Patricia Arquette slams Oscars for leaving sister Alexis out of In Memoriam tributes

Patricia Arquette has said she was “p***** off” on learning that her late sister had been left out of the In Memoriam segment at the Oscars.

Alexis Arquette, a trans activist and actor, starred in films including Pulp Fiction and The Wedding Singer, but was not remembered at Sunday night’s ceremony.

Speaking to ABC News, Patricia said: “I was really p***** off the Academy left out my sister Alexis in the memoriam, because Alexis had a great body of work, but Alexis was one of very few trans artists that worked in the business.”

Patricia said including her late sister in the tribute would have sent out a positive message to young transgender viewers, and that the Academy has a “lot of learning to do”.

She said: “At a time when we have trans kids that can't even go to the bathroom at school, you would think the academy would have a little bit more respect for a group of people that are murdered, and trans women of colour are most likely to live in extreme poverty, making $800 a month, so I think the Oscars have a lot of learning to do.”

Alexis died last September, aged 47.

Alexis was born Robert Arquette in Los Angeles in 1969 before transitioning into a woman in 2006.

Following her death, her family praised her bravery and thanked their late sister for showing them what “real love is”.

This year's In Memoriam tribute featured Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Wilder, Anton Yelchin and John Hurt.

But organisers used a picture of Australian film producer Jan Chapman, who is still alive, alongside costume designer Janet Patterson's name.

Chapman said she was ‘devastated’ by the use of her image in the montage as she was good friends with four-time Oscar nominee Patterson.

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