Issa Rae Was 'Happy' for Historical Oscar Wins After Calling Out All-Male Director Nominees
Issa Rae is sharing her love for the Oscar winners that made history on Sunday night.
The Insecure actress previously went viral earlier this year after presenting the list of 2020 Oscar nominations, where she was not impressed after reading the all-male list of Best Director nominees.
“Congratulations to those men,” Rae, 35, said sarcastically after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science left out female directors from the coveted category.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the premiere of her new film The Photograph on Tuesday in New York City, Rae revealed that she was packing for New York during the ceremony, but she was “obviously very happy for Hair Love and Parasite” and “those historical wins.”
“Any time we get to tell a story outside of the typical white narrative it’s great,” she shared. “It’s welcome and I’m glad that it’s being celebrated.”
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Parasite — which won four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director — made history as the first non-English language film to win the award for Best Picture. Hair Love, a sweet animated short that features a black father learning how to do his daughter’s hair, won for Best Animated Short.
Many shared Rae’s frustration when the Oscar nominations were announced and no female directors were listed.
Greta Gerwig received critical acclaim for her film Little Women, as well as Lulu Wang for The Farewell and Lorene Scafaria for Hustlers, but each failed to be nominated.
Only one woman has ever won the Best Director award in the Academy’s 92-year history — Kathryn Bigelow in 2009 for The Hurt Locker — and only five women total have been nominated.
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At the premiere of The Photograph, Rae also talked about Valentine’s Day and her upcoming plans for the holiday, describing her ideal day would be “low maintenance,” with “a tasting menu with multiple courses and a movie.”
Rae is currently engaged to her longtime boyfriend Louis Diame and her romance drama, The Photograph, will strategically be released on Valentine’s Day.
The film follows the estranged daughter (Rae) of a famous photographer who falls in love with the journalist (Lakeith Stanfield) who is assigned to cover her late mother’s death.
