win for her acting skills, as well.
As fans also noted on Twitter, her love for theater dates back to high school, when she even had a small cameo in a 2001 episode of The Sopranos. Although the snub might be hurtful for Little Monsters and maybe Gaga herself, as one fan put it, her role in House of Gucci impressed viewers all over the world and can only mean one thing— she has even more film roles on the way and filmmakers who want to work with her. As Gaga’s longtime, legendary duet partner Tony Bennet sings, “the best is yet to come!”
To see if Gaga wins for her role as Reggiani in House of Gucci, we’ll be tuning in to the SAG Awards on February 27th and the BAFTA Awards on March 13th. To see if the film wins Best Hair & Makeup, see The Oscars live on March 27th.