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‘Till’ director posts about ‘misogyny towards Black women’ after Oscar snub

Chinonye Chukwu directed "Till."

"Till" director Chinonye Chukwu seemingly compared not earning any Oscar nominations for the film to what she already knew about Hollywood.

"We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women," she wrote on Instagram this week, the same week the 95th Academy Awards nominations were announced. "Till" did not receive any nominations.

"Till" is a biopic that depicts the actions Emmett Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, took following her son's heinous death in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at a white woman. The movie made just short of $10 million at the box office, according to IMDb.

Chukwu added she will "forever" be grateful "for the greatest lesson" of her life — "regardless of any challenges or obstacles."

"I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance," she wrote in her post.

"Till" is one of a few Black-led movies that did not get any Oscar nods: Others include Jordan Peele's "Nope" and Gina Prince-Bythewood's "The Woman King." The only film with a majority Black cast to receive recognition was "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," which was nominated for five awards. The academy also recognized Brian Tyree Henry for his supporting actor role in "Causeway," a predominantly white film.

Viola Davis, star of "The Woman King," described why it is more difficult for Black-led projects to receive mainstream acceptance in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 16, before nominations were announced.

"Everything is a fight," she said.

"You have a film, 'The Woman King' based on the Agojie tribe, and it's got to be test screened and it's got to mean something to white males, white females and Black males. It doesn't matter if it's reaching 98% of Black females," she added.

She said that standard results in Black-led projects having to prove their financial potential outside of the target audience.

"Nanisca's (Davis' 'The Woman King' character) not going to have a G-string on or become Abilene in 'The Help,' so how do you reach the white male audience, and how do you make people feel like if I can't reach the white male audience, it doesn't mean that the movie can't have some commercial value," she explained.

"The Woman King" made $92 million worldwide at the box office, according to IMDb, "Nope" raked in $171 million and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" made $840 million.