Michelle Yeoh deletes controversial post about fellow Oscars nominee Cate Blanchett

Michelle Yeoh has removed a ‘banned’ Instagram post that may have violated Academy Awards rules.

The Everything Everywhere All at Once star, 60, re-shared and then deleted a post with a Fashion article that highlighted the lack of representation at the ceremony and mentioned fellow Oscar nominee and two-time winner Cate Blanchett, 53.

The article, titled “It’s been over two decades since we’ve had a non-white winner for Best Actress,” was first shared by Yeoh just hours before Oscar voting ended Tuesday. The star then promptly deleted the post.

The article stated that the Oscars are “rarely, if ever, won based solely on performance” and suggested that most white Academy voters identify with actors who look like them.

The post may have violated the Academy Awards’ ‘References to Other Nominees’ rule, which prohibits nominees from using ‘any tactic’ that singles out ‘the competition’ by name or title.

Yeoh and Blanchett are up for this year’s Best Actress category: Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once and Blanchett for Tár.

The article, written by Radhika Seth, questioned whether Blanchett needed a third Oscar to add to her collection, even if she had been a stronger overall performer.

“Detractors would say Blanchett’s performance is her strongest—the veteran actor is undoubtedly incredible as prolific director Lydia Tár—but it should be noted that she already has two Oscars.”

“A third party would perhaps confirm his status as an industry titan, but given his expansive and unparalleled work, do we need even more confirmation?”

The blurb shared by Yeoh went on to claim that winning an Oscar for her would be “life-changing.”

“Meanwhile, for Yeoh, an Oscar would be life-changing: his name would always be preceded by the phrase ‘Academy Award Winner,’ and should lead to him getting more meaty roles, after a decade of being criminally underutilized in Hollywood”.

Halle Berry is currently the only woman of color to receive a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the 2002 film Monster’s Ball.

That means Yeoh’s win would make her the second woman of color and the first Asian woman to win the leading actress award.

Yeoh and Blanchett are considered the frontrunners in this year’s Best Actress category, with Blanchett winning the Critics Choice Awards and BAFTAs, and Yeoh taking home the award at the SAG Awards and Indie Spirit Awards.

And everything seemed rosy between the ladies last Saturday at the Spirit Awards, as they were seen sharing a warm hug on the red carpet.

Everything Everywhere All at Once currently leads with 11 nominations and is considered the favorite for best picture at this year’s ceremony.

Blanchett first received an Oscar in 2005, for Best Supporting Actress in The Aviator. She followed it up with a 2014 win for Best Actress in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. She is currently nominated for her portrayal of a tyrannical teacher in Tár.

Despite the possible rule breaking, Variety advises that Yeoh should “rest easy” as she is unlikely to face any consequences, citing the recent Andrea Riseborough Oscars grassroots campaign controversy as an example.

After Riseborough received a surprise Oscar nomination for the film To Leslie, the Academy conducted a review and revised an Instagram post on the official To Leslie account that also mentioned Blanchett.

They later concluded that the post did not merit rescission of the film’s nomination, however, Academy CEO Bill Kramer stated that the social media tactics “caused concern”.

However, Yeoh was not bothered by the Riseborough controversy ahead of the Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 12.

The Academy has always prided itself on having rules and following the rules, and if [cheating them] it was so easy, it would have been done sooner. We are always evolving on how to protect our integrity, and I have great faith that we will continue to do so,” she said in an interview with the BBC’s Today, after the nominations were announced.