Why is Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination controversial?

The Academy Awards nominations always make headlines, but this time, one specific nomination has been stirring up quite a bit of controversy. This year’s unexpected nomination of Andrea Riseborough in the Best Actress category has a lot of people questioning how exactly the nomination process works.

Riseborough’s nominated role is for her work in the independent film ‘To Leslie’, which follows an alcoholic single mother struggling to rebuild her life in West Texas. The film only grossed about $27,300 at the box office before Riseborough received a surprise Oscar nomination.

The controversy comes as many were quick to point out that other actresses nominated in the category had significantly larger name recognition and box office earnings. Fellow nominees include Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Williams, and Ana de Armas.

Shortly before the Oscar nomination voting began, a handful of Hollywood stars suddenly started praising Riseborough’s performance. These stars include Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, and Kate Winslet.

The timing of things brought up concerns about the integrity of the Oscar nomination process, with many believing that money-based campaigning landed her the praise. Other critics also brought up the belief that Riseborough’s nomination took the place of more deserving Black actresses like Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler, who both starred in successful movies in the last year.

What does the Academy have to say?

Soon after controversy arose, the Academy addressed the outrage. In a statement made in the last week of January, the Academy said that the award competition is “conducted in a fair and ethical manner.”

The body also said that “no guidelines were violated” and they will examine “whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media and digital communication.”

Has an Oscar nomination ever been revoked before?

While the Academy ultimately did not revoke Risenborough’s nomination, they do have the power to do so and have revoked nominations in the past. Their latest nomination withdrawal happened in 2017.

In 2017 the Academy withdrew the Best Sound Mixing nomination for the film ‘13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’ upon discovering telephone lobbying, which violates the Academy’s rules.

Telephone lobbying is described by the Academy as “contacting Academy members by telephone to promote a film or achievement is expressly forbidden, even if such contact is in the guise of checking to make sure a screener or other mailing was received.”