Actor Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role came as a shock to many, when she stormed into the final five without any of the precursor nominations for her work in To Leslie. Since then the Academy had looked into the unlikely grassroots campaign to ensure whether Andrea’s nomination flouted any of the rules made by the Academy. Now, the Academy has released a statement that Andrea’s nomination will not be revoked despite the backlash. (Also read: Chhello Show director Pan Nalin says ‘move on’ after being out of Oscars race: ‘Neither our last film nor our last show’)
The Academy had revealed last week that it would conduct a review of the nomination after several questions were raised on the campaigning efforts of the film that led to her surprise nomination. Screenings of the film were hosted by several members of the Academy as part of the grassroots campaign that included actors like Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Edward Norton and Minnie Driver. Actors like Kate Winslet, Amy Adams, Jane Fonda, Naomi Watts and Demi Moore also helped in bringing Andrea’s performance to the radar in the closing days of the voting.
Now, after the review, the Academy has announced that the Best Actress nomination for Andrea won’t be pulled out. In an official statement released by The Academy, AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer said, “Based on concerns that surfaced last week around the TO LESLIE awards campaign, the Academy began a review into the film’s campaigning tactics. The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded. However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly. The purpose of the Academy’s campaign regulations is to ensure a fair and ethical awards process—these are core values of the Academy. Given this review, it is apparent that components of the regulations must be clarified to help create a better framework for respectful, inclusive, and unbiased campaigning. These changes will be made after this awards cycle and will be shared with our membership. The Academy strives to create an environment where votes are based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible films and achievements.”
The five nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role are Cate Blanchett in Tar, Ana de Armas in Blonde, Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie, Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans, and Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Academy Awards will be held on March 13.
