Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination at Oscars 2023 for her performance in the acclaimed, but not massy To Leslie has landed the Academy in muddy waters. For the unversed, Riseborough’s performance as a troubled single mom who wins the lottery and then squanders the winnings has been lauded by both critics and contemporary celebrities. However, netizens have now called out the surprise nominations and the way in which the film trumped other deserving films and made it to the Oscar list.
The Andrea Riseborough controversy
The core of the controversy involving Andrea lies in the fact that the actress received the nomination despite the absence of any high-budget campaign mounted by films that strive to enter tthe Oscar race. The campaign for Andrea was a celebrity-backed series of shoutouts from screenings and discussions involving actors like Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, Edward Norton and Amy Adams. In fact, days before the Oscar nominations were announced, Gwyneth Paltrow shared a post after watching the film. “I am stunned by all of the performances. Andrea should win every award there is and all the ones that haven’t been invented yet.
People react to nomination
Netizens have not taken too kindly to Riseborough’s nomination, putting forward a number of reasons as to why her inclusion is, perhaps, unwanted. “White people see Andrea Riseborough’s nomination as a story of an underdog triumphing over rich studios while the rest of us see a white woman leapfrogging deserving women of colour due to her network of influential white friends,” wrote one netizen, while a second shared, “All for a “small movie with a big heart” getting recognition. Yet, it feels weird to have Andrea Riseborough get in after 1 week offamous friends go on IG, while Danielle Deadwyler (also in a “small movie with a big heart”) pounded the pavement for months to wind up snubbed.”
“I’ve seen enough: Andrea Riseborough deserves her Best Actress nomination to be rescinded.
Some of her supporters violated Academy rules by publicly pushing a misinformation campaign on actresses of color (Michelle Yeoh & Viola Davis) to lobby members to back her.”
Why the outrage
For starters, there is the possibility of campaign rules having been breached, with reports stating that the Academy has started an investigation. “It is the Academy’s goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and we are committed to ensuring an inclusive awards process. We are conducting a review of the campaign procedures around this year’s nominees, to ensure that no guidelines were violated, and to inform us whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media and digital communication. We have confidence in the integrity of our nomination and voting procedures, and support genuine grassroots campaigns for outstanding performances,” read a statement released by the Academy.
Another controversy pertains to the charge of racism with #OscarsSoWhite making a comeback on social media. Andrea Riseborough’s nomination is being seen by some as having come at the expense of performances by Black actress like Viola Davis (The Woman King) and Danielle Deadwyler (Till), with Till director Chinonye Chukwu even writing on Instagram, “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.”
