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The Wire star James Ransone’s widow is criticizing the Television Academy for leaving the late actor out of this year’s In Memoriam segment at the Emmys.
Jamie “Skipper” McPhee shared social media posts calling out the organization behind the TV awards for not recognizing Ransone, who was best known for his role as Ziggy Sobotka on the HBO drama series.
Ransone died by suicide in December at age 46.
“My husband @jamesransone was not acknowledged in memoriam at tonight’s Emmys,” McPhee wrote on her Instagram Story after the ceremony Monday, according to Entertainment Weekly. “He was also not at the Oscars earlier this year.”
Referring to her husband by his nickname, PJ, she wrote: “PJ was impossible, lovable, intolerable and incredible — depends on who you ask. But without question — he was a great actor.”
However, McPhee said the actor would not have minded, adding: “But good news is PJ wouldn’t care. He’d actually think it’s funny.”
Ransone starred on season two of The Wire in 2003. Five years later, he played real-life Marine Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the miniseries Generation Kill. The actor also appeared in horror movies including Sinister, Sinister 2, In a Valley of Violence, Black Phone, and Black Phone 2, which was his final project.
On Tuesday, McPhee shared another message with a video of the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment, which featured Noah Kahan singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
“I didn’t watch the Emmys so I only now understand how much of a snub this truly was,” she wrote. “I am incredibly disappointed @televisionacad. @Jamesransone was an incredibly gifted actor and it simply is not right to not acknowledge him and his work.”
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The Television Academy did not return The Independent’s request for comment. However, a spokesperson told EW that “there is a limit on how many people can be acknowledged on the broadcasts” due to the tribute being only a few minutes long during the live ceremony.
“The Academy presents a more extensive video, listing the hundreds of names of television colleagues we’ve lost in the past year on their website,” the spokesperson said.
Ransone is listed in the names of those honored in the expanded video on The Academy’s website. McPhee has not commented on The Academy’s response.
Earlier this year, filmmaker Scott Derrickson — who directed Ransone in five films — spoke out after Ransone was left out of the the Oscars In Memoriam segment.
“The Oscars In Memoriam ignored him but I cannot,” Derrickson wrote on X in March. “He was my friend. I put him in five films. In early January I buried James ‘PJ’ Ransone … He was a complex, funny, talented, and undeniably reckless person. He was wildly alive and deeply loved.”
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.