Natalie Portman’s Oscar dress, which was embroidered with the names of female filmmakers who had been snubbed by the academy, was a hit with some fans but a serious miss with others.
Actress and activist Rose McGowan wasn’t impressed with Portman’s fashion statement and called her a “fraud” for wearing the dress to the Oscars.
In a post on her Facebook page, McGowan ripped into Portman, saying she made “the kind of protest that gets rave reviews from the mainstream media” but was “more like an actress acting the part of someone who cares. As so many of them do.”
McGowan claimed she was “deeply offended by Portman’s “fake support,” adding, “I find Portman’s type of activism deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work.”
She went on to criticize Portman, accusing the “Black Swan” actress of failing to support female filmmakers either by working with them or hiring them through her production company.
“You are the problem. Lip service is the problem … I am singling you out because you are the latest in a long line of actresses who are acting the part of a woman who cares about other women,” McGowan wrote. “Actresses who supposedly stand for women, but in reality, do not do much at all.”
Rose went on to share a story about Portman’s fake activism saying, “I was at a Women in Film event that you spoke at once, Natalie. You reeled off depressing statistics, and then we all went back to our salads. I quickly realized you and the other women speakers (and that joke of an organization) are just… frauds. You say nothing; you do nothing.”
McGowan wrapped up her scathing post by challenging Portman to do more. “There is no law that says you need to hire women, work with women, or support women. By all means, you do you,” McGowan wrote. “But I am saying stop pretending you’re some kind of champion for anything other than yourself.”
Portman has not yet responded.
