For the Oscars Leslie Jones Is Voting for Everybody Black

By Garrett Schlichte  |  February 9, 2020 | 5:45pm
CelebritiesDirt Bag
For the Oscars Leslie Jones Is Voting for Everybody Black
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In 2017 on the Emmys red carpet Issa Rae was asked who she would be rooting for during that evening’s ceremony, “I’m rooting for, um, everybody black.” Rae responded, “I am! Betting on black tonight.” The interview quickly made the rounds on the internet and, as is unfortunately to be expected, a lot of white people embarrassed themselves on Twitter by attempting to paint Rae’s comments as racist, which really just further evidenced the limited understanding a lot of white people have about what racism actually is.

Now, just three years later, it appears the energy Rae brought to the red carpet that night is alive and well, and is living on in Leslie Jones, who shared a similar sentiment while talking about who she would be voting for during this year’s Oscars race.

“Welp I just finished voting for the Oscars. It didn’t take long cause there are no black people on it,” Jones posted on Twitter and Instagram, “So I voted for @cynthiaerivo and abstained from the rest of the voting.” she wrote, ending with the hashtag #moreblackpeopleplease.

The post brought in 1,700 comments before Jones deactivated them on Instagram, quickly clarifying that she’d also voted for the Gabrielle Union–produced project Hair Love after commenters had pointed out she might have missed an opportunity to do so.

Jones was one of the 683 new voting members invited into the Academy after the 2015 ceremony that was protested with hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. It was the second year in a row that the Oscars had failed to nominate any actors of color, which led both Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith to abstain from attending in protest. This year there are five black nominees in total, a three-year-low for the Oscars, and Cynthia Erivo is the only non-white actor nominated in an acting category.

Just as Rae’s comments inspired ire from (mostly white) people on the internet, Jones’ posts too have got people talking, and honestly, great. The Academy had to add 683 new members in an effort to bring diversity to its voting body, and if this is how one of its new members is executing on their goal of attempting to diversify the art that is celebrated during tonight’s ceremony, I would say that’s a step in the right direction. [People]

This season of Project Runway is one of the more dramatic seasons in recent memory, specifically in that I know that there’s a season airing right now at all. Sure, that largely has to do with Karlie Kloss being asked about hanging with her in-laws Jared and Ivanka, but there are a few other tidbits of information I’ve picked up as well. For instance, last week (or the one before?), just as contestant Brittany Allen was going to be voted off by the judges, designer Christian Siriano, who is also a mentor on season 17 of the show, used his “Siriano Save” to stop her from being eliminated. Truly inspiring.

I don’t know how many of those he gets per season but perhaps he should have saved it to use for his own fashion show this past Thursday, where a fight broke out right in the front row.

“There was a fistfight. People were throwing punches, and it scared celebs away. People were fighting over seats, and all these extra video crews were trying to film the show,” a source told Page Six. Although no one was hurt and it looks like the rest of the show went off without a hitch, it’s definitely wouldn’t be my first choice of ways I’d kick off my NYFW.

For all the commotion at the top of the show, it seems that by the end everyone front row was back in good spirits. Just as Coco Rocha was walking Siriano’s final look down the runway, Leslie Jones took to her feet to celebrate the collection, and Rocha’s walk. [Page Six]

Laura Dern discovering that she is Gay Rights at the Independent Spirit Awards is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and also to Laura Dern.