Jennifer Lawrence and Jodi Foster are the new power duo you never knew you needed, and they're here to smash a dated tradition. Variety confirmed on Friday that the two award-winning actresses would replace Casey Affleck to present the award for Best Actress at the 90th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday.
Though the Best Actor winner typically presents for Best Actress the following year, Affleck withdrew his participation earlier this year. The decision came on the heels of the #MeToo movement and Affleck's alleged history of sexual misconduct.
"We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and on the great work of this year," an Academy spokesman told Refinery29 regarding Affleck's decision in January.
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The eloquently worded response is much more tactful than mine, but I'll say it anyway. BOY, BYE!
According to Variety, Lawrence and Foster aren't the only women shaking things up at this year's Oscars. Hollywood icons Dame Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda are also booting a man from the spotlight to present the award for Best Actor. Hmm, might it also be time to also replace the Oscars statuette with a leading woman?
This year's ceremony is bound to be one of the most feminist yet. This week, A Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVernay confirmed during a press briefing that the ceremony would dedicate an entire segment honoring the Time's Up movement and the women who are fighting tirelessly to end income inequality, sexism, and sexual misconduct in workplaces across the nation.
"It's really important that you know that Time's Up is not about the red carpet," Shonda Rhimes told reporters, according to Variety. "And those women you saw on the red carpet representing Time's Up are now off the red carpet working their butts off being activists."
Since the beginning of the year, the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund has raised a remarkable $21 million, and from the sound of things they're just getting warmed up.
It's great to see the Academy take pressing women's issues so seriously. Hopefully, this push for equality will filter into Hollywood in the coming year, providing more representation for women and gender non-conforming folks in the industry, specifically those of color.