Michelle Yeoh stands by the “integrity” of her fellow Best Actress Oscar nominees.
The “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star addressed the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s Academy Award nomination for indie film “To Leslie” following discussions of possible voter tampering.
“The Academy has always prided itself on having regulations and playing by the rules and if [cheating them] was so easy it would have done before,” Yeoh said during BBC Radio 4’s “Today” (via The Independent). “We are always evolving on how to protect our integrity and I have great faith we will continue to do that.”
Academy Award darlings Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron, Amy Adams, Jennifer Aniston, and Jane Fonda campaigned for Riseborough’s nomination, leading to an investigation by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While Riseborough’s nomination still stands, Academy CEO Bill Kramer announced that “social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern” will be addressed under new regulations for campaigning in the future.
Writer-director Paul Schrader and actress Christina Ricci have similarly defended Riseborough amid the “elitist” Academy investigation.
Best Actress frontrunner Yeoh additionally spoke out on the believed snubs of “The Woman King” star and EGOT winner Viola Davis and “Till” breakout Danielle Deadwyler.
“I love [Viola and Danielle] to the extreme and wish we were all getting Oscars, but it’s tough,” Yeoh said. “It took me 40 years to even get a nomination. Every single actor and actress puts their heart and soul into these movies and you don’t necessarily start thinking you are going to get nominated. The stories we want to tell are more important.”
“Till” star Deadwyler recently speculated that Academy voters opted to not see the historical film that deals with the death of Emmett Till.
“We’re talking about people who perhaps chose not to see the film. We’re talking about misogynoir, like it comes in all kinds of ways, whether it’s direct or indirect,” Deadwyler said. “It impacts who we are.”
The actress added, “I think the question is more on people who are living in whiteness, white people’s assessment of the spaces they are privileged by.”
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