Jessica Chastain Supports Friend Viola Davis, Criticizes 'Woman King' Oscars Snub

Despite the 2023 Oscars being held over a month ago, supporters of the award-winning film "The Woman King" still call out the Academy for snubbing the production.

You may recall that while the movie was acknowledged at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, and SAG Awards, it was excluded from the Oscars nominees list, thereby enraging fans worldwide.

One such supporter is Viola Davis' co-star in "The Help," Jessica Chastain, who recently defended Davis at a New York event while bashing the Oscars for such dishonor. 

On the eve of Monday, April 24, Chastain honored the 57-year-old actress at the 48th Chaplin Award Gala presented by Film at Lincoln Center in New York City. 

After hours of speeches from multiple invitees, hailing Davis for her exemplary acting prowess, the "Jolene" star went on stage to praise her former co-star and slam the Academy Awards. She said, according to IndieWire, "When I see a movie like 'The Woman King,' it has Viola's fingerprints all over it." 

Chastain added that a movie with a female director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and "a cast of powerful Black female leads" could be produced in Hollywood thanks to Davis's "lifelong advocacy for women of color." Then taking a subtle jab at the Academy, she said, "Maybe one day a movie like that can get nominated for an Oscar."

Later, the "Zero Dark Thirty" star told the outlet, "Someone had to say it. I mean, come on. Not a single Oscar nomination for that movie? There had to be some Academy members in that room, right?"

Earlier in March, Chastain and Halle Berry presented the Best Actress award to the "Everything Everywhere All at Once" star Michelle Yeoh, making her the first Asian actress to win the prize. Meanwhile, Berry was the first Black actress ever to receive such honor.

The other four nominees in the category for this year were "Tár" star Cate Blanchett, "Blonde" star Ana de Armas, "To Leslie" star Andrea Riseborough, and "The Fabelmans" star Michelle Williams.

In the same month as the award ceremony, "The Woman King" director bared her mind about the snub, saying, "I'll never get over it because what happened was egregious and ... it speaks to such a bigger issue in our industry."

Prince-Bythewood also declared that even with the exclusion, creators like herself would always be ready to do something as big and together, ensuring they maintain the energy, irrespective of the situation.

Following the release of the Oscars nominations list in February, Davis' "The Woman King" and other prominent African-American projects like the movie "Till" and its lead star, Danielle Deadwyler, were not nominated.

However, surprisingly, the "To Leslie" star, Riseborough, was added to the list after only being ever nominated for an Independent Spirit award, with her film grossing only $27,000 at the box office before the prominent Oscar recognition.

The nod did not sit well with many colored fans as they criticized the influence of big Hollywood names like Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Norton, and Kate Winslet, who held social media campaigns to promote Riseborough's work to Academy Voters.

This prompted the Academy to investigate and review its rules for online campaigning and its impact on the actors' nomination. News of The Academy conducting a review of their rules for social media campaigning was announced on January 27, after which CEO Bill Kramer confirmed that Riseborough's nomination would not be withdrawn.

Kramer's statement began with an update about the reason behind the investigation before proclaiming that The Academy found no fault in the campaign tactics. He said, "The Academy has determined the activity did not rise to the level that the film's nomination should be rescinded." 

Additionally, the Academy's head remarked on Riseborough's campaign strategies to be addressed before asserting that parts of the organization's regulations needed to be explicit to ensure a "better framework for respectful, inclusive, and unbiased campaigning." 

According to him, the changes were scheduled to be made after the 2023 awards cycle and will be shared with the members of The Academy.