Just ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards, more behind-the-scenes drama has ensued. And social media is, once again, playing a hand in it.
Michelle Yeoh — who has already made history as the first Asian woman to be nominated for best actress in nearly 90 years — may have violated Academy Awards rules by sharing snippets on Tuesday of a racially charged article that referenced two-time winner Cate Blanchett, who is her closest competitor in the category.
The Vogue article, titled “It’s Been Over Two Decades Since We’ve Had a Non-White Best Actress Winner,” highlights a lack of representation at the Academy Awards and points out how the “overwhelmingly white voting body” relates to actors who look like them.
The article’s author noted how Blanchett, who is white, already has two Oscars — one for 2005′s “The Aviator” and another for 2014′s “Blue Jasmine ‘’ — under her belt. The 53-year-old Australian actress currently stars as a prolific conductor in the psychological drama “Tár.”
For her star turn in the multiverse-jumping indie adventure “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Yeoh has won a string of honors this season, including the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit Awards.
The 60-year-old Malaysian actress has since deleted her Instagram post. But there’s no telling if any damage was done.
While voting for this year’s Oscars commenced Tuesday, there has been an added scrutiny of the role social media plays on swaying influence within the Academy.
In January, actress Andrea Riseborough’s surprise Oscar nomination for the relatively unknown indie drama “To Leslie” caused a scuttlebutt leading to an investigation about Instagram posts promoting the movie, and coincidentally Blanchett (a good friend of the actress).
The Academy forbids mentioning competitors in any campaign effort.
According to film industry trade magazine Variety, Yeoh “should rest easy” since “Riseborough’s camp didn’t face consequences for their possible violations that remain unclear via the Academy’s rules and regulations.”
New York Daily News senior film writer Peter Sblendorio has Yeoh as a lock for the win, noting how “Yeoh balanced depth, humor and emotion in her portrayal of Evelyn — a Chinese immigrant repeatedly thrust between alternate universes — in a way few others could.”
It would be a long overdue victory, too.
In the Academy Awards’ 94-year history, Halle Berry remains the only woman of color to take home the best actress prize for her role in the Lee Daniels-produced 2002 drama “Monster’s Ball.”
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