Letitia Wright unblocked The Hollywood Reporter on Instagram to tell it to keep her name out of its mouth (specifically regarding a “nasty†article). The Wakanda Forever star criticized a story that went up on November 21 about the “personal baggage†of this year’s Oscar contenders, which seemed to compare her anti-vaxx controversy to allegations of abuse and sexual assault. The article, “How Personal Baggage Will Impact Oscar Chances,†cited previous contenders, many of whom have been accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, as a case study to discuss the likelihood of three current favorites (Will Smith, Brad Pitt, and Wright) winning in the wake of their respective controversies. In case you need a refresher: Smith slapped Chris Rock at the most recent Oscars ceremony, while Pitt has been accused of assault by his ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Wright claimed the magazine and the author of the piece, executive awards editor Scott Feinberg, are waging “a personal vendetta†against her. She called the publication “incredibly disrespectful†and “disgusting†for grouping her with men including the likes of Roman Polanski, who was convicted of rape in 1978, and Woody Allen, who was accused of molesting a child, his adopted daughter, Dylan, in 1992. Wright had tweeted an anti-vaxx video in 2020 and has since apologized for her conduct.
“You mentioned my name alongside men who have been accused of abuse and sexual misconduct,†she wrote on her Instagram Story. “This vile behavior. I’ve done nothing wrong but respectfully refused to do interviews with this publication. Stop your nonsense.†Wright went on to accuse The Hollywood Reporter of making wrongful claims about her behavior on the Black Panther set. “I apologised TWO years ago,†Wright noted, likely referring to her anti-vaxx controversy. “You lied and said I continued talking about it with my cast and crew on my set. THIS IS NOT TRUE. ASK MY PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR.†Her fellow cast member Winston Duke corroborated her account in a recent Esquire profile. “We’ve never had an on-set problem with Letitia and her alleged stance,†he said. The article did clearly note that Wright’s so-called baggage “is far from the magnitude†of Pitt’s or Smith’s and highlighted the bad publicity she had earned from the tweet.
“I sincerely appreciate the feedback and dialogue surrounding this column,†THR editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody said in a statement to Vulture. “While the intent was not to equate Letitia Wright’s situation with others mentioned in the article and we underscored that in the story (which was assigned to Scott), we also understand that some saw this in a different way. We have featured Letitia on our cover and cited her great talent in reviews and look forward to continuing to chronicle her career.†Who knew the awards-prediction industry could cause such controversy? The Oscar race is getting off to a messy start indeed.
This story has been updated with the correct attribution of THR’s statement.