Artists Who Complained About Not Winning or Getting Nominated for Awards

Critics and fans argue all the time about award show snubs, but it’s not too often that the artists themselves (or their management) publicly complain about not getting nominated or not winning. Thanks to the ever-increasing prevalence of social media, however, the number of celebrities complaining about award shows in a public way has ramped up considerably in recent years. It's just a whole lot easier to whine to millions of people, instantly - no press needed.

Some artists on this list who complained about not getting awards kept their cool, hinting at subtle industry politics or vowing to try harder next year. Other celebrities who thought they should be nominated basically threw a fit, hurling insults at the voters and claiming the system is rigged. Vote up the legitimate grievances – or hilarious crybaby outbursts – you think are the most warranted.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson took to Instagram in December 2016 to vent about being snubbed for Starz’s Power. Jackson plays the character Kanan but also produces the show, so he was likely sore about the lack of nominations across the board.

He was right about the show’s ratings, by the way.

Cher’s “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from Burlesque wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar in 2011, despite winning a Golden Globe. The diva initially had a positive outlook on Twitter, but soon appeared to take it personally. Cher previously won a Best Actress Oscar in 1988 for her role in Moonstruck.

"The Golden Globe 4 BEST SONG & not even get nominated by the Oscars? Oh well it is..what it is. The sun is still shining!," she tweeted first, before following up with: "Maybe she would have had a better chance if someone else was singing it?!! IT JUST CANT B HER SONG."

Her tweets have since been deleted. 

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht very delicately explained why he thought it wasn’t fair that his network’s time-travel romance Outlander wasn’t nominated for any 2016 Emmy awards. His careful, diplomatic answer to reporters from the Television Critics Association hints at a Moneyball-like disparity in the TV industry.

“I was part of the team that invented how to campaign for Emmy Awards — trust me, it’s not a level playing field," he told the reporters at a press conference. "I spent years inside the TV Academy, working it. It took a lot of money, and there’s a certain momentum that goes along with that… [Outlander] is award-worthy. Whether it’s an Emmy Award or not is not the point…. I think the TV Academy should be celebrating [this] unprecedented time in our industry. They should be finding a way to platform the diversity, to have something that reflects this expansion and not have what has been… a continually reductive process that ends up with a longer list of losers and the same number of winners.”

Donald Trump’s 2012 complaints about The Apprentice getting snubbed in the Emmy nominations led to perhaps the only reference to a reality show - or the Emmys - in the history of US presidential debates. “There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him,” Hillary Clinton said in a 2016 debate, before referencing Trump’s claims about election rigging. The Apprentice was nominated for three years in a row between 2004-2006, but lost each time to The Amazing Race.

His full rant: “The Emmys are all politics, that's why, despite nominations, The Apprentice never won--even though it should have many times over … Emmys telecast is way down & lowest telecast on record among young adults. Emmys have no credibility-Should have nominated Apprentice again!”

Mary J. Blige took to Twitter to vent about a lack of nomination for her song “The Living Proof” from The Help. While some criticized Blige for complaining about not getting nominated for a 2012 Oscar for Best Original Song, there’s more to the story. Only two songs were even nominated at all, leaving three open spots, meaning a whole lot of artists were snubbed for no apparent reason. Believe it or not, “Real in Rio” by the cartoon cast of Rio and “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets – a duo between actor Jason Segel and a Muppet - were the only songs nominated (the Muppet song won). 

R&B singer Omarion’s five-part Twitter rant about not getting nominated for a 2016 Grammy for his song “Post to Be” - posted in full below - is a rollercoaster of braggadocio, martyrdom, and, if Omarion is to be believed, prophesy. In response to one commenter who claimed to be LMAO at his rant, Omarion humbly responded, "they laughed at Jesus."

His full rant: “’Post to be’ is one of the greatest R&B collaborations ever. CB, Jhene, & myself been in the game 10+. Even though people act like its easy to make a hit (& it's not). As an artist you look forward to being acknowledged by the game. The odds have always been against me. I constantly prove you wrong. I'll consistently do great things & you will have to celebrate me. This isn't a ‘im upset’ (post to be) rant. This is a- ok so that wasn't good enough. I'll be back. Have my Grammy's ready. The game has long changed since I was introduced to it. They want to still treat me like I'm a new to this. My moment is coming trust. So when it's all said & done. Remember. I prophesied it. It's my destiny. I was destined. Chosen.”

Washington, DC-based rapper Wale threw some shade on Grammy voters for overlooking his Mixtape About Nothing but lauding Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015.

“New black soul unless ur Wale then it’s too many instruments and hard to understand,” he wrote in a now-deleted tweet. 

R&B singer Miguel did not mince words when expressing his anger on Twitter over getting snubbed for the 2011 Grammy awards. He was especially upset over “Sure Thing,” which he clearly thought was, well, a sure thing. 

“Damn, this really hurts," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. "Congrats to all the nominees … I’m F*cking Pissed Yo. I don’t think I’m Gods gift to music but I know the Album or at LEAST ‘Sure Thing’ should have been Nominated.”

Rapper Nicki Minaj wasn’t content with her three MTV Video Music Award nominations in 2015 - she wanted Best Choreography and Video of the Year nominations, as well. Minaj put scare quotes around “kind” and “other” as a dig at Taylor Swift, it appears, implying a racial or stylistic bias in the nomination process (Swift was nominated for - and later won -Video of the Year for “Bad Blood”).

Her full Twitter rant: 

“Hey guys @MTV thank you for my nominations. Did Feeling Myself miss the deadline or...? … If I was a different ‘kind’ of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well … When the ‘other’ girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination.”

In 2012, Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun went on a Twitter rant to express his displeasure over Bieber’s total lack of 2013 Grammy nominations. He was nominated for two awards in 2011 for the 2012 awards, but was overshadowed by his protégé Carly Rae Jepsen in 2012, who was nominated for two awards for “Call Me Maybe” (but later lost).

His full rant: "The kid deserved it. Grammy board u blew it on this one… The hardest thing to do is transition, keep the train moving. The kid delivered. Huge successful album, sold out tour, and won people over... this time he deserved to be recognised [sic] and I don't really have any kind nice positive things to say about a decision I don't agree with.”