Surprise Oscar Nod Leads To Investigation, Criticism Of No Black Best Actress Nomination

Hank BerrienFebruary 1, 2023

Actress Andrea Riseborough’s surprise best actress nomination for her brilliant performance in the little-seen film “To Leslie,” This meant that there were no black actresses in the category, prompting an investigation by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and condemnation by a black film critic.

“To Leslie” earned a paltry $27,000 when it was released in October, but many Hollywood stars who saw the film praised Riseborough’s work, Included Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Adams Kate Winslet and Kate Winslet call the performance “the greatest female performance onscreen I have ever seen in my life.” However, some black critics were outraged that performances by black actors did not get a best-actress nod.

“What does it say that the Black women who did everything the institution asks of them — luxury dinners, private academy screenings, meet-and-greets, splashy television spots and magazine profiles — are ignored when someone who did everything outside of the system is rewarded?” Robert Daniels was a film critic who wrote in Los Angeles Times.

“We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women,” Nigerian-American director Chinonye Chukwu Write After the nominations were announced

Meanwhile, the Academy launched an investigation into whether a campaign for Riseborough’s nomination broke any of the Academy’s rules. The Academy looked into Mary McCormack’s efforts, who is married. “To Leslie” Michael Morris, the director, and Jason Weinberg her manager. Jason represents Riseborough to garner support from Hollywood friends in order to push for the film.

Additionally, actress Frances Fisher consistently praised the film, suggesting people vote for Riseborough’s nomination since “Viola, Michelle, Danielle & Cate are a lock for their outstanding work.”

Christina Ricci, Actress, Slammed the Investigation Writing In a post that was later deleted, “Seems hilarious that the ‘surprise nomination’ (meaning tons of money wasn’t spent to position this actress) of a legitimately brilliant performance is being met with an investigation. So it’s only the films and actors that can afford the campaigns that deserve recognition? Feels elitist and exclusive and frankly very backward to me.”

But on Tuesday, the Academy announced it would not rescind Riseborough’s nomination. “The academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Kramer declared. “However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly.”