'Woman King' Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Responds to Being Called 'The Lady Director' by Anonymous Oscars Voter

Gina Prince-Bythewood is reacting to a story making headlines.

The Oscar-nominated Woman King director was mentioned in an EW story revealing the honest opinions of four anonymous Oscars voters, which has garnered a lot of attention and outrage.

At one point in the article, an anonymous longtime actor spoke out about The Woman King, starring Viola Davis.

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“When they get in trouble for not giving Viola Davis an award, it’s like, no, sweetheart, you didn’t deserve it. We voted, and we voted for the five we thought were best,” he said in the article.

“It’s not fair for you to start suddenly beating a frying pan and say [they're] ignoring Black people. They’re really not, they’re making an effort. Maybe there was a time 10 years ago when they were, but they have, of all the high-profile things, been in the forefront of wanting to be inclusive. Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax. You didn’t get a nomination — a lot of movies don’t get nominations. Viola, you have one or two Oscars, you’re doing fine.”

In response to the article, Gina wrote simply on Twitter: “I will now answer to ‘that lady director’ and ‘that lady director’ only.”

Find out who our readers decided should win for Best Actress.