Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/Getty
Christina Ricciis calling out theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
TheYellowjacketsstar, 42, defended first-time Oscar nomineeAndrea Riseboroughagainst the Academy’s “very backward” review of her surprise Best Actress nod for indie favoriteTo Leslie, following a last-minute grassroots campaign.
“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 Friday in a since-deleted statement on Instagram, according toDeadlineandThe Independent.
She continued: “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.”
A rep for Ricci did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment.
Andrea Riseborough inTo Leslie(2022).Everett
“If it’s taken away, shame on them,” Ricci concluded in the post.
TheWednesdayactress' statement comes after the Academy said in a statement that they “support genuine grassroots campaignsfor outstanding performances” but have opened a review after the nomination raised complaints.
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“We are conducting a review of the campaign procedures around this year’s nominees, to ensure that no guidelines were violated and to inform us whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media and digital communication,” the Academy announced Friday.
The British actress, whose performance hasalso been nominatedfor the upcomingIndependent Spirit Awards, was just as surprised whenOscar nominations were announcedon Tuesday morning, telling Deadline: “I’m astounded.”
“It’s such an unexpected ray of light. It was so hard to believe it might ever happen because we really hadn’t been in the running for anything else,” Riseborough said. “Even though we had a lot of support, the idea it might actually happen seemed so far away.”
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source: people.com
