The Women in Film advocacy group spoke out against the Oscars after nominees in the best director category were announced.
The group issued a statement on Twitter, saying, “Once again, Academy voters have shown that they don’t value women’s voices, shutting us out of the Best Director nominations.”
It continues, “An Academy Award is more than a gold statue, it’s a career accelerator that can lead to continued work and increased compensation.”
The group vowed to continue to work with female directors, including Sarah Polley of “Women Talking,” Gina Prince-Bythewood of “The Woman King’s,” Charlotte Wells of “Aftersun” and Chinonye Chukwu’ of “Till.”
Read the statement below:
The 95th Academy Awards announced the nominations for the category are Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh, Todd Field, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and Ruben Östlund.
ABC will broadcast the event on March 12.
The program in 2022 attracted 16.6 million viewers, the second-worst turnout on record, as The New York Times reported.
Still, the event sparked a lot of conversation after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage.
The Academy Awards went on to announce Smith would be banned from the ceremonies for the next 10 years, as IJR previously reported.
The Academy also apologized for not making efforts to “adequately address the situation in the room” after the incident.
The organization said in a statement, “For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
Smith later spoke out in a video message and apologized to Rock.
“Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith said.
He added, “There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”