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'Till' Director Chinonye Chukwu Responds To 2023 Oscars Snub

Several insiders were surprised that actress Danielle Deadwyler's portrayal of Till's mother was not selected for the Best Actress nod.

Writer-director Chinonye Chukwu is responding to what she calls an "unbashed misogyny towards Black women" amid the controversial 2023 Oscar nominations.

The Till's director's comments come after the biopic, which re-tells the real-life story of Mamie Till-Mobley, who fought for justice for her son, Emmett Till after he was lynched in 1955 – shockingly received zero nominations in any Academy Award categories this year.

"We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women," Chukwu captioned her Instagram post alongside herself smiling next to civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams on Tuesday (Jan. 24).

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"And yet. I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life — regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance."

Several insiders were surprised that actress Danielle Deadwyler portrayal of Till’s mother was not selected for a Best Actress nod after successfully securing nods at the SAG Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the BAFTA Awards.

In an interview with TMZ, Emmett Till’s family responded to Deadwyler’s snub from the Academy Awards.

“[She] embodied and delivered the true essence of our cousin, a loving and courageous mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. She reached deeply and poured her heart and soul in this role as she embraced us intimately like no other, while transforming into Mamie and bringing her true essence and story to life,” said Deborah Watts, Emmett’s cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation.

Deadwyler has yet to respond publicly to not being nominated for an Oscar for the 2023 ceremony.

The 95th Academy Awards will air Sunday, Mar. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

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