Cristiana Moldovan (11) | STAFF REPORTER
On Sunday, March 13th, Power of the Dog director, Jane Campion was awarded a Critics Choice Award (CCA) for Best Director. Her acceptance speech received a lot of backlash, and for good reason.
Present at the CCAs that night were cast members of the new King Richard movie, starring Will Smith, who won a CCA for best actor for his performance as Richard Williams. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, also attended, in support of the movie made about them and their father. What they were not expecting was to have their entire life experiences be diminished without any provocation.
In her acceptance speech, New Zealand director Jane Campion congratulated the sisters for their success and said “It is an honor to be in the same room with you.” After continuing her acknowledgments of her fellow male nominees, she turned her gaze back to the Williams sisters and said “Venus and Serena, you’re such marvels. However, you don’t play against the guys, like I have to.”
Campion received applause and cheers for the comment by the audience and was even pictured with the tennis stars afterwards. However, the media had the opposite reaction. One person took to Twitter to say “How exactly does diminishing and stomping all over the constant misogyny that Venus and Serena face help you, a white woman, climb the ladder.” The comment was also called “ugly and privileged.”
The general theme of the comments on the statement made by Jane Campion is that anyone who knows anything about Venus and Serena’s careers knows that even though they don’t literally compete against men, they have had to battle both sexism and racism their entire lives as successful Black women in the public eye.
Amid the backlash, on Tuesday, March 15, Campion issued an apology on Page Six, saying “I did not intend to devalue these legendary Black women and world class athletes.” She went on to say that she acknowledges that the athletes have had to battle men on and off the court, and finished with “I apologize and completely celebrate you.”
Jane Campion’s comment on the Williams sisters was perhaps only meant to be a lighthearted joke on the experience of being a woman in a male-dominated field. Nevertheless, no joke should ever be made at the expense of other people, especially women who’ve had to fight for their place as much as Venus and Serena have.
