Issa Rae Reacts Best Director Oscars 2020: Congrats Men

Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images.

This morning, the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards (better known as the Oscars) were announced, and if you were holding your breath that the nominee pool would be more diverse than the very-male, very-white Golden Globes earlier this month...sorry, but no dice. This year’s Oscars are set to be just as white, and just as male-dominated. And we are all very...very tired.

Ironically, the Oscars recruited two people of colour to announce the 2020 nominees, calling on beloved actors John Cho (Searching, Star Trek) and Issa Rae (Insecure) to share the good news. The aesthetically pleasing duo — who, by the way, have seriously great chemistry — delivered the nominations in Dolby Theatre. As they took turns announcing the nominees in each category, it became increasingly obvious that the lineup was missing a few of 2019’s biggest films and onscreen performances.

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Movies like Joker and The Irishman showed up across categories, with the Academy showing mad love to Golden Globe winner Joaquin Phoenix and Robert DeNiro. But when it came time to read out the nominations for “Best Director,” most of us were disappointed (but not at all surprised) to find that no women were included in the category.

Greta Gerwig was paid dust for her stunning adaptation of Little Women, and Lorena Scafaria's Hustlers and Melina Matsoukas's Queen & Slim might as well have not even happened — did Daniel Kaluuya's bare ass cheeks mean nothing to you, Academy?

“Congratulations to those men,” Rae deadpanned to the camera after reading out the nominees. Mood, mood, mood!

JUST ANNOUNCED: The @TheAcademy's nominees for Best Director are…
@TheIrishmanFilm, Martin Scorsese@jokermovie, Todd Phillips@1917, Sam Mendes@OnceInHollywood, Quentin Tarantino@ParasiteMovie, Bong Joon-ho#Oscars #OscarNoms https://t.co/J3ZBq1Vhdu pic.twitter.com/1UPNivSPYa
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 13, 2020

when issa rae said "congratulations to those men" after reading out the best director noms pic.twitter.com/Q4wqZCWEZk
— no (@miskeencore) January 13, 2020

Issa Rae pointedly saying 'congratulations to those men' after the Best Director noms is a fucking mood #OscarNoms
— Becca Harrison (@BeccaEHarrison) January 13, 2020

“Congratulations to those men.” - Issa Rae introducing the Best Director category is a MOOD. #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/ihxnw0E6VJ
— Kathleen Newman-Bremang (@KathleenNB) January 13, 2020

The Academy, on CLEMENCY's Chinonye Chukwu, LITTLE WOMEN's Greta Gerwig, A BEAUTIFUL DAY...'s Marielle Heller, QUEEN & SLIM's Melina Matsoukas, THE FAREWELL's Lulu Wang, BOOKSMART's Olivia Wilde, HUSTLERS' Lorene Scafaria, HONEY BOY's Alma Har'el... #VoteForWomen #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/UKM5IDVAEv
— Women In Film Los Angeles (@WomenInFilm) January 13, 2020

.@IssaRae #OscarNoms #ThoseMen pic.twitter.com/Muf6SnIuVc
— Ebony (@hey_ebie) January 13, 2020

The actress and HBO showrunner is known for her perfect awards show commentary; her red carpet interview with Variety at the 2017 Emmys went viral when she happily stated that she was "rooting for everybody Black" to win that night.

Two years later, Rae is right on the money with her subtle but potent Oscars shade. Hollywood has a real problem when it comes to acknowledging women — just look at who's being recognized during award season. We can't take away from the projects and performances that are being nominated (there's no denying that Parasite was a truly fantastic film), but the fact that the so many other works that were brought to life by women and people of colour have been ignored time and time again speaks volumes.

2019 was a banner year for female directors; 12 of last year's 100 top-grossing films were directed by women. That includes incredible movies like Little Women, Hustlers, The Farewell, Booksmart and Queen & Slim. The Academy's choice to not show love these films and the cast and crew responsible for bringing them to life sends a very clear message: Your stories don't matter. But hey, congratulations.