One of the biggest surprises in this year’s Oscar nominations was actress Andrea Riseborough, who was recognized for her lead performance as an alcoholic in the little-seen indie drama To Leslie. Now the British actress is facing growing accusations of white privilege and claims that she usurped the spot from black actresses including Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler.
Andrea Riseborough scored her nomination thanks in large part to last-minute campaigning by celebrity friends who hosted for-your-consideration screenings and promoted her on social media. To Leslie‘s distributor had virtually no money for an Oscar campaign and so Riseborough reportedly relied on her “team” (she is represented by left-wing mega-agency CAA) to recruit her fellow stars for the cause.
Among the celebrities who performed the heavy lifting were Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Edward Norton, Sarah Paulson, Mia Farrow, and Frances Fisher.
But Riseborough’s nomination isn’t sitting well with the woke social justice crowd, which is accusing her of white privilege and stealing the nomination from black actresses. Many had expected Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler for Till to be nominated following more traditional Oscar campaigns.
Some have also blamed Riseborough for the fact that no black women were nominated in the major categories this year.
Let's be VERY real here: Andrea Riseborough's #Oscar nomination is definitely due to white privilege. Black actresses with phenomenal performances campaigned their ASSES off this season, but they were left out for someone whose team begged people to vote for her. I can't.
— Justice for Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler (@PeterGoesAlt) January 24, 2023
A bunch of mainly White actors coming together to get their friend nominated and ultimately push two Black women out? I don't blame Andrea Riseborough, the way she was campaigned though….. https://t.co/uReP0nFYQS
— Ashley Reynolds (@Ashley_Reynolds) January 24, 2023
i’m sure she gives a good performance but the last minute push for andrea riseborough during the week of oscar voting and her getting in at the expense of two black women that had been nominated for most if not all of the precursors does not sit right with me.
— kay (@70srumours) January 24, 2023
If there's one thing I find disgusting, it's seeing how pundits are happy that Andrea Riseborough's aggressive campaign by white actors & actresses worked, and almost don't care that those affected are always black actresses as Danielle Deadwayler with better acting.#Oscars2023
— DeJour (@DeJourAmour) January 24, 2023
Andrea Riseborough I'm sure gave a great performance, but her nomination came at the cost of TWO Black actresses. I agree its not fair she used her white privilege to block two amazing black actresses who have done the whole campaign season fairly.
— Chris (@ChristoTheFer) January 25, 2023
One day we’ll talk about how Andrea Riseborough, who is white, got her rich white friends to fund a last minute “grassroots campaign” to get her a nom over black women who deserved it more, but apparently we can’t do it today because everyone’s celebrating this “underdog” story.
— Phillip✨// TLoU Era (Missing Andor) (@thegreattwig25) January 24, 2023
congratulations for showing how racist the awards are by snubbing one of the best performances of the year to put the white andrea riseborough where no one has seen this movie
pic.twitter.com/tt2UmBLOpG https://t.co/9Afg35YCKP— ro (@6rod66) January 24, 2023
Andrea Riseborough is case for White Privilege. No one saw that film, absolutely no one… Underlooked? Well why didn't she ask her friends to promote the film, instead HER friends promoted her for an Oscar Nomination at the expense of Viola Davis and Danielle.
— We did it Joe. Dan🇴 (@LTAD_98) January 25, 2023
Even the Los Angeles Times joined the mob, publishing an essay by critic Robert Daniels who cautioned against singling out Riseborough while still taking a dig at her.
“What does it say that the Black [sic] women who did everything the institution asks of them — luxury dinners, private academy screenings, meet-and-greets, splashy television spots and magazine profiles — are ignored when someone who did everything outside of the system is rewarded?” he wrote.
The backlash is reminiscent of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, which sought to call out the Academy for perceived racial injustices throughout the decades. Since then, the Academy has sought to diversify its voting body and has even instituted racial and gender quotas for the best picture category that are set to take effect next year.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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