Yahoo Movies Rose McGowan slams Natalie Portman's 'snubbed female directors' outfit for the Oscars
Natalie Portman made a statement with her Oscars outfit – a specially made Dior cape embroidered with the names of the female directors who were snubbed this year.
Some praised her for the move – coupling high-end couture with movie-making politics – but others were rather less enamoured.
Rose McGowan has slated the actress in a withering post on Facebook, calling her “type of activism deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work”.
Read more: Oscars respond to In Memoriam snub complaints
“I’m not writing this out of bitterness, I am writing out of disgust. I just want her and other actresses to walk the walk,” McGowan wrote.
“What is it with actresses of your ilk? You ‘A-listers’ could change the world if you’d take a stand instead of being the problem. Yes, you, Natalie. You are the problem. Lip service is the problem. Fake support of other women is the problem.”
She went on: “I was at a Women in Film event that you spoke at once, Natalie. You reeled off depressing statistics and then we all went back to our salads. I quickly realised you and the other women speakers (and that joke of an organisation) are just... frauds. You say nothing, you do nothing.
Read more: Gervais slams political awards speeches
“Until you and your fellow actresses get real, do us all a favour and hang up your embroidered activist cloak, it doesn’t hang right.”
The punishing rebuke was echoed by others on social media.
Portman has indeed used just one female director over eight projects made by her production company Handsomecharlie Films – and that was herself, on A Tale Of Love And Darkness.
Really brave of Natalie Portman to elevate the voices of [checks notes] white women in Hollywood through the medium of [squints harder] ...a garment that she will wear exactly once made by a brand that doesn’t pay a living wage
— Eli Goldstone (@eligoldstone) February 10, 2020
Natalie Portman’s production company has only ever hired 1 female director (her name was Natalie Portman) https://t.co/DRUVM1oezW
— Angela Morabito (@AngelaLMorabito) February 11, 2020
Natalie Portman owns a production company and of the 11 films made, only 2 were directed by a woman and that woman's name is Natalie Portman.
Stop using award shows to perform virtues you don't live https://t.co/ah3xP5mJsy— Premium Preeq (@TheIgboWolf) February 11, 2020
Director Lynne Ramsay was in line to make Handsomecharlie's Jane Got A Gun in 2015 but exited the production, with Gavin O'Connor taking over.
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Portman has only worked with a handful of female directors on feature films, though she has worked with other female directors on shorts, as well Dior adverts with Sofia Coppola.
