People Aren’t Thrilled About Chadwick Boseman’s Swag Bag NFT, Especially After His Oscars Snub

The Oscars’ seemingly planned big tribute ending for the late Chadwick Boseman may have gotten spoiled, but there were plenty of reminders of the actor’s life and legacy at the Academy Awards on Sunday. Not all of them thrilled viewers, though, especially after Boseman failed to snag a posthumous Best Actor award for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

This year’s festivities were different in a number of ways, starting with all the coronavirus pandemic safety requirements and a visually different broadcast. But the very order of operations was upset this time around, with the Best Actor award coming last rather than Best Picture, as is normally the case. What was meant to be a grand finale for Boseman landed with a thud when he didn’t win and Anthony Hopkins, who did, wasn’t even around to snag the trophy.

All of that drama irked some folks to say the least, and it also made another tribute to Boseman ring that much more hollow. Digital artist Andre Oshea was commissioned to create the NFT of Boseman, which was included as part of Oscars swag bags on Sunday.

A version was also set up for auction on Rarible, with the goal of donating half of the proceeds to The Colon Cancer Foundation. But despite the good cause, some weren’t thrilled by the perception of it all in the aftermath of the ceremony.

Part of this is simply NFT exhaustion, as countless artists, companies and intellectual property holders have tried to cash in on the NFT explosion of the last few months. But it’s also just an uncomfortable aftermath of a moment that didn’t work out perfectly. Raising money for a charity trying to help those afflicted by a cancer that took Boseman’s life is, indeed, a good thing. But the idea of a Boseman NFT, especially in the context of his more tangible snub on Sunday, didn’t sit well with a number of people online.