An anonymous Oscar voter, who admitted to not watching The Woman King, blasted Viola Davis and the film’s director, claiming they weren’t nominated because they didn’t “deserve” a nod.
The voter, whose identity will never be revealed, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is described as a prominent and renowned actor who has delivered “performances in critically heralded prestige dramas, biting mainstream thrillers, and on Emmy-winning TV shows […] this actor earned consistent acclaim throughout his career,” Entertainment Weekly
reported.With a promise of anonymity, the voter ripped apart Davis and the film’s “lady director,” Gina Prince-Bythewood, following public complaints in response to the 2022 film receiving zero Oscar nominations.
“When they get in trouble for not giving Viola Davis an award, it’s like ‘no, sweetheart, you didn’t deserve it,’” the voter said.
“We voted, and we voted for the five we thought were best. 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.”
The voter went on to berate Davis and Prince-Bythewood, telling the women to “sit down, shut up” since Davis already has Academy Award wins.
“Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax,” the voter quipped.
“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.”
Once the anonymous voter’s words made media headlines, many sounded off on social media with their reactions to the apparently personal snub,
“This is heinous, staggeringly racist, sexist and should be disqualifying as a voter,” one user wrote.
Another user made a correlation to Beyoncé’s recent snub at the Grammy Awards for Album of The Year, after a voter admitted to not voting for Bey since she already had so many Grammy wins.
“Grammy voter didn’t vote for Beyonce because she already won
too much. Oscar voter didn’t see Woman King but knows Viola Davis didn’t deserve it,” they wrote. “The ‘lady director’ ‘should sit down and relax’The goal post always moves when it comes to Black women and the disrespect is loud!”
“The most revealing part about this entire piece is an Oscar voting actor directly disparaging Viola Davis’s acting and then admitting to having not even seen The Woman King,” added someone else.