The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood on Tuesday spoke out in detail for the first time since last months Oscar nominations , dropping some frank truths about the continued erasure of Black women by awards organizations and Hollywood at large.

Prince-Bythewoods historical epic starring Viola Davis received zero nominations, despite its widespread critical acclaim, huge box-office revenue and being in a genre that academy voters tend to adore at least when the film centers white people. It was among several other celebrated films in 2022 directed by and starring Black women that the Oscars completely ignored, part of the institutions long history of failing to honor films by and about Black women .

The Academy made a very loud statement, and for me to stay quiet is to accept that statement. So I agreed to speak up, on behalf of Black women whose work has been dismissed in the past, is dismissed now like Alice Diop and Saint Omer, Chinonye Chukwu and Till and for those who havent even stepped on a set yet, the director wrote in a guest column for the Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday.

Throughout the piece, Prince-Bythewood made candid observations about the state of Hollywood, like how the Oscar nominations werent just a snub, but an encapsulation of an industry and society that continues to devalue Black womens work.