Anonymous Oscar Voters Discuss Andrea Riseborough Controversy: ‘If Disqualified, It Would Be a Decimation of the Actors’ Choice’ - Variety

The Academy is looking into the campaigns of the nominees for this year’s Oscars after scrutiny arose following Andrea Riseborough ’s surprise nomination for “ To Leslie.”

After the actor’s “grassroots” campaign enlisted a number of celebrities to help spread the word about the small indie, Oscar voters and viewers are left wondering whether Riseborough broke any rules or is just smartly playing the awards game.

Rumors have swirled regarding aggressive campaign tactics, focusing on social media posts from members of the Actors Branch.

Current AMPAS voters from various branches agreed to speak with Variety anonymously to discuss what they know about the controversy, and whether they think the Academy should rescind Riseborough’s nomination.

Most predict she’ll keep her nomination, pointing to practices that have been allowed for studios and strategists to exploit to get their nominees through.

And I’m talking about blatantly emailing members in a chain and saying, ‘OK, Team INSERT NAME HERE, it’s voting day, and you know what to do?’ No one is going to snitch.