Could Michelle Yeoh be disqualified from the 2023 Oscars?

As the discourse surrounding the 2023 Oscars heats up ahead of its March 12 ceremony, an entirely separate, more concerning conversation has picked up steam involving Best Actress nominee Michelle Yeoh. On March 7, Yeoh accidentally broke one of the Academy’s rules on her Instagram account, thus sparking questions as to whether she could be disqualified.

Nominated for her performance as Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh is something of an unfortunate underdog this year. Only once in the Academy’s nearly 100-year history has a non-white nominee ever won Best Actress. That was Halle Berry back in 2002 for her performance in the movie Monster’s Ball.

Aware of the importance of her potential win, Yeoh shared screenshots on her Instagram account of an article written by Vogue, wherein author Radhika Seth mentions Yeoh’s competitor, Cate Blanchett, and her movie Tár by name. 

According to Academy rules, nominees are forbidden from singling out “’the competition’ by name or title” ahead of the ceremony. Although Yeoh immediately deleted her post, questions have now been raised as to whether the Academy will disqualify her.  

Will the Academy actually disqualify Michelle Yeoh from the 2023 Oscars?

Michelle Yeoh isn’t the only actress who broke the Academy’s rules this year. Andrea Riseborough and her film To Leslie also stepped out of line back in January, and the way that played out will likely indicate what we can expect with Yeoh’s situation.

In January, the To Leslie Instagram account quoted a blurb from the Chicago Sun-Times naming its top 10 movies of 2022. In it, the article mentioned Cate Blanchett and her movie Tár by name, just like Yeoh’s. The Academy launched an investigation and CEO Bill Kramer said the tactic “caused concern,” according to Variety. Nevertheless, it was ultimately determined that To Leslie’s Oscar nomination would not be rescinded.

In Yeoh’s now-deleted Instagram post, Vogue claimed that a third Oscar win for Blanchett wouldn’t do much for her already-decorated career. However, for Yeoh, it would be “life-changing.” The comment sparked a heated debate among both actresses’ fandom regarding identity politics vs. merit, which is actually moot when you look at Yeoh’s performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, but we digress.

Aside from the fact the voting process for the Oscars concluded on the very day that Yeoh shared her Instagram post, it’s safe to say that if the Academy can overlook Riseborough’s misstep, it can overlook hers. Naturally, We Got This Covered will update you if that changes, but for now it is unlikely Yeoh will be disqualified from this year’s ceremony. If she is, well, the backlash will without a doubt put Will Smith’s slap to shame.