Danielle Deadwyler Cites Racism, Misogyny On Best Actress Oscar Snub
Actress Danielle Deadwyler appears on the most recent podcast episode of Kermode & Mayo’s Take, where she addresses misogyny and “whiteness” of Best Actress Oscar snub.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Deadwyler, 40, guest appeared on the podcast ahead of the 76th British Academy Film Awards (BAFA) for her dazzling performance as Mamie Till-Mobley in the Chinoye Chukwu-directed film Till.
Chukwu issued a statement in regard to the film, stating that she and Deadwyler “work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women.”
Though Deadwyler’s performance earned her a BAFA nod, Critics’ Movie Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, the Oscars were not on board.
Deadwyler, who played Emmett Till’s grieving mother, didn’t hesitate to agree with Chukwu’s statement:
"We're talking about people who perhaps chose not to see the film,” she said of the academy voters. “We're talking about misogynoir, like it comes in all kinds of ways, whether it's direct or indirect. It impacts who we are. I think the question is more on people who are living in whiteness, white people's assessment of the spaces they are privileged by."
Chukwu and Deadwylder’s sentiment toward the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science (AMPAS) voters ushers in what could be said about Viola Davis’ performance in the Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed film The Woman King. Davis’ performance, which received remarkable praise, did not make the final cut for Oscar nominations.
The systematic misogyny and racism that reside within establishments such as the Academy is a tough order to ignore, as Black actresses and directors lose out in award nominations.
Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu’s American horror film Nanny is among the said films that didn’t make the Oscars final contender list.
Deadwyler adds, “We've seen it exist in a governmental capacity — it can exist on a societal capacity, be it global or national," Deadwyler adds. "Then it has its residual effects. It is in our quotidian life. It is in our industries. It is a thing… Everyone has to assess and investigate, source out and make more equitable. Nobody is absolved of not participating in racism and not knowing that there is a possibility of its lingering effect on the spaces and the institution."
