Every 2019 Oscar controversy, explained

From Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody to the Popular Movie Oscar and the Kevin Hart host fiasco, here’s your guide to every 2019 Oscar controversy.

The 2019 Academy Awards are finally here. Finally, because this year’s award season has been exhausting. Since last September, the so-called road to the Oscars has been marked by continued controversy, head-scratching announcements and eventual reversals. Bad decisions, backlash, backtracks.

As we approach the ceremony Sunday night, some have been resolved (there will be no Popular Movie category, cinematography will be awarded on air), some remain TBD (how will the Oscars fare with no-host? Will Green Book win big?), but all have shadowed the proceedings in some way.

The Oscars have not been perfect for a long time. The award show is too long, but more problematically, poorly paced. Hosts have been uninspiring, nominees and winners disappointing. And yes, ratings are down. Change is needed, but as the controversies below show, the Academy is running out of goodwill as it seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of its audience.

Popular Movie Oscar

What happened? Last September, the Academy announced that, among the changes it would be implementing over the next few years, it would debut a Best Popular Picture category at the 2019 Oscars.

Why was it controversial? Very little detail was available at the time of the announcement, but the film and award show communities reacted swiftly and strongly. The presumption was that the category would be based on box office earnings and that it would be a way for the Academy to get in on the popularity of hits like Black Panther without having to recognize blockbusters in the prestigious Best Picture category.

How was it resolved? The Academy announced in November 2018 that the category had been tabled indefinitely. Academy president John Bailey added that this “is not to say that the idea is dead. Even after a stake was driven through its heart, there’s still interest.”

In surely related news, three of the Best Picture nominees Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born were among the biggest blockbuster releases of 2018. Whether this proves there’s no need for a popular movie category or that the Academy’s interest in recognizing blockbusters is harming the category is still TBD.

Kevin Hart and the host situation

What happened? At an unusually late December date, the Academy announced Kevin Hart would host the 2019 Oscars. Almost immediately, the comedian’s old homophobic tweets resurfaced. The Academy allegedly asked for an apology from Hart and he opted to step down instead.

Why was it controversial? Hart’s homophobic tweets were upsetting, but the true controversy pertained to his refusal to apologize and tendency to release Instagram videos doubling-down and making things worse. Adding insult to injury, many interpreted the Academy’s lack of due diligence and unwillingness to rescind Hart’s host gig preemptively to be a slap in the face to the members of the LGBT community who have long made up of Oscars’ most dedicated and passionate audience.

How was it resolved? No one really knows who said what behind the scenes (there was a very strange Ellen DeGeneres sub-plot), but the situation was apparently unreconcilable. In January, the Academy announced the Oscars would be host-less and feature celebrities performing segments throughout the ceremony. The last time the Oscars did not have a host was in 1989 and it was a disaster — though that may have more to do with the 11-minute musical opener than any lack of one clear host.

The Hart fiasco, but more notably the inability of the Academy to find anyone to replace him was widely considered indicative of the job not being worth the risk for celebrities.

Total lack of female Best Director nominees

What happened? The Academy did not nominate a single female director in the Best Director category. (The nominations were released in late January.)

Why was it controversial? The Academy is theoretically trying to offer a more representative slate of nominees in all categories. They are failing terribly with the Best Director category.

In the entire 91 year history of the Oscars, only five female directors have ever been nominated, only one (Kathryn Bigelow) has won. The 2018 ceremony highlighted this when Greta Gerwig became the first female director nominated in the eight years since Bigelow won.

For 2019, the Academy moved in the opposite direction and nominated zero women for Best Director. Lest you think this is for lack of good work, consider Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me), Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) or Debra Granik (Leave No Trace), all of whom directed critically acclaimed films and picked up awards in the Oscar preseason.

How was it resolved? It’s too late for the 2019 awards, obviously, and only time will tell whether the Academy does better next year.

Shorter Best Original Song performances

What happened?  Also in January, the Academy stated its intentions to cut the telecast down to three hours (from three and half, sometimes four) and one of the big ideas to do accomplish that was to only feature two of the Best Original Songs. It will shock you to hear that the two the Academy picked were also the two that were the biggest hits: “All the Stars,” from Black Panther and “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born.

Why was it controversial? A thing you will gather as this list goes on is that Oscar fans value certain theoretically egalitarian traditions (as egalitarian as an award show can possibly be). All five Best Original Song nominees are typically performed, giving Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings the same moment for “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” that Gaga earned for “Shallow.” And for arguably stronger and simpler reasons, live song performances are entertaining. For an award show that is otherwise a series of acceptance speeches and montages, spicing up the proceedings with some live entertainment is just smart production.

How was it resolved? The day after the initial announcement, the Academy backtracked and announced all five songs would be performed in “truncated, 90-second form.”

However, the Academy announced days before the ceremony that Kendrick Lamar and SZA would not perform “All the Stars” from Black Panther nor would it be performed by another act. This is, apparently, for logistical and scheduling reasons.

Presenting snubs for the acting awards

What happened? In February, insiders began reporting that 2018’s winners in the acting categories (Allison Janney, Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman and Sam Rockwell) had not been asked to present this year’s awards. It is tradition that the previous year’s winners present in their opposite-gendered categories (2018 Best Supporting Actress presents to 2019 Best Supporting Actor, etc.).

Why was it controversial? The Academy’s thirst for viewers has really begun to grate at this point. The rumors are widely considered to be indication that the Academy is looking for higher-profile presenters that will interest a wider audience. Because, yeah, someone is going to watch a three-hour award show for 30-seconds of Ariana Grande that they definitely won’t wait to see online.

In any case, this is another instance of the Academy not only disrespecting its fans (who know and love all four of those actors, and want them to receive the honor that comes with presenting those particular awards) but also the Academy members themselves.

How was it resolved? Surprise! The Academy reneged, or because it was all rumors anyways, made a formal announcement that Janney, McDormand, Oldman and Rockwell would in fact present. However, perhaps in a minutes-shaving effort or just to have their cake and eat it too, they will present in pairs — which is new.

Cinematography and off-air awards

What happened? Mid-February, with only two weeks left to reveal and reverse poor decisions, the Academy announced that cinematography, film editing, live-action short and makeup and hairstyling awards would be announced before the ceremony with speeches broadcast at a later point.

Why was it controversial? Once again, the Academy made things worse by providing little to no context here, but in short, the exclusion of behind-the-scenes categories with the presumed reasoning to allow more screen time for stars and celebs rubbed just about anyone who cares about the Oscars the wrong way.

The decision to relegate cinematography, in particular, to a commercial break outraged Academy members. To paraphrase this-year-Oscar-nominated director (and favorite!) Alfonso Cuaron, you can movies without sound, actors or even a story but you can’t have a movie without cinematography or film editing.

Cuaron was joined in outrage by Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, among others. The American Society of Cinematographers penned an open letter declaring the decision “nothing less than an insult to those of us who have devoted our lives and passions to our chosen profession”.

But this wasn’t just an occasion of the Academy turning on itself, it’s another example of the production team (and ABC, but more on that in a bit), being wildly out of touch with its fanbase. The people who care about the Oscars care about film, they care about movies.

How was it resolved? First, the Academy tried to explain themselves. The four categories had allegedly volunteered, with the assumption it would be rotated in future years. But, when you have the biggest names in your industry writing open letters and viral tweets, that doesn’t really matter. Four days later, the Academy said that all 24 awards would be revealed live.

Green Book

What happened? Green Book is nominated for five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing.

Why was it controversial? Despite an early positive response from critics, Green Book has been criticized for indulging in problematic narrative tropes, including but not limited to the “Magical Negro,” white savior and racism-solving friendship. Additionally, a film that is purportedly about the friendship between a queer black classical composer Dr. Shirley and his Italian-American chauffeur Tony Lip clearly centers the experience of Tony overcoming his racism. (This decision is reflected in Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen’s respective supporting and lead nominations.)

However, more than sidelining Ali’s character, Green Book has been accused of misrepresenting him. Dr. Shirley’s family criticized the accuracy of the story. (They were not consulted during the process while Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga is credited as a screenwriter.) The movie’s depiction of the family allegedly mischaracterizes their relationship with the composer and erases them for the story. The family also disputes that the central friendship was, in fact, a friendship at all. Lastly, Vallelonga allegedly approached Dr. Shirley about a movie years ago, and Shirley declined because he feared he would have no control over how his story was told. So the fact Vallelonga moved the film forward after Shirley’s death doesn’t sit well.

Green Book has also enjoyed its fair share of off-screen controversy. Best Actor nominee Viggo Mortensen said the n-word during a press tour, Best Screenplay nominee Vallelonga tweeted a number of anti-Muslim sentiments and director Peter Farrelly has a history of flashing his penis. They have all apologized.

How was it resolved? We’ll see Sunday night how many Oscars Green Book takes home.

Bohemian Rhapsody

What happened? The critically divisive, but massively successful Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for five Oscars and has been cleaning up at guild award shows in ways that may or may not predict a sweep on Sunday.

Why is it controversial? Like Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody is controversial for its off-set associations and story decisions. The film gives a directing credit to alleged child abuser Bryan Singer and has been criticized for its treatment of Freddie Mercury’s sexuality. But mostly, people (especially critics) are annoyed that Bohemian Rhapsody just isn’t that technically good.

Rami Malek, most agree, deserves the acting recognition, but Film Editing — minor as that may seem — is incredibly egregious. That it could feasibly win Best Picture over Roma, The Favourite or BlacKkKlansman is insane.

How was it resolved? TBD. Even those who oppose Bohemian Rhapsody would probably accept Rami Malek taking home Lead Actor (helpfully blocking Viggo of the aforementioned Green Book controversy) and would consider Best Picture or Film Editing losses as a victory.

Whiskey Cavalier, ABC generally

What happened? ABC and the ratings hunt have been loosely behind many of these controversies, but one working theory is that part of why the Academy has been so nutty about runtime is because ABC wants to debut Whiskey Cavalier after the Oscars and doesn’t want to the premiere to run past midnight.

Why was it controversial? Because all the decisions (see: above) in the name of runtime and ratings have been terrible and consistently at odds with the values and interests of the existing and dedicated Oscars viewership. (Variety also released a very inconclusive look at whether ratings and runtime are at all related.) Listen, there is no real difference between spending three hours watching an award show and four. If it’s a good show, you enjoy it, if it’s bad, you complain. Griping about length is as much a part of the award show as the red carpet. And if end time is the concern, move it up. It happens on a Sunday and starts at 8 p.m. ET. make that 6 p.m., no one on the West Coast is going to be that upset about an early start time. Sports fans get over early starts all the time. Some even prefer it!

How was it resolved? Well, we’ll see Sunday whether the Oscars wrap at an appropriate time or whether ABC takes drastic measures to ensure Whiskey Cavalier‘s premiere slot. But ultimately, the only guaranteed resolution here will come when the Academy’s contract with ABC ends in 2028.