Directed by Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah is one of the major contenders at the upcoming ceremony, after picking up nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Song and Best Picture. While many were thrilled to see the film honored with so many nods, some folks online were genuinely confused to see both Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Generally, actors and film campaigns choose which categories to run in, but apparently voters in the Academy’s acting branch felt that Stanfield gave more of a supporting performance, despite the movie studio’s “For Your Consideration” materials promoting him as the lead performer. Regardless of how exactly the nomination votes shook out, fans of Judas and the Black Messiah are still puzzled as to who would be considered the lead performer in the film, which tells the story of the death of Black Panther figure Fred Hampton.
“Curious if both Daniel & Lakeith were supporting for Black Messiah…..then who was the lead actor in that film?” Questlove wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Another read: “Wait…then who was the lead actor in Judas and the Black Messiah?”
There were some folks who were happy to see Stanfield recognized with a nomination, though, regardless of any apparent category issues.
“ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE LAKEITH STANFIELD YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT!!! #OscarNoms,” one person tweeted.
Several other actors of color were nominated as well, and many people seem happy to see the Academy make progress when it comes to diversity. As pointed out by Variety, with nine actors of color earning nominations this year, the Oscars have set a record for diversity in the acting fields. Steven Yeun and Riz Ahmed made history, as the first Asian-American nominated for Best Actor, and the first actor of Pakistani descent to be nominated, respectively.
“HISTORIC DOUBLE FLEX RIZ AHMED AND STEVEN YEUN. FOR THE FIRST TIME TWO ASIANS NOMINATED FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR,” comedian and writer Jenny Yang tweeted.
Despite those milestones, some social media users are frustrated that more Black-led films weren’t nominated in the Best Picture category. Although Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman scored nominations for their respective roles in the Netflix feature Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, some were surprised to see the film get overlooked in the top category, as it was generally expected to compete in that field.
Regina King’s directorial debut, One Night in Miami, was also left out of the Best Picture race, despite landing nominations in the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (for Leslie Odom Jr.’s portrayal of the late, great Sam Cooke) categories. King was also not recognized in the Best Director field, which, for the first time, features two women in the same year: Nomadland filmmaker Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell. It’s worth noting, however, that Zhao is the first woman of color to ever be nominated for a Best Director Oscar.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami snubbed in Best Picture,” one tweet reads.
Another goes: “Biggest #OscarsNom snub, in my opinion, is Regina King missing Best Director and ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI not being nominated for Best Picture. Great film, deserved more love, imo.”
In addition to Judas and the Black Messiah, the Best Picture category includes nominations for The Father, Mank, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman and Minari—the latter of which did generate some excitement from fans on social media.
— Shaurya Chawla (@_ShauryaChawla) March 15, 2021
— Will Mavity (@mavericksmovies) March 15, 2021
“#Minari makes history as first Asian American produced, directed and cast film to be nominated for Best Picture. I am in tears. #OscarNoms,” one tweet reads.
Updated 3/15/2021, 12:11 p.m. ET: This post was updated to include further context about the nominating process behind LaKeith Stanfield ending up in the Best Supporting Actor category.