Issa Rae on all-male slate of Best Director Oscar nominees: ‘Congratulations to those men’

Actress and writer Issa Rae took a dig at the all-male slate of Best Director Academy Award nominees Monday morning despite the numerous acclaimed female-directed films of 2019.

“Congratulations to those men,” Rae said alongside co-presenter John Cho, in reference to nominees Bong Joon-ho, Sam Mendes, Todd Phillips, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Despite the all-male lineup, numerous films directed by women have frequently been cited by critics as among the past year’s best, including “Hustlers,” directed by Lorene Scafaria; “Booksmart,” directed by Olivia Wilde; and “Little Women,” directed by Greta Gerwig, the latter of which received six nominations in other categories, including Gerwig for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Presenter Natalie Portman took a similar dig in January 2018, ad-libbing “here are the all-male nominees” at the announcement of the 2017 Golden Globe Best Director nominations. Only one woman has ever won the Academy’s directing prize, Kathryn Bigelow for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker.”