Oscars Update: EGOT Hopeful Lin-Manuel Miranda will be a No Show

Songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda has a chance to make history at tonight’s Academy Awards celebration by becoming one of the few musicians–and even fewer specifically Latino musicians–to achieve EGOT status.

Considered the “grand slam” of awards, EGOT stands for Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar, and Tony, and only a select few in the music industry have been able to transcend the entertainment mediums strong enough to be awarded all four accolades. Lin-Manuel has already won at least one Emmy award, GRAMMY award, and Tony award thanks to his work on Hamilton and Moana, but the Oscar continued to be out of reach. Tonight, March 27, the already Oscar-nominated writer of songs like Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go” once again has the chance to get his hands on an Academy Award and complete the collection.

Read More: EGOT: Lin-Manuel Miranda to Finish’ Grand Slam’ with ‘Encanto’ Oscar Win

There is just one problem: he won’t be there.

Earlier today, the Oscar nominee posted to Twitter explaining that he will have to skip out of the award show due to his spouse Vanessa Nadal testing positive for COVID-19.

He wrote:

“Made it to Hollywood… This weekend, my wife tested + for COVID. She’s doing fine. Kids & I have tested —, but out of caution, I won’t be going to the Oscars tomorrow night. Cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you. -LMM”

Made it to Hollywood…
This weekend, my wife tested ➕ for COVID.
She's doing fine. Kids & I have tested ➖, but out of caution, I won't be going to the Oscars tomorrow night. Cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you. -LMM

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 26, 2022

Related: Double Standard Vaccination, Mask Policy Announced for 2022 Oscars

While both of his recent projects, Tick Tick Boom starring Andrew Garfield, and Disney’s Encanto, received several nominations for Academy Awards–including Best Actor and Best Animated Feature—, Lin-Manuel only received one nomination: Best Original Song for “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney’s Encanto. We at Disney Fanatic previously shared that while “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was the clear favorite, he chose not to put that song up for nomination. Instead, the record-breaking number will be performed live by the film’s cast during the award show.

He said, “The goal is always to, sort of, submit what you think best represents the film as a whole. And, for us, ‘Dos Oruguitas’ really is the heart of the movie. It’s the heart of Abuela’s story and, in turn, everyone else’s story.”

Read More: ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ Is Being Snubbed in Awards Season: Here’s Why

Perhaps Murphy’s Law will work its magic tonight, and Lin-Manuel will take home the award for Best Song and get to celebrate his prestigious new status among the people he loves most: his family. It is unclear at this time who will be “on deck” to accept the potential award on Lin-Manuel’s behalf or if they plan on allowing him the chance to make his speech via Zoom.

Coverage of the 94th Academy Awards, hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes at the Dolby Theatre, begins at 6:30 pm on ABC, and we at Disney Fanatic will be providing Oscar coverage throughout the night.

Related: Our 2022 Oscar Predictions