Lil Rel Howery is sharing some big opinions.
The “Poker Face” star weighed in on the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s “To Leslie” Oscar nomination and the subsequent Academy investigation over the campaign practices for the indie film. During Vulture’s “Into It” podcast, Howery pointed to another Best Actress lead who he felt was less deserving of a nomination.
“Somebody else should have got bumped,” Howery said. “I’m not going to say anything, but it’s a movie nominated as a Razzie. [The Oscar nomination] doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Blonde” is nominated for multiple Razzies and landed a Best Actress Oscar nod.
“It’s just — and that’s somebody I did film with,” Howery said. “I did ‘Deep Water’ with her, with Ben Affleck. Amazing. I’m just talking about the Academy. What are y’all doing? Come on, fam. For real?”
Instead, the “Get Out” star noted that there should be “three nominees” for Black actresses, citing the snubs of Viola Davis for “The Woman King” and Danielle Deadwyler in “Till.”
“It’s just very unfortunate that we keep — and just being honest, especially as Black people, we want to be recognized by the Academy so bad because we know what it does for our bag,” Howery concluded. “You know what I’m saying? Are we ever going to get that due?”
For the Best Actress category, there are no Black actors nominated, despite “The Woman King” star Davis previously landing Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her turn in the historical epic.
“Till” director Chinonye Chukwu seemingly responded to the historical film being ignored by the Academy, writing, “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. And yet, I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life: Regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance.”
In addition to Chukwu’s snub, “Aftersun” helmer Charlotte Wells, “Women Talking” director Sarah Polley, “The Woman King” filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, and “She Said” director Maria Schrader were overlooked in the Best Director category. The lack of any female directors recognized by the Academy comes on the heels of “The Power of the Dog” helmer Jane Campion’s record-breaking win in 2022.
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