The organisers of the Oscars have announced that they’re launching a review of “campaign procedures” to make sure that no guidelines were violated in the lead-up to this year’s nominations.
Earlier this week, the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards were announced, with Andrea Riseborough surprising many film fans by landing a spot in the Best Actress category.
Andrea bagged the nomination for her performance in To Leslie, a film which had previously received little fanfare, and had not been considered a frontrunner in the lead-up to awards season.
However, a week before the nominations were announced, many high-profile stars – including Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow – began publicly lauding Andrea’s performance, in what was perceived by many as a grassroots campaign for her to get some Oscars recognition.
A statement released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday confirmed a review would take place, although they did not mention any actor or film by name.
The statement read: “It is the Academy’s goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and we are committed to ensuring an inclusive awards process.
“We are conducting a review of the campaign procedures around this year’s nominees, to ensure that no guidelines were violated, and to inform us whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media and digital communication.
“We have confidence in the integrity of our nomination and voting procedures, and support genuine grassroots campaigns for outstanding performances.”
Reacting to the support she’s received on Tuesday evening, Andrea admitted she was “not entirely sure how the fuck this happened”.
“I’m astounded. It’s such an unexpected ray of light,” the Newcastle-born actor enthused.
“It was so hard to believe it might ever happen because we really hadn’t been in the running for anything else. Even though we had a lot of support, the idea it might actually happen seemed so far away.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Andrea Riseborough’s team for comment.
Andrea is up for Best Actress alongside Ana De Armas for Blonde, Cate Blanchett for Tár, Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans and Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The British star was previously nominated for a TV Bafta for her role in The Long Walk To Finchley, and won a SAG Award alongside the rest of the Birdman cast in the Best Ensemble category.
Her additional credits include films like Happy-Go-Lucky, Brighton Rock, Battle Of The Sexes, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and the Madonna-directed W.E., as well as the TV dramas Black Mirror and National Treasure.
Check out the full list of this year’s Oscar nominees here.