While we are all entitled to our opinion about which movie deserves the highest accolade, an Oscar voter's opinion about a foreign film is being slammed for her racist view.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a "female member of the Academy's actor branch," spoke under the condition of anonymity and gave a condemning analysis of the nominations this year.
When evaluating each of the films nominated for Best Picture, she demeaned the South Korean black comedy thriller, Parasite, and said it did not belong in the category.
While she admitted that the Bong Joon-Ho film was "beautifully done," the pat on the back ended there.
She added:
"I don't think foreign films should be nominated with the regular films."
While she spoke ill of other films and performances up for awards, the dig at Parasite sparked the most controversy, with some on Twitter calling her comment, "racist."
Many others balked at her designation of films being "regular."
Her dissertation on what is or is not deserving of praise was rife with other doltish comments, including her criticism of the acting in Greta Gerwig's Little Women.
"Little Women was badly acted and confusing, and I have no idea why they cast four British actresses to play American girls."
From the Best Actress category, she already banished Cynthia Erivo on the basis of her being a British actress cast in a role about an African American historical figure.
"I won't vote for [Harriet's] Cynthia Erivo because I think that they should have gotten an American actress to play Harriet [Tubman], not an English actress."
Usually, an actress portraying a real life persona to a tee is enough to warrant a trophy. But in this case, Charlize Theron was perhaps too perfect portraying Megyn Kelly?
The voter said:
"Charlize Theron did a good imitation [of Megyn Kelly], but I find the real Megyn irritating, so I found her irritating, too."
So who are her picks and her justifications for them?
For Best Actor, she voted for Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood because "he hasn't won before," and Renée Zellweger for Best Actress for her performance in Judy because of "her singing and everything, she's just great."
Her top pick for the best movie was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood because she believed that director Quentin Tarantino depicted the era of the 1960s "perfectly" based on the time she spent in L.A. during that period.
That would indicate she is not the "young" and "naive" voter people imagined her to be.
Those hoping for Parasite to sweep solely based on the fact that it is widely considered a "cinematic masterpiece" from critics across the board are crossing their fingers.
For the 92nd Academy Awards, the nominations for Best Picture include: 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Little Women, Ford v Ferrari, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, The Irishman, and Marriage Story.
Parasite garnered six nominations – including Best Picture, Best Director and Best International Feature Film – and is a brilliant commentary on class conflict and social inequality filled with dramatic twists and turns culminating in a jolting denouement.
The film left audiences perpetually talking about the film long after its final credits.
It has all the ingredients of a Best Picture distinction, regardless if the picture is foreign or "regular."
