History Main / AwardCategoryFraud

** There was some grumbling about Creator/LouiseFletcher's Best Actress win, since it's a bit of stretch to call Nurse Ratched a lead character in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''; she's more of a recurring {{Antagonist}}. Fletcher only appears in [[https://www.screentimecentral.com/leading-actress-winners 17% of the film]], a record low for either leading category. Still, 1975 had a fairly weak crop of Best Actress nominees,[[note]]The meatier female roles for that year were in EnsembleCast films like ''Film/{{Nashville}}'' and ''Film/{{Shampoo}}'' while the only other Best Actress contender from that year that anyone remembers was Creator/AnnMargret in ''Film/{{Tommy}}'', and it wasn't for her acting that she's remembered[[/note]] and Fletcher's performance was iconic.

* Creator/WarnerBros submitted ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'' for Best Original Screenplay consideration, despite it falling into the Academy's standards for what's considered as an adaptation (being based on a [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} well-established franchise]]), arguing that Creator/GretaGerwig and Creator/NoahBaumbach created enough of a unique storyline and setting for the characters that it didn't truly count as an adaptation. Despite that, speculation was rampant that the ''real'' reason Warner did this was that an Original Screenplay nomination for ''Barbie'' would give it one topline Oscar category where it wouldn't be facing fierce competition from ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' and ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'', and would have a good chance to win. But the Academy ultimately did not play ball and put it in the Adapted Screenplay category, where it eventually got a nomination. However, to the surprise of everyone, ''Flower Moon'' didn't get a Screenplay nomination.

* ''Film/Cleopatra1963'' is famously one of the many pairings of then-married stars Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/RichardBurton, portraying Cleopatra and Marc Antony, respectively. Naturally, they headlined the production and it is remembered as ''their'' filme. Rex Harrison, on screen for one hour of a five-hour film, played Julius Caesar. He was the only nominee between the three. And it was for Best Actor.

** Tatum O'Neil won Best Supporting Actress for ''Film/PaperMoon'', even though she's in almost the whole film and is clearly a co-lead. O'Neal's performance is in fact [[https://www.screentimecentral.com/supporting-actress-winners the longest]] to ever win a "Supporting" Oscar, with 1:06:58 of screen time and appearing in 65.49% of the film.

* Creator/WarnerBros submitted ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'' for Best Original Screenplay consideration, despite it falling into the Academy's standards for what's considered as an adaptation (being based on a [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} well-established franchise]]), arguing that Creator/GretaGerwig and Creator/NoahBaumbach created enough of a unique storyline and setting for the characters that it didn't truly count as an adaptation. Despite that, speculation was rampant that the ''real'' reason Warner did this was that an Original Screenplay nomination for ''Barbie'' would give it one topline Oscar category where it wouldn't be facing fierce competition from ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' and ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'', and would have a good chance to win. However, the Academy ultimately did not play ball and put it in the Adapted Screenplay category.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Behind the Laughter", the family's cheesy pop song "[[ChristmasSongs Simpsons Christmas Boogie]]" somehow manages to win the grammy for "Best Hardcore Thrash Metal", much to Music/OzzyOsbourne's disgust.

* Creator/WarnerBros submitted ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'' for Best Original Screenplay consideration, despite it falling into the Academy's standards for what's considered as an adaptation (being based on a [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} well-established franchise]]), arguing that the film's unorthodox approach toward the franchise made it transcend mere adaptation. Despite that, speculation was rampant that the ''real'' reason was that an Original Screenplay nomination for ''Barbie'' would give it one topline Oscar category where it wouldn't be facing fierce competition from ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' and ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'', and a very reasonable chance to win. However, the Academy ultimately did not play ball and put it in the Adapted Screenplay category.

* Creator/WarnerBros submitted ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'' for Best Original Screenplay consideration, despite it falling into the Academy's standards for what's considered as an adaptation (being based on a [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} well-established franchise]]), though speculation abounds that it's to avoid fierce competition from ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' and ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'' and to give ''Barbie'' a winning chance. The Academy ultimately did not play ball and put it in the Adapted Screenplay category.

* One of the strangest examples of all time happened with ''Film/JudasAndTheBlackMessiah'', which starred Lakeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal, a petty crook turned FBI informant who gets in deep with the Chicago Black Panther Party in order to spy on its leader, Fred Hampton, played by Daniel Kaluuya. It's difficult to say what really happened here. Both men played the title character (O'Neal the Judas while Hampton was the Black Messiah). Both men had roughly equal screentime, with Stanfield perhaps leading there by a hair. Both were protagonists. Both had their own arc and character growth. Kaluuya was a slightly bigger star, having made a name for himself a couple of years earlier with ''Film/GetOut'', but Stanfield had headlined other films himself. Kaluuya took top billing, but both men had their names above the title. Kaluuya, who was considered the showier performance and the main draw, was campaigned for Best Supporting Actor, due to his far greater likelihood of winning, which paid off, while Stanfield was campaigned for Best Actor, but was expected to be snubbed. Possibly, enough voters nominated Kaluuya for Lead and Stanfield for Supporting to allow Stanfield to break into the fifth supporting slot, while the majority of votes for Kaluuya were for supporting, and those voters may not have nominated Stanfield at all.

* Creator/WarnerBros submitted ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'' for Best Original Screenplay consideration, despite it falling into the Academy's standards for what's considered as an adaptation (being based on a [[Franchise/{{Barbie}} well-established franchise]]), though speculation abounds that it's to avoid fierce competition from ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' and ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'' and to give ''Barbie'' a winning chance. What category it'll ultimately be nominated for is up to the Academy to decide, however.

* Writing example: if it's based on a previous work, the Academy only considers it for Adapted Screenplay. Sequels are almost always considered adapted because they're based on existing characters (''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'').

* In a decision that left many people scratching their heads, ''Film/TheMartian'' won the 2015 Golden Globe in the category "Best Motion Picture: ''Musical or Comedy''." (As anyone who has seen the film knows, it has light-hearted moments but overall remains a serious [[{{Robinsonade}} adventure drama]], and contains much disco but no diagetic singing.)

* Another sports case revolves around the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, presented since the 1982–83 season to the league's top bench player. The distaff counterpart is the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award,[[note]]originally the "Sixth Woman" award; the word "Woman" was replaced by "Player" in 2021[[/note]] presented since the 2007 season. To be eligible, players must come off the bench in more games than they start. However, this ignores another possible definition of "bench player"—someone who plays fewer minutes than typical starters. The most extreme example of this (at least in the NBA) was in 2008–09, when Jason Terry won the award with the Dallas Mavericks. While he started in only 11 games out of the 74 he played in the regular season, he averaged 33.7 minutes—more than two-thirds of the standard game length of 48 minutes, and more than three of the team's nominal starters in that season.

* 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.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' {{invoked}} this when the EnsembleCast decided that they would only ever submit their work for Supporting. Creator/DavidSchwimmer, Creator/MatthewPerry, Creator/JenniferAniston and Creator/CourteneyCox, arguably the four most prominent of the six leads (the other two were primarily comic relief), each competed for Supporting categories. Once the show entered the second half of its 10-year run, the agreement may have changed, as Perry, Aniston and Creator/MattLeBlanc all received Leading nominations, and Aniston won. (The sixth cast member, Creator/LisaKudrow, also won Supporting in '98. Cox was [[AwardSnub never nominated]].)

* Creator/MichelleWilliams was considered a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress when ''Film/TheFabelmans'' premiered in the fall of 2022. However, she decided to campaign in the Lead category, where she didn't have much chance against frontrunners Creator/MichelleYeoh and Creator/CateBlanchett. While Williams does have the largest female role as Mitzi in the film, its point of view dominantly belongs to Sammy (Gabrielle [=LaBelle=]). Mitzi is almost entirely absent from the third act, but she does have her own defined story and arc when she is on-screen. There were reports that Williams was concerned that a Supporting nomination for a borderline role would damage her ability to bargain for larger salaries.

* Creator KeHuyQuan was a co-lead with Creator/MichelleYeoh in ''Film/EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce'' by almost any objective standard and he was onscreen, and received more character growth and motivation, than several of the Lead Actor and Actress roles of that year. But he was nominated for, and won, Best Supporting Actor. This was not only a "make sure he wins" move, as throughout award season he was only ever nominated or awarded in Supporting categories.

* Creator/MichelleWilliams was considered a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress when ''Film/TheFabelmans'' premiered in the fall of 2022. However, she decided to campaign in the Lead category, where she didn't have much chance against frontrunners Creator/MichelleYeoh and Creator/CateBlanchett. While Williams does have the largest female role as Mitzi in the film, its point of view dominantly belongs to Sammy (Gabrielle LaBelle). Mitzi is almost entirely absent from the third act, but she does have her own defined story and arc when she is on-screen. There were reports that Williams was concerned that a Supporting nomination for a borderline role would damage her ability to bargain for larger salaries.

* Creator/MichelleWilliams was considered a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress when ''Film/TheFabelmans'' premiered in the fall of 2022. However she was campaigned in the Lead category, where she didn't have much chance. While she does have the largest female role in the film, the film is entirely dominated by Gabrielle LaBelle's point of view. There were reports that Williams was concerned that a Supporting nomination for a borderline role would damage her ability to bargain for larger salaries.

* While Creator/BetteDavis was billed first, Creator/MaryAstor was essentially a co-lead in ''Film/TheGreatLie''. She plays the new bride of George Brent, who leaves her for his first, and true, love (Davis) not knowing his new bride is pregnant. The rest of the movie concerns Davis and Astor conspiring to pass off the baby as Davis's so that it won't be considered illegitimate. Aster was ultimately nominated for Supporting Actress.
* 1941's ''Film/TheDevilAndMissJones'' starred Charles Coburn as a corporate executive who decides to see how life (and working conditions) is on the bottom rung of his department store, and hires himself under an alias as salesperson. He's the lead character under any definition of the term. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

* Jason Miller was nominated in supporting for ''Film/TheExorcist'', even though he's pretty equal to lead nominee Creator/EllenBurstyn in terms of focus, and his character is the true protagonist.

* Creator/JamieFoxx was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for ''Film/{{Collateral}}'', a film where he was the viewpoint character and clear lead, because he was already up for Best Actor in ''Film/{{Ray}}'', which he ended up winning.

* Creator/CaseyAffleck plays the main character of Robert Ford in ''Film/TheAssassinationOfJesseJamesByTheCowardRobertFord'' but was nominated mainly as the supporting role.

* ''Film/TheFavourite'' is a film about three women who could all be considered leads. When awards season came around, it was decided to submit Creator/OliviaColman in the Lead Actress categories while Creator/RachelWeisz and Creator/EmmaStone had to settle for Supporting Actress. All three received Oscar nominations in those respective categories. In terms [[https://www.screentimecentral.com/supporting-actress-nominees of screen time]], Stone appeared in 48% of the film (and much of it is from her perspective), Colman in 42%, and Weisz in 36%. Colman likely got priority because she played Queen Anne, whose life is ultimately the main subject and setting of the story. This ended up working out as Weisz and Stone both lost Supporting Actress to Creator/ReginaKing, while Colman pulled off an upset victory over the heavily-favored Creator/GlennClose for the Oscar.

* One of the strangest examples of all time happened with ''Film/JudasAndTheBlackMessiah'', which starred Lakeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal, a petty crook turned FBI informant who gets in deep with the Chicago Black Panther Party in order to spy on its leader, Fred Hampton, played by Daniel Kaluuya. In terms of pure screen time, it's arguable both men are leads, though it's really O'Neal's story in terms of focus, while Kaluuya gets top billing. For whatever reason, possibly confusing billing order with focus, ''both'' men ended up being nominated by the Academy for Best Supporting Actor, possibly the only time two leads ended up both nominated here, rather than one being shunted to supporting or both ending up in the Lead category. Stanfield was campaigned for Best Actor, but was expected to be snubbed. Some have theorized that voters decided to place him in the more open supporting category so that he could be recognized alongside Kaluuya, who was deemed the frontrunner there (and indeed, it was Kaluuya who eventually took home the trophy).

** There was some grumbling about Creator/LouiseFletcher's Best Actress win, since it's a bit of stretch to call Nurse Ratched a lead character in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''; she's more of a recurring {{Antagonist}}. Fletcher only appears in [[https://www.screentimecentral.com/leading-actress-winners 17% of the film]], a record low for either leading category. Still, 1975 had a fairly weak crop of Best Actress nominees,[[note]]The meatier female roles for that year were in EnsembleCast films like ''Film/{{Nashville}}'' and ''Film/{{Shampoo}}''[[/note]] and Fletcher's performance was iconic.

Because the ceremony splits its' awards across specific genres, there is an added layer where the category in question doesn't match the content of the work.

* For ''Series/{{Big Little Lies}}'', Shailene Woodley was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress, along with Laura Dern, although her character had more time than Dern's, had more storylines, and was considered a lead character. Dern ended up winning the Emmy. This is also strange considering that Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, who were also billed as leads, were nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress. It may have been done to limit the amount of lead characters in the category so no one could get cancelled out.

* 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 becane the first (and thus-far only) pair of black leads to win in the same year. However, ''Training Day'''s main character is played by Creator/EthanHawke, and the story is entirely centered around his character's point of view. Denzel's character is eventually revealed to be the film's antagonist.