Emmys 2020: Fans shocked after Kobe Bryant, Nick Cordero, and Kelly Preston excluded from ‘In Memoriam’ tribute

Fans were left disappointed after notable celebrities including Nick Cordero were left out of last night’s (20 September) Emmys “In Memoriam” segment.

Those honoured in the emotional tribute included Chadwick Boseman, James Lipton, Kirk Douglas, Carl Reiner, Jerry Stiller, Max Von Sydow, Adam Schlesinger, Regis Philbin and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

However, the late Broadway star Cordero, Kelly Preston, Drag Race contestant Chi Chi DeVayne, and Kobe Bryant were conspicuously absent from the mentions.

One Twitter user wrote: “Ummm… no Nick Cordero? NOT COOL given the nature of his passing…”. Cordero died in July from coronavirus at the age of 41, after battling the illness for 95 days.

Another said: “Did you folks just snub Kelly Preston?!” The Jerry Maguire actor died of breast cancer in July, aged 57.

A third user added: “How do you manage to leave out Kobe Bryant from the In Memoriam while filming at the Staples Center?” The Emmys virtual ceremony was held in the Staples Centre, which is home to Byrant’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the NBA legend, who died aged 41 in a helicopter crash in January, was not an actor, he was a mainstay on television. Bryant won a Sports Emmy in 2018 for Dear Basketball. The animated short also won Bryant an Oscar that same year.

Fans of the basketball star were previously disappointed when Bryant was excluded from the list of those lost over the past year during the MTV 2020 VMAs in August.

Also missing from this year’s tribute was RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Chi Chi DeVayne, who died in August after contracting pneumonia.

During the Creative Arts Emmy awards ceremony on Saturday (19 September), RuPaul dedicated his win to the season eight contestant.