Danielle Deadwyler in ‘Till’ Oscar Snub

Danielle Deadwyler talks about the Oscar for Best Actress.

The ‘Till’ star addressed Oscar voters’ “misogyny” when it comes to viewers, speculating that Academy members most likely haven’t seen the Chinonye Chukwu-directed historical film.

“We’re talking about people who may have decided not to see the film. We’re talking about misogyny as it manifests itself in all kinds of ways, direct or indirect,” Deadwyler said on the “Kermode & Mayo’s Take” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly). “It affects who we are.”

The actress added: “I think the issue is more about the people who live in whiteness and how white people value the spaces where they are privileged.”

Deadwyler was nominated for Best Actress at the BAFTA and SAG Awards and was recognized at the Critics Choice Awards. The star compared the lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees as part of a systemic problem that goes beyond Hollywood.

“We’ve seen that it exists in a governmental capacity — it can exist at a societal level, whether it’s global or national,” Deadwyler said. “Then it has residual effects.” It is in our daily life. It’s in our industry. That’s one thing… Everybody has to assess and investigate and find out and make it fairer. No one is exempt from engaging in racism and not knowing that it has the potential to have a lingering effect on spaces and institutions.”

Deadwyler previously told IndieWire that the “big misconception” of “Till” is that the film is “totally focused on the trauma of Emmett Till’s death.”

“We keep letting people know that this movie starts and ends with joy,” Deadwyler said. “This film is critical to understanding that black families are not just moments of violence or trauma.”

“Till” director Chukwu previously took to social media to criticize the Academy’s commitment to “perpetuating unabashed misogyny against black women” as the film was barred from nominations.

“We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to maintaining whiteness and unabashed misogyny against black women,” Chukwu wrote. “And yet I am eternally grateful for the greatest lesson of my life: No matter the challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to nurture my own joy, and that joy will be one of my greatest joys. forms of resistance.”

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