Christina Ricci questions Academy rating after ‘To Leslie’ campaign: ‘If it’s taken away, shame on you’

Actress Christina Ricci shared a lengthy post on Instagram Friday questioning the academy’s decision to review this year’s nominations following Andrea Riseborough’s best actress nomination for her performance in lowkey indie To Lesley.

“It seems hilarious that the ‘surprise nomination’ (meaning tons of money wasn’t spent nominating this actress) should come under scrutiny from a righteously brilliant performance,” Ricci wrote. “So it’s only the films and actors who can afford the campaigns that deserve credit? Feels elitist and exclusive and frankly backwards to me.

Ricci added that she was certain Riseborough had “nothing to do with the campaign” for the nomination, which she said was never orchestrated by the actor, “but now her nomination is being tainted by it.”

Ricci’s message read: “If they are shy.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a statement Friday saying it was “conducting a review of campaign procedures surrounding this year’s nominees.”

The organization also said it is considering “whether policy changes may be necessary in a new era of social media and digital communications.”

The AMPAS statement does not name a specific film or person, but many suspect it is in response to Andrea Risebourogh’s surprise nomination for the little-watched drama. To Lesley.

The film brought in just over $27,000 during its brief theatrical run in October, making it one of the lowest-grossing films ever to receive an Oscar nomination. With almost no budget available for an awards campaign, the clients took it upon themselves to ensure the picture was submitted and uploaded to the Academy’s screening portal, and Riseborough and Morris turned to friends to support the film.

Screenings have been moderated by Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox, Edward Norton, Jennifer Aniston and Minnie Driver, among others. To Lesley Co-star Marc Maron hosted Riseborough on his popular podcast WTF.

In the final days before voting ended, a social media campaign led by these stars and others including Demi Moore, Jane Fonda, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Laura Dern, Frances Fisher and many more put the spotlight on Riseborough thrown.

Speaking to Deadline shortly after the nomination was announced, Risebourogh said: “I’m amazed. … It was so hard to believe it could ever happen because we really weren’t in the running for anything else. Although we had a lot of support, the idea that it would actually happen seemed so far away.