No hard feelings? Adam Sandler isn’t taking his 2020 Academy Awards snub to heart. Instead, he found humor in it when he posted a hilarious congratulatory tweet for his Waterboy costar Kathy Bates.
“Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the Academy,” Sandler, 53, tweeted on Monday, January 13, while referencing the 1998 football comedy, in which Bates played his mother. “Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits. Congrats to all my friends who got nominated, especially Mama.”
The 71-year-old American Horror Story star — who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress — responded to Sandler’s tweet, keeping to the theme of The Waterboy. “I love you my Bobby Boucher!!! You was robbed!! But Mama loves you!!!” she tweeted back. “I learned a new urban slang word for you! You da GOAT!! Not the one we eat at home, Son. ❤️😎🐐”
Sandler generated Oscar buzz for his role in the critically acclaimed film Uncut Gems. Directed by brothers Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, the movie follows jeweler Howard Ratner (Sandler) as he makes several high-stakes bets that could have major repercussions.
Days before the Academy Award nominations were announced, the Big Daddy actor opened up to Us Weekly about the possibility of scoring his first Oscar nod. “It’s something that I never thought about in my life — that question comes up now and I’m like, ‘Oh, man, I can’t believe I’m a person that’s being mentioned to [get an Oscar],” Sandler told Us and other reporters at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on Saturday, January 11. “It’s an odd feeling.”
Ahead of his Oscar shutout, Sandler added, “I’m glad I made a movie with these guys. I love the movie. It had a great response already. And Oscar stuff’s fun. I’m happy whoever gets it.”
Though Sandler was snubbed, there are many stars who woke up to the news that they earned their first Oscar nomination. Florence Pugh, who was nominated alongside Little Women costar Saoirse Ronan, shared snaps to Instagram of the phone call she had right “before the moment” she learned of her Best Supporting Actress nod. Meanwhile, Harriet actress Cynthia Erivo, who has already won an Emmy, Grammy and Tony award, is inches away from EGOT status after scoring two Oscar nominations.
Scarlett Johansson, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks are also among this year’s nominated stars.
Bates, meanwhile, was nominated for playing Bobi Jewell in the drama Richard Jewell. The film is based on the true story of American security guard Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), a man who was labeled a terrorist after saving thousands from a bomb explosion while attending the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
With reporting by Nicole Pajer