They say that Hugh Jackman is not the type of actor to win an Oscar. With his Broadway showman persona, he’s more of a Golden Globes guy, and he’s been nominated for a Golden Globe five times, winning once in 2012 for starring in the film adaptation of the hit musical “Les Miserables.”
But this week, Jackman was among the notable “snobs” when nominations for the 2026 Golden Globe Awards were announced. Of course, other stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez also failed to secure nominations, despite playing supporting roles in their respective film and TV roles.
Jackman’s snub really stood out as he received rave reviews for the musical drama “Song Sung Blue.” He co-stars Kate Hudson as a real-life Vietnam veteran and recovering drug addict who finds love and a new purpose in life while leading a Neil Diamond tribute band. As Jackman’s romantic interest, Hudson earned a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. But Jackman, who represents one half of the film duo’s “sparkling chemistry and impressive musicianship,” was left out.
So what’s going on? Yes, there’s a lot of room for male actors this year, but the Golden Globes have already loved Jackman, according to veteran Hollywood reporter and gossip columnist Rob Shuter. Speaking on The Nerve podcast with Maureen Callahan on Thursday, Shuter acknowledged that Jackman had become a somewhat scandalized figure over the past year, first because he left his longtime wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, 70, for Sutton Foster, a younger actress, and then because of his friendship with Hollywood super couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, which briefly thrust him into the middle of Lively’s legal drama with Justin Baldoni.
“Hugh Jackman, whose brand is also Mr. Nice Guy, his brand took a huge hit when he left his wife for his co-star,” Callahan said, referring to how Jackman’s romance with Foster began while they co-starred in the 2021-23 Broadway revival of “The Music Man.”
In 2023, Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announced that they had separated after 27 years of marriage. A year later, it emerged that the split was preceded by Jackman, 57, and Foster, 50, becoming very close during the production of “The Music Man,” although those close to them always denied they started dating during the show.
Writing on his Naughty But Nice Substack, Shuter said the connection between Jackman and Foster was sparked during “The Music Man,” and he was the one carrying on. Foster was also married with a young daughter. Jackman “acted like a teenager around her,” an insider told Shuter, because his marriage to Furness had been “emotionally done for years.”
To promote “Song Sung Blue,” Jackman invited Foster to join him on the red carpet for the film’s New York premiere Thursday night. Although he and Furness finalized their divorce in June, he and Foster were careful not to flaunt their relationship too publicly, given its tabloid-worthy beginnings.
Meanwhile, Jackman’s other scandalous association involves Ryan Reynolds, whose nice-guy persona has also been damaged over the past year, in his case by his wife’s lawsuit against Baldoni, her director and “It Ends With Us” co-star. Lively accused Baldoni of engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior during production of the film 2023 and of launching a smear campaign against her to silence her. Baldoni countered by alleging that Lively used the harassment allegations as a pretext for her and Reynolds, her powerful movie star husband, to wrest control of the film from him.
Jackman was drawn into this conflict because Reynolds, his “Deadpool and Wolverine” co-star, and Lively recruited him to help promote “It Ends With Us” when it was released in summer 2024, while Baldoni was sidelined. They also previously allowed Jackman and their other famous friend, Taylor Swift, to be present when Reynolds dressed down Baldoni for his alleged mistreatment of his wife, People reported. According to the documents, Baldoni visited Reynolds and Lively’s New York penthouse in 2023, where Reynolds “unloaded” on Baldoni “how horrible it was” that he was asking about his wife’s weight. In front of Jackman and Swift, Reynolds also alleged that Baldoni was “shaming Blake.”
Baldoni felt “completely embarrassed,” apologized and even burst into “tears,” according to the documents. Critics of Lively and Reynolds claim that Baldoni, a little-known television actor who was just starting out as a director, would have felt intimidated in the presence of big stars like Reynolds, Jackman and Swift.
Callahan called the smear incident “harassment” and said Reynolds and Lively were “trying to destroy Baldoni’s career before it takes off.” She asked, “Who would trust either of them?” After news of the incident broke last month, she said Jackman would likely want to keep his distance from Reynolds because he can’t be associated with this kind of “bullying” behavior and afford another “ding” against his reputation.
Shuter agreed and wondered whether Jackman’s failure to secure his Oscar nomination had to do with his romance with Foster or with his association with Reynolds. “It’s his audience,” Shuter said of Jackmand and the Globes. Shuter added: “People are really cautious about Hugh. The last thing he needs is the stench of Ryan Reynolds around him too.”
