A’Ziah King Calls Out A24 Over Award Show Snub
A’Ziah “Zola” King, the mastermind behind the viral Twitter thread that was adapted into the hit film Zola, is sharing her disappointment with A24, the production company behind the 2020 film.
On Sunday, Jan. 30, King retweeted a post by Film Independent, the organization behind the Independent Spirit film awards, writing, “I think it’s hilarious ‘Zola’ is up for 7 awards and no one thought to invite me nor include me IN the writers award category. As if there would’ve been a film or a script to write if I didn’t um… write it?”
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Based on her 2015 Twitter thread that became infamous for its then-real-time appeal and thrilling cliffhangers, King is now speaking out against the production company over being excluded from the film’s awards recognition. Nominated for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Female Lead (Taylour Paige), Best Supporting Male (Colman Domingo) — King’s name is not found in the Best Screenplay category alongside Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris.
King continued to express her frustrations with the production company after she was allegedly not invited to this year’s award ceremony, where, according to her, the film received “the most [nominations] of any film @A24 has ever made.”
Based on a mostly true story by King that she became a 148-tweet viral thread about her experience following a fellow stripper to Florida grew into a Rolling Stone article by David Kushner and became the source material for the adaptation’s screenplay. Harris, the playwright behind Slave Play, voiced his support for King, writing that A24 has “disrespected the Black women who are responsible for the content they get praised for… Know JANICZA and I have fought for u since jump and won’t stop.”
Bravo, who also directed the film, seemed to echo Harris’ statement on her Instagram story by reposting a photo of the cast with the caption, “This movie was dope all because of a Twitter story by [A’Ziah ‘Zola’ King].”
Zola, which was released last June in theaters and streaming services, starred Taylour Paige in the titular role and featured a cast including Colman Domingo, Ts Madison, Riley Keough, and Nicholas Braun.
