Natalie Portman’s Oscars Cape Honours Snubbed Female Directors

It's quite the statement.

If you're watching the Oscars and happened to catch Natalie Portman walking the red carpet, you probably didn't spot anything unusual about her outfit. Until, of course, the camera zoomed in on her elegant Dior cape.

In an obvious dig at the Academy, Portman had embroided the names of eight female directors who made critically-acclaimed films in 2019 onto the lining of her cape.

When asked why she decided to do it, Portman said, "I wanted to recognise the women who were not recognised for their incredible work this year in a subtle way." 

The women listed on her cape were Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Mati Diop (Atlantics), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har'el (Honey Boy) and Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

Despite Gerwig's Little Women being nominated for Best Picture, she didn't get a nod in the Best Director category, while films such as The Farewell, Hustlers, Honey Boy, Atlantics and Queen & Slim weren't recognised at all. 

The Academy has been continually criticised for its lack of female representation in the Best Director category. Kathryn Bigelow remains the only woman to win the award for The Hurt Locker back in 2010. 

Female filmmakers were also snubbed at the Golden Globes, despite films like Wang's The Farewell receiving a 99 per cent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

i hate people who comment “maybe the female directors should make good movies!” pic.twitter.com/0XliPd0v7W

— stevie 🌻 (@sardobomb) December 9, 2019

This isn't the first time that Portman has spoken out against male bias in Hollywood. When she presented the award for Best Director at the 2018 Golden Globes, she introduced the contenders by telling the crowd, "And here are the all-male nominees."

Although, Portman isn't the only actress speaking out. Laura Dern, who just picked up the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Marriage Story commented that if she could give her Oscar to Gerwig or Wang, she would.

Header Image: Jeff Kravitz / Contributor / FilmMagic, Inc via Getty Images