Andrea Riseborough’s Controversial ‘To Leslie’ Best Actress Oscar Nomination Under Investigation for Possible Violations

The indie drama To Leslie quickly became “the little movie that could” after lead actor Andrea Riseborough bagged a Best Actress nomination at this year’s Oscars. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a celebratory occasion for all. Shortly after nominations, The Academy announced that they will be investigating the movie’s campaign, which involved word-of-mouth from Hollywood A-listers Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet.

In a statement obtained by IndieWire, the awards organization said, “It is the Academy’s goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and we are committed to ensuring an inclusive awards process.”

The Academy went on to add that they will be “conducting a review of the campaign procedures around this year’s nominees, to ensure that no guidelines were violated,” adding that they will consider changes to the guidelines moving forward to accommodate “social media and digital communication.”

Last week, Matt Belloni from Puck News speculated as to whether the movie’s team violated the rules, citing two specific instances. Belloni wrote that director Michael Morris’ wife, actor Mary McCormack, was “aggressive,” but didn’t necessarily break the rules. “If you’re willing to post every day between now and Jan 17th, that would be amazing! But anything is helpful, so please do whatever makes you comfortable. And what’s more comfortable than posting about a movie every day,” read an email from McCormack, per Puck News.

The outlet also cited a rule from The Academy that forbids references to other Oscar nominees, which was violated by actor Frances Fisher, who promoted Riseborough on social media. Fisher wrote, “Seems to be that Viola, Michelle, Danielle & Cate are a lock for their outstanding work,” referring to other Best Actress frontrunners. In a follow-up post by Belloni, published today, he reported that McCormack and others contacted their sources “over and over again” and their strategy was compared to “harassment.”

“One said they were invited to McCormack and Morris’s home several times for events/screenings, even though they’ve never met. That happens during Oscar season, but these contacts were relentless, and outside the Academy’s official middleman service,” Belloni wrote.

The Academy’s decision to reevaluate the movie’s campaigning has left many divided, with some hoping that it’ll result in recognition for Black talent that was not present in this year’s nominations. Not a single Black actor was nominated in the Best Actress category despite buzzy performances from Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler. In addition, no Black writers or directors were nominated in their specific categories or in Best Picture.

Actor Christina Ricci has also chimed into the conversation, criticizing The Academy’s decision to review the nominations. She commented specifically on Riseborough nod in a now-deleted Instagram post, writing, “Seems hilarious that the ‘surprise nomination’ (meaning tons of money wasn’t spent to position this actress) of a legitimately brilliant performance is being met with an investigation,” per Deadline.

She continued, “So it’s only the films and actors that can afford the campaigns that deserve recognition? Feels elitist and exclusive and frankly very backward to me” and added, “If it’s taken away shame on them.”

Riseborough is currently up against Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Michelle Williams and Michelle Yeoh for Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars.