Hugh Jackman urges Academy not to ‘validate Ryan Reynolds’ with Oscar nomination

Hugh Jackman has asked the Academy voters to not nominate Ryan Reynolds in the Oscars’ best song category.

Hugh’s latest plea comes amid the pair’s long-running joke feud on Wednesday as he shared a video begging the Academy Awards not to ‘validate’ Reynolds with an Oscar nomination for song Good Afternoon from his 2022 Christmas movie, Spirited.

The Academy recently shortlisted Good Afternoon on its list of 15 original songs eligible for nominations for the 95th Oscars’ Best Music (Original Song) award ahead of this year’s March ceremony.

The Logan star, 54, said in the clip, “Hey everybody, it’s 2023 and I really really wanted to send out a positive message at the beginning of the year, but recent events have made that impossible.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I loved Spirited. It’s a great movie... I love Will [Ferrell], I love Octavia [Spencer] ... the song ‘Good Afternoon’, I laughed the entire way through, it is absolutely brilliant,” he continued.

“However, I just heard the Academy have short-listed ‘Good Afternoon’ [for the 2023 Oscars],” he added.

Hugh continued, “Now, Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the Best Song category would make the next year of my life insufferable.”

“I have to spend a year with him shooting Wolverine and Deadpool,” the Wolverine actor added, referencing the upcoming Deadpool 3 film. “Trust me, it would be impossible. It would be a problem.”

“So, just to recap, love Spirited, love Will, love Octavia, love the song ‘Good Afternoon,’ love Benj and Justin,” Hugh concluded. “But please, please, from the bottom of my heart – do not validate Ryan Reynolds in this way. Please.”

Hugh is currently wrapping up his run on Broadway in The Music Man. He will embark on shooting the third Deadpool movie alongside Reynolds, slated for a 2024 release.