You know the drill. Once you become an Oscar contender, all bets are off, and internet sleuths, not to mention rival studios, start digging for any dirt from your past. This season some of the examples include AI in “The Brutalist,” the lack of any intimacy coordinators on “Anora,” and well, practically all of “Emilia Perez.”
The latest blowback has to do with surprise Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres. The “I’m Still Here” actress already won the Golden Globe, and some have her as the dark horse to win the Oscar. Not so fast.
A recently uncovered clip, from 2008, has Torres donning blackface on the Brazilian skit show “Fantastico.” It’s now come to the point where Torres has had to issue a public apology. She’s in damage control mode.
“Almost twenty years ago, I appeared in blackface in a comedy sketch from a Brazilian TV show,” Torres said in a statement. “I am very sorry for this. I’m making this statement as it is important for me to address this swiftly to avoid further pain and confusion.”
“At that time, despite the efforts of Black movements and organizations, the awareness of the racist history and symbolism of blackface hadn’t yet entered the mainstream public consciousness in Brazil. Thanks to better cultural understanding and important but incomplete achievements in this century, it’s very clear now in our country and everywhere that blackface is never acceptable.”
“This is an important conversation we must continue to have with one another in order to prevent the normalization of racist practices then and now. As an artist and global citizen, and from my open heart, I remain attentive and committed to the pursuit of vital changes needed to live in a world free from inequality and racism,” she said.
I don’t think Torres needs to worry much. After all, Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the last two Oscar ceremonies, is still employed and that’s despite donning blackface and mocking racial stereotypes in his former Comedy Central stint on The Man Show. He’s since apologized.
Torres is nominated in an extremely competitive Best Actress category which includes Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Karla Sofia Gascon (“Emilia Perez”) and Demi Moore (“The Substance”). Is there even a frontrunner in this race?
