The director of "Till" — a film about the mother of Emmett Till pursuing justice after her son was lynched in 1955 — condemned Hollywood for "upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards black women" after "Till" received no Academy Award nominations.
Chinonye Chukwu spoke out on Instagram after the Oscar nominees were announced Tuesday, the Hollywood Reporter said.
According to TMZ, Chukwu shared a photo of herself with civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, who also appears in "Till."
"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," Chukwu wrote.
Danielle Deadwyler — the star of "Till" — had been expected to be among the best actress nominees for her role as Mamie Till-Mobley, the outlet said. Deadwyler was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the BAFTA Awards, Entertainment Weekly said.
Chukwu continued: "And yet. I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life — regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance."
Whoopi Goldberg — co-host of "The View" as well as a producer and co-star of "Till" — kind of addressed the snub during an episode of "The View."
"Before we start off, we just want to celebrate the talented artists and filmmakers who were nominated for Oscars this morning," she said. "Unfortunately, my film, 'Till,' was not nominated, but we do want to congratulate all the nominees, because many of them have been here, and it's wonderful to say congrats, so that's what we'll do."
Goldberg portrayed Alma Carthan, Till-Mobley's mother and Emmett Till’s grandmother.
Deborah Watts — Till’s cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation — told TMZ that the foundation "will ensure Emmett and Mamie's legacies and story will continue to be told with or without any awards."
According to the Root, "Deadwyler’s absence in the Best Actress category was also met with outrage and scrutiny online as neither she nor usual awards-staple Viola Davis and her epic action film The Woman King made the cut."
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