Biggest Oscars Controversies and Scandals in History: Will Smith’s Slap, Adele Dazeem and More
usmagazine.comAnd the Oscar goes to … mess. Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held its first awards show in 1929, the ceremony has faced plenty of scandals and criticism.Just one decade into the event’s history, the Academy encounter what would become one of the biggest controversies in Oscars history.
In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award, but because of the “whites only” policy at the Ambassador Hotel, producer David O.
Selznick had to call in a favor just to get her in the building.After she accepted her Best Supporting Actress trophy for her performance in Gone With the Wind, McDaniel wasn’t permitted to sit with the rest of her costars, including Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.
Instead, organizers forced her to sit in the back of the room at a small table with her agent and her escort.When Mo’Nique became the fourth Black woman to win Best Supporting Actress in 2010, she gave a shout-out to McDaniel in her acceptance speech. “First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics,” said the Precious star, who wore a gardenia in her hair as McDaniel did 70 years earlier. “I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to.”In order to view the video, please allow Manage CookiesThe awards show has continued to face accusations of racism over the years, perhaps most famously in 2016 when #OscarsSoWhite trended after all the major acting nominations went to white actors for the second year in a row.
Read more on usmagazine.com