Academy won’t revoke Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed that Andrea Riseborough still has a slot in the Best Actress nominations. The academy confirmed that it won’t take any action to revoke Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination for To Leslie. 

British Actor Andrea Riseborough secured the nomination for her portrayal of an alcoholic mother in the film, To Leslie.  Despite her performance being lauded by critics, the film has only grossed just $27,000 at the box office, and had not received the sort of expensive and highly visible marketing campaign that is widely seen as essential for an Academy Awards nomination.

The scandal started when social media posts by Oscar-winning stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet lauded Riseborough’s performance ahead of the voting deadline this month. 

When Riseborough eventually secured a Best Actress nomination, while expected nominees Viola Davis (The Woman King) and Danielle Deadwyler (Till) did not, a debate was sparked about whether or not the aggressive campaign tactics from the To Leslie camp somehow impeded the progress the Academy has made in ensuring acting nominations remain diverse.

In response to raging discourse, the Academy CEO Bill Kramer said, "The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded. However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly."