Oscars 2019: Spike Lee Wins First Non-Honorary Oscar
Tonight at the 2019 Academy Awards, Spike Lee has taken home his first non-honorary Oscar award. His film BlacKkKlansman has won Best Adapted Screenplay. His collaborators Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmott were also honored. In total, it was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score. Watch Lee’s acceptance speech below.
Responding to Lee’s calls to voters to “Do the right thing” in the 2020 elections, Trump tweeted a repudiation on Monday morning, calling the speech a “racist hit on your President.” He then touted his policies that purportedly support African-Americans, though their benefits have been disputed: criminal justice reform, tax cuts, and measures to lower unemployment.
Later in the night, Lee reacted angrily when Green Book won Best Picture.
In 2015, Lee received an Academy Honorary Award for his contribution to film. BlacKkKlansman—the political 1970s-set film starring John David Washington and Adam Driver—features a rare Prince recording of “Mary Don’t You Weep.” Tonight at the award show, Lee paid tribute to the late legend with an all-purple suit and custom-made necklace donning the symbol Prince adopted as his name.
Read “The Pro-Black Bond Between Spike Lee and Prince” on the Pitch.
Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of this year’s Oscars.
