In approximately one hour, Jimmy Kimmel and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will welcome many of the biggest stars in Hollywood to the Dolby Theater. Throughout the evening, Kimmel and the Academy will present directors, producers, actors and many other creatives with awards for their work in film. Tom Cruise, Steve Spielberg, James Cameron and many others will compete for the night’s biggest awards. Missing in action, legends like Viola Davis and Gina Prince-Bythewood will not be up for any of the “Big Four” awards after their 2022 standout picture, The Woman King, was not nominated.
“I’ll never get over it, because what happened was egregious and…it speaks to such a bigger issue in our industry,” Prince-Bythewood told People when asked how she felt about The Woman King being excluded from the major categories at this year’s Oscars.
Recently, Entertainment Weekly caught up with four people who voted to determine this year’s nominees and voters. Specifically, one anonymous voters made a few flippant remarks regarding the exclusion of Prince-Bythewood’s feature film at this year’s award show.
“When they get in trouble for not giving Viola Davis an award, it’s like, no, sweetheart, you didn’t deserve it. We voted, and we voted for the five we thought were best,” an anonymous voter told Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s not fair for you to start suddenly beating a frying pan and say [they’re] ignoring Black people. They’re really not, they’re making an effort. Maybe there was a time 10 years ago when they were, but they have, of all the high-profile things, been in the forefront of wanting to be inclusive. Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax. You didn’t get a nomination — a lot of movies don’t get nominations. Viola, you have one or two Oscars, you’re doing fine.”
Despite being left without a nomination at the Academy Awards, The Woman King has been honored at the African-American Film Critics Association Awards, Black Reel Awards, NAACP Image Awards and Black Film Critics Circle. Not to be forogtten, Viola Davis became an EGOT after winning her first Grammy Award earlier this year.
