Kendrick Lamar And SZA Will Not Perform At The Oscars
Rapper Kendrick Lamar and singer SZA will not appear at Sunday’s Academy Awards, and only four of the five Best Original Song nominees will be performed at the ceremony, adding another wrinkle to the drama surrounding the show’s logistics.
The duo will not be available to perform their hit song “All the Stars” from Best Picture nominee “Black Panther,” a source told Variety Thursday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed the news to HuffPost.
According to Deadline, Oscars producers had failed to work out scheduling and logistics with Lamar, who was also notably absent from this month’s Grammy Awards, where he won Best Rap Performance. Lamar declined an invitation to perform at the Grammys, according to The New York Times.
Variety also reported that no one will perform the song in Lamar and SZA’s place.
The academy previously announced the performers for the other four nominated songs, which did not include Lamar and SZA, stirring speculation that they might not appear.
After widespread criticism last month, the academy rolled back a plan to only feature two musical performances: Lamar and SZA, and “A Star is Born” stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga reprising “Shallow,” the centerpiece of their movie.
This story has been updated with confirmation from the academy.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
