At this year’s Academy Awards that took place last night, Natalie Portman meant business. The actress showed up on the red carpet wearing a statement black-and-gold Dior Haute Couture cape, embroidered with names of worthy female directors who weren’t nominated for an Oscar.
The names featured on the cape included Lulu Wang, who directed The Farewell; Greta Gerwig behind Little Women; Lorene Scafaria who directed Hustlers; Melina Matsoukas of Queen & Slim fame; Marielle Heller, who directed A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; Atlantics’ Mati Diop; Alma Har’el, behind Honey Boy; and Céline Sciamma, who directed Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
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“I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year in my subtle way,” Natalie said about her sartorial choice. The Academy Awards have been criticized for failing to nominate female directors this year, and this hasn’t been an uncommon occurrence in the 92-year-old history of the Oscars. So far, only five women have been nominated for the Best Director category to date, and only one, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009), has won. But this sure isn’t the first time that Natalie has spoken up against discrimination towards female directors. While presenting the Best Director award at the 2018 Golden Globes, the actor made sure to get her message across, saying “…and now, here are the all male nominees,” before she announced the winner. In addition to snubbing female directors, the Oscars were also under fire for lack of diversity among acting nominees. Cynthia Erivo, for Harriet, was the only actor of color to be nominated in the category.