The Instagram post and caption were released hours before the Academy vote closed.
Following the controversial nominations of Andrea Riseborough and Ana de Armas, as well as debates over the respective snubs of Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler, the Best Actress 2023 category has been plagued with controversy. And now his two favorites are at the center of another questionable campaign tactic.
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ star Michelle Yeoh reposted an article from Vogue on Tuesday titled “It’s been over two decades since we’ve had a Best Non-White Actress winner. Will that change? he in 2023?” to Instagram. Yeoh captioned, “This isn’t just for me, this is for every little girl that looks like me. We want to be seen. We want to be heard.
The post went live just hours before voting closed ahead of the 95th Academy Awards this Sunday, March 12. However, Yeoh didn’t just campaign for herself. Instead, she captured a clip from the Vogue article asking if “TÁR” actress Cate Blanchett “needs” another Oscar.
Blanchett is a two-time Oscar winner, with statues of her roles in “Blue Jasmine” and “The Aviator.” Blanchett has been nominated a total of eight times. This year marks Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination.
The Vogue excerpt posted by Yeoh reads: “Critics would say Blanchett is the best performance – the acting veteran is, no doubt, incredible as prolific bandleader Lydia Tár – but it’s worth note that she already has two Oscars. A third would perhaps confirm her status as an industry titan but, given her extensive and unparalleled work, do we still need further confirmation?”
The article continues: “Meanwhile, for Yeoh, an Oscar would change her life: her name would forever be preceded by the phrase ‘Oscar winner’, and that should allow her to get meatier roles, after a decade of criminal underuse in Hollywood.
The Daily Beast questioned whether Yeoh sharing the article, and its specific excerpt, violated the “References to other nominees” rules due to its timing just before Oscar voting ended.
The rule states that social media from people associated with an eligible film that casts a “negative or derogatory light on a competing film or achievement will not be tolerated.”
Yeoh previously addressed Riseborough’s intensive social media campaign, nominated for Best Actress, which led to the Academy reassessing its rules. “The Academy has always prided itself on having rules and playing by the rules and if [cheating them] was so easy as he would have done before,” Yeoh told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme. “We are still evolving on how to protect our integrity and I am confident we will continue to do so .”
IndieWire has reached out to Yeoh’s representatives for comment.
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