Christina Ricci reportedly called out the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for its review of this year’s Oscar nominations following the backlash over actor Andrea Riseborough’s “surprise” Best Actress nod.
Riseborough’s nomination on Tuesday, for the indie film To Leslie, confused some insiders as she landed a nod without a traditionally heavily funded campaign. On Friday, the Academy, which hosts the Oscars, announced it will review the campaign procedures for the recently announced 2023 nominees.
As Deadline reported on Friday, Ricci, in a now-deleted Instagram post, defended Riseborough’s nomination and criticized the notion that only films and actors that spend a lot of money campaigning large campaign money should earn Oscar nominations.
“Seems hilarious that the ‘surprise nomination’ (meaning tons of money wasn’t spent to position this actress) of a legitimately brilliant performance is being met with an investigation,” Ricci wrote, per Deadline. “So it’s only the films and actors that can afford the campaigns that deserve recognition? Feels elitist and exclusive and frankly very backward to me.”
The Yellowjackets actor said Riseborough likely had “nothing to do with” To Leslie’s Oscars campaign, claiming that actors never orchestrate their campaigns themselves.
“If it’s taken away shame on them,” Ricci reportedly wrote.
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Ricci’s representatives for comment.
