Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jan 07, 2026

Oscars: Danielle Deadwyler claims Hollywood is 'deeply impacted by racism'

Oscars: Danielle Deadwyler claims Hollywood is 'deeply impacted by racism'

US actress Danielle Deadwyler has claimed the film industry is "deeply impacted by systemic racism", after no black women were nominated for best actress at this year's Oscars.

Deadwyler was expected to be recognised for her performance in the drama Till.

But she missed out on a nomination, as did Viola Davis, who was also widely tipped to be in the running.

Deadwyler said there is a "trickle-down effect" of racism in society on many institutions in American life.

In Till, the actress plays the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Deadwyler said: "Cinematic history is 100+ years old. I would dare say the system is deeply, deeply impacted by systemic racism that has shaped our country.

"And if we're still dealing with systemic racism in this country that is leading us to the loss of a Tyre Nichols, that carries us from the loss of Emmett, there is a trickle-down effect of how racism impacts our lives - from the educational system to the film industry to everything, any part of quotidian American life."

Deadwyler (right) plays Mamie Till-Mobley in the film, the mother of Emmett Till, played by Jalyn Hall

Deadwyler was widely praised for her performance in Till, and was considered one of the favourites to be nominated in the leading actress category at this year's Academy Awards.

After she was snubbed when the nominations were announced in January, Till writer and director Chinonye Chukwu accused Hollywood of "unabashed misogyny towards Black women".

Referring to those comments, Deadwyler told Radio 4: "Yes there is value to what [Chukwu] said, and it's imperative that every quality of our life begin to truly, deeply interrogate and shift and rupture and radically shift the way they seek to actually be an equitable institution."

Asked whether the Oscars or wider society needs to change, Deadwyler replied: "It's from both ends... It's got to come from every angle."

The Academy has increased the number of female and black and ethnic minority voters since the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2015.


'Critical questions'


Deadwyler noted that very few black women had been recognised at the Oscars, and there were often "numerous decades in between" those who had.

She referred to Hattie McDaniel's supporting actress win in 1940 and Halle Berry's leading actress win in 2002, which remains the only victory in that category for a black woman.

"You have to begin to question why there are these gaps," Deadwyler said. "Before I was even in consideration for anything, these are the things that I witnessed.

"So these are critical questions of, how do you begin to actually bring equity to spaces which have long been led or deeply impacted by white supremacy, ideologies, thoughts and practises?"

Halle Berry, pictured with Denzel Washington in 2002, is the only black woman to have won best leading actress at the Oscars


This year's best actress nominees are Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett, Ana De Armas, Michelle Williams and Andrea Riseborough.

British actress Riseborough scored a shock nomination following a campaign driven by a number of Hollywood A-listers.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences conducted a review into the campaign and said some tactics "caused concern", but her nomination was not revoked.

Williams was recognised despite a debate in Hollywood over whether she should have been nominated in the supporting actress category.

No black men are nominated for best lead actor this year. Two black performers - Angela Bassett and Brian Tyree Henry - are in the running in the supporting categories. The winners will be announced on 12 March.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
×