The Oscars’ Best Actress Race Took a Shocking Step Backward

Today’s Oscars nominations included a handful of lovely surprises (Paul Mescal, Brian Tyree Henry, Stephanie Hsu!) and some more, well, befuddling picks like Top Gun: Maverick for Best Adapted Screenplay (I blame Scientology!). However, out of all the surprises and snubs, it’s this year’s crop of Best Actress nominees that has truly broken the internet. It turns out that Courteney Cox and Joe Mantegna urging the Academy to consider Andrea Riseborough actually worked. And apparently, only one woman of color can compete for Best Actress every year.

Let’s start with the good news. It looks like we can still count on a showdown between frontrunners Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once and Cate Blanchett for Tár, who were both nominated. I would personally love to see a tie between these two acting titans, the first since Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand split the Academy’s votes evenly in 1969.

However, if Yeoh, who won Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy at this year’s Golden Globes, takes home the prize, she would be the first Asian woman to win Best Actress and only the second woman of color in the history of the category, after Halle Berry more than 20 years ago. Both statistics are equally embarrassing for the Academy, but her potential win will nevertheless be a joyous occasion.

Read more at The Daily Beast.