Gabourey Sidibe in Precious (Anne Marie Fox / Lionsgate) (top); Alfre Woodard, Nicole Beharie in American Violet (Scott Saltzman / Samuel Goldwyn Films) (bottom)
According to The Hollywood Reporter's Roger Friedman, Precious' Gabourey Sidibe may have been cheated out of a best actress award.
This past Dec. 14, the African-American Film Critics Association gave Precious awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique) and Best Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher). The Best Actress, however, was Nicole Beharie for American Violet, a little-seen socially conscious drama directed by Tim Disney (great-nephew of Walt Disney) and written by Bill Haney, who also produced it. Some within the AAFCA now assert that Sidibe was the actual winner.
"According to the final ballot, which this reporter has seen," writes Friedman, "Sidibe received eight first-place votes from the 16 critics who participated. Beharie got four first-place finishes, and the rest went to Anika Noni Rose (two votes) and one each for Helen Mirren and Zooey Deschanel. Among second-place finishers, Sidibe got five votes; Beharie got one."
AAFCA co-founder Gil Robertson IV has been accused of manipulating the final tally "to please the producers of American Violet." Robertson has defended himself by claiming that Friedman had seen an incomplete tally as the AAFCA has a total of 22 members.
"As you know your recent actions have been called into question because of a series of choices you made without the approval of the founding members of the group, including myself," AAFCA president Wilson Morales wrote in an email to Robertson. "Our collective view is that an organization that gives out awards should be ethical and not subjected to bias based on donations from outside sources …"