Natalie Portman made what seemed to be an appropriate feminist statement at the Oscars this week. Much had been said about the snubbing of this year’s female directors, none of whom were nominated for best director. But, instead of complaining about systemic sexism, Portman simply had their names embroidered into the cape she wore on the red carpet.
“I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year in my subtle way,” Portman said.
Natalie Portman embroidered her Dior cape with all of the female directors who weren’t nominated for #Oscars. Check out her explanation here. pic.twitter.com/kyyo2wVMZf
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) February 10, 2020
There was just one problem: Portman may have made the right statement about valuing female directors, but her actions put her priorities elsewhere. Actress Rose McGowan, who famously accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, criticized Portman for not putting her money where her mouth is.
“I find Portman’s type of activism deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work,” she wrote on Facebook. “I’m not writing this out of bitterness, I am writing out of disgust. I just want her and other actresses to walk the walk.”
She then accused Portman of snubbing female directors herself.
“Natalie, you have worked with two female directors in your very long career — one of them was you,” McGowan wrote. “You have a production company that has hired exactly one female director — you.”
She blamed Portman for being part of the problem, saying that, for all her talk about solidarity, Portman has only ever looked after herself.
“Until you and your fellow actresses get real, do us all a favor and hang up your embroidered activist cloak, it doesn’t hang right,” McGowan concluded.
Entertainers love winning virtue-signal points without actually changing their behavior. Just take self-proclaimed “feminist” and alleged sexual exploiter James Franco. But, in response to McGowan’s accusations, Portman maintained that there was nothing two-faced about her behavior.
“I agree with Ms. McGowan that it is inaccurate to call me ‘brave’ for wearing a garment with women’s names on it,” Portman said in a statement to CNN. “Brave is a term I more strongly associate with actions like those of the women who have been testifying against Harvey Weinstein the last few weeks under incredible pressure.”
She added that she has worked with women on “shorts, commercials, music videos, and features” and blamed the industry for shutting women out of major positions, insisting that she has tried to make sure this doesn’t happen: “I have had the experience a few times of helping get female directors hired on projects, which they were then forced out of because of the conditions they faced at work. After they are made, female-directed films face difficulty getting into festivals, getting distribution, and getting accolades because of the gatekeepers at every level. So, I want to say, I have tried, and I will keep trying.”
That’s all well and good, but the fact is that Portman owns her own production company, Handsomecharlie Films, which has made seven films, all directed by men, except for one — directed, of course, by Portman. If she’s as concerned about other women directing films as she makes it sound, maybe someday she’ll actually make that happen.
