Danielle Deadwyler Addresses Oscars Snub

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When the 2023 Oscar nominations were announced, Danielle Deadwyler was not included in the Best Actress category. Deadwyler, who portrayed Mamie Till-Mobley in the film Till, was widely favored to earn one of the five nods after scoring nominations at the BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and Critics Choice Awards.

Soon after the nominations came out, Till director Chinonye Chukwu posted to Instagram, "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."

When Deadwyler was a guest on Kermode & Mayo’s Take, the actress was asked about Chukwu's comments. She said she agreed with the director, and spoke about the impacts of institutional racism.

"We’re talking about people who perhaps chose not to see the film," Deadwyler said about Till. "We’re talking about misogynoir. It comes in all kinds of ways. Whether it’s direct or indirect, it impacts who we are." Misogynoir, coined by scholar and activist Moya Bailey, specifically describes the racism and misogyny Black women face.

"I think the question is more on people who are living in whiteness, white people’s assessment of the spaces they are privileged by," Deadwyler continued. "We’ve seen it exist in a governmental capacity—it can exist on a societal capacity, be it global or national."

She added, "Everyone has to assess and investigate, source out and make more equitable. Nobody is absolved of not participating in racism and not knowing that there is a possibility of its lingering effect on the spaces and the institution."

Till was completely shut out of the 2023 Academy Awards.

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