What Is an Inclusion Rider? Frances McDormand Explains Her Oscars Speech
The Best Actress winner elaborated on her speech — and then almost had her Oscar stolen at the Governors Ball.
Frances McDormand was the front-runner to take home the statue for Best Actress at the 2018 Oscars. So, it wasn't a huge surprise that the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star did indeed nab the coveted statue. What was more surprising was the actress' rousing speech.
With her head spinning, the dazed winner announced that she could relate to Olympic athlete Chloe Kim. "I think this is what Chloe Kim must have felt like after landing back-to-back 1080s in the Olympic half-pipe. Did you see that? OK, that’s what it feels like," McDormand said. The half-pipe champ herself later responded to the comment, inviting the Oscar winner to join her for a day of snowboarding sometime.
And, maybe McDormand will take Kim up on her offer! The actress was, after all, all about female empowerment. In a touching moment later on in her speech, McDormand called for female nominees in all award categories to rise with her. "Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don't talk to us about it at the parties tonight; invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours — whatever suits you best — and we'll tell you all about them," McDormand said. She ended her statement by passionately declaring: "I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider."
Wait, inclusion what? The actress elaborated on her comment when she met with the press backstage. "I just found out about this last week," McDormand said, according to E! News. She added that when negotiating a contract for a film, "You can ask for and/or demand at least 50 percent diversity in not only the casting, but also the crew."
She added: "The fact that we — that I — just learned that after 35 years of being in the film business ... We're not going back. So, the whole idea of women trending? No. No trending. African Americans trending? No. No trending. It changes now, and I think the inclusion rider will have something to do with that."
Later in the night, the Oscar winner faced some unscripted drama at the Governors Ball. After placing her award down on a table while she chatted with friends, a man picked up her statue and tried to run away with it. Luckily, a photographer caught the culprit and got the statue back. According to TMZ, the man who tried to swipe the statue was arrested and charged with felony grand theft.
McDormand later took her new buddy, Oscar, for a quick bite at In-N-Out Burger, because who doesn't need a little comfort food after such a scare?
