History Main / AwardCategoryFraud

* ''Series/TheBear'' was nominated for and won the 2023 Emmy for Best ''Comedy'' Series. Most people who have seen the show knows it would consider it a {{Dramedy}} ''at best'' and its most critically acclaimed episodes ("Review" and "Fishes") involved [[TrueArtIsAngsty very little laughs]]. Many viewers have speculated that submitting it in Comedy instead of Drama was a calculated move to avoid having the show go up against juggernauts such as ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', ''Series/TheLastOfUs'' and ''Series/{{Succession}}'' (the eventual Best Drama Series winner).

* Creator/LilyGladstone as Mollie Burkhart in ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'' was singled out by critics as a standout performance after the film's debut, but since she only appears in barely more than a quarter of the film, initial buzz had her as a potential Best Supporting Actress nominee. Instead, [[Creator/{{Apple}} Apple Original Films]] and Creator/{{Paramount}} decided to submit Gladstone for Best Actress, largely on the basis that Mollie was both the film's largest female role, and the most significant member of the Osage Nation in the story, a decision that drew comparisons to the Michelle Williams situation mentioned above. Gladstone won two of the most of the most important Oscar precursors, the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award, and was rated as a slight favorite in a tight Oscar race with Creator/EmmaStone (for ''Film/PoorThings''), but Stone won, leading to commentary that Gladstone should've gone ahead and submitted for Best Supporting Actress after all.

* The 2002 Oscars were seen as a significant achievement for black actors, as Creator/HalleBerry became the first black woman to win Best Actress for ''Film/MonstersBall'', Creator/DenzelWashington became the second black man to win Best Actor (behind Creator/SidneyPoitier, who was coincidentally given an Honorary Award at the same ceremony) for ''Film/TrainingDay'', and the two became the first (and thus-far only) pair of black leads to win in the same year. However, the main character of ''Training Day'' is the one played by Best Supporting Actor nominee Creator/EthanHawke, as the story is entirely centered around his point of view. Denzel's character is eventually revealed to be the film's antagonist.

* It's still unknown why the producers behind ''Film/GangsOfNewYork'' decided to campaign both Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio and Creator/DanielDayLewis for Best Actor, with Day-Lewis getting the much stronger push. Day-Lewis is on screen for less than 25% of the film, and portrays the antagonist. [=DiCaprio=] plays the main protagonist and as such is on screen for nearly half the film, and received top billing. It's true that critics were more wowed by Day-Lewis's performance, but if he had been campaigned for Supporting, where he belonged, he would have walked away with an easy win, while the worst that could have happened for [=DiCaprio=] was no nomination at all (which is what ended up happening anyway). As it was, Day-Lewis, despite still being the favorite to win, lost to Creator/AdrienBrody in ''Film/ThePianist''. Most considered this a worthy outcome, but still, both men could have been winners if Day-Lewis had been nominated where he belonged.

* Despite the film's title, ''Film/AllAboutEve'' is really about Bette Davis' Margo Channing character, with the titular Eve Harrington, played by Creator/AnneBaxter, having significantly less screen-time, with only a few key scenes told from her perspective. Baxter could have been submitted under Best Supporting Actress, but she campaigned for a Best Actress nomination instead since she believed she wouldn't have a shot in that category again (and she would ultimately be correct). Since both Davis and Baxter received Best Actress nominations (still the only time the category has seen two nominees for the same film), the vote was split. That, along with additional competition from Creator/GloriaSwanson (''Film/SunsetBoulevard''), is usually cited as the reason why Creator/JudyHolliday from ''Film/BornYesterday'' won the Oscar, one of the most famous upsets in the award's history. In later years, Baxter came to regret not conceding to a Supporting Actress nomination, and Davis agreed. For what it's worth, the film did have two nominations in that category (for Creator/CelesteHolm and Creator/ThelmaRitter's performances), but they aren't as well-remembered, and it's usually agreed that Baxter would easily have won the category had she been nominated.

* Although the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy centers on Anakin Skywalker's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, Creator/HaydenChristensen won the Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor for playing Anakin in ''Film/AttackOfTheClone'' and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.

* The UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward for Remake or Sequel (since appended with Prequel and Rip-Off), as noted by Website/LeBeausLeBlog's [[https://lebeauleblog.com/category/movies/awards/razzies/ recap series on the "award"]], often play very loose with what that means (many are LiveActionAdaptation and TheFilmOfTheSeries). The very first winner was ''Wyatt Earp'', which at most was a story that had been told before. The second was ''Film/{{The Scarlet Letter|1995}}'', which is an adaptation of a book, not a remake. And only a few noms had RuleOfFunny as an excuse (''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' being claimed as a remake of both ''Film/AllAboutEve'' and ''Film/TheLonelyLady'').

* Despite the film's title, ''Film/AllAboutEve'' is really about Bette Davis' Margo Channing character, with the titular Eve Harrington, played by Creator/AnneBaxter, having significantly less screen-time, with only a few key scenes told from her perspective. Baxter could have been submitted under Best Supporting Actress, but she campaigned for a Best Actress nomination instead since she believed she wouldn't have a shot in that category again (and she would ultimately be correct). Since both Davis and Baxter received Best Actress nominations (still the only time the category has seen two nominees for the same film), the vote was split. That, along with additional competition from Creator/GloriaSwanson (''Film/SunsetBoulevard''), is usually cited as the reason why Creator/JudyHolliday from ''Film/BornYesterday'' won the Oscar, one of the most famous upsets in the award's history. In later years, Baxter came to regret not conceding to a Supporting Actress nomination, and Davis agreed. For what it's worth, the film did have two nominations in that category (for Creator/CelesteHolm and Creator/ThelmaRitter's performances), but they aren't as well-remembered, and it's usually agreed that Baxter would easily have won the category had she been nominated.

* Despite the film's title, ''Film/AllAboutEve'' is really about Bette Davis' Margo Channing character, with the titular Eve Harrington, played by Creator/AnneBaxter, having significantly less screen-time, with only a few key scenes told from her perspective. Baxter could have been submitted under Best Supporting Actress, but she campaigned for a Best Actress nomination instead since she believed she wouldn't have a shot in that category again (and she would ultimately be correct). Since both Davis and Baxter received Best Actress nominations (still the only time the category has seen two nominees for the same film), the vote was split. That, along with additional competition from Creator/GloriaSwanson (''Film/SunsetBoulevard''), is usually cited as the reason why Creator/JudyHolliday from ''Film/BornYesterday'' won the Oscar, one of the most famous upsets in the award's history. In later years, Baxter came to regret not conceding to a Supporting Actress nomination, and Davis agreed. For what it's worth, the film did have two nominations in that category (for Creator/CelesteHolm and Creator/ThelmaRitter's performances), but they aren't as well-remembered, and it's usually agreed that Baxter would easily have won the category had she been nominated.

* Despite the film's title, ''Film/AllAboutEve'' is really about Bette Davis' Margo Channing character, with the titular Eve Harrington, played by Creator/AnneBaxter, having significantly less screen-time, with only a few key scenes told from her perspective. Baxter could have been submitted under Best Supporting Actress, but she campaigned for a Best Actress nomination instead since she believed she wouldn't have a shot in that category again (and she would ultimately be correct). Since both Davis and Baxter received Best Actress nominations (still the only time the category has seen two nominees for the same film), the vote was split. That, along with additional competition from Creator/GloriaSwanson (''Film/SunsetBoulevard''), is usually cited as the reason why Creator/JudyHolliday from ''Creator/BornYesterday'' won the Oscar, one of the most famous upsets in the award's history. In later years, Baxter came to regret not conceding to a Supporting Actress nomination, and Davis agreed. For what it's worth, the film did have two nominations in that category (for Creator/CelesteHolm and Creator/ThelmaRitter's performances), but they aren't as well-remembered, and it's usually agreed that Baxter would easily have won the category had she been nominated.

* Creator/LanaTurner was nominated for Best Actress for ''Film/PeytonPlace'' in 1957 (her only Oscar nomination ever), while Diane Varsi, who played her daughter and the main character, received a Supporting Actress nomination (competing with Hope Lange's nomination for the same film) despite having far more screen time. This was likely due to Turner's star power at the time, and being the biggest name in the film.

* In another ''very'' iffy case, ''Film/GangsOfNewYork'' was submitted for, and ultimately nominated for, Best Original Screenplay, despite its very credits admitting it was based off the eponymously titled non-fiction novel by Herbert Asbury. On what grounds could it be considered "original", then? Well, according to writer Jay Cocks, "This is a world we conjured out of whole cloth, out of a whole lot of unassimilated historical research.” He said that Asbury’s book, which Cocks and Martin Scorcese discovered in the late ‘70s, served primarily as an introduction to the history of the draft riots depicted in the film, and that he borrowed only a few particularly pungent gang names (including the Dead Rabbits and the Plug Uglies), the sketchy outlines of two key characters (Bill the Butcher and Monk McGinn), and Asbury’s “great title” from the book. The rest, he says, was original, with guidance from about 50 historical sources. It's hard to tell how seriously to take that claim.