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Spike Lee says Denzel Washington should have taken home the Oscar for his 1992 performance in Malcolm X.



Spike Lee believes that Denzel Washington should have won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the 1992 biopic “Malcolm X”. Washington was nominated for the award, but ultimately lost to Al Pacino for his role in “Scent of a Woman”. Lee argues that the Academy made a “makeup call” by giving Pacino the award, as Pacino had been previously snubbed for his iconic performances in the 1970s.

Lee uses a basketball metaphor to explain his point, saying that the Academy sometimes makes up for past snubs by giving awards to deserving actors. He believes that the Academy made up for Washington’s loss by giving him the Oscar for “Training Day” in 2001.

Pacino’s win for “Scent of a Woman” has been criticized for being a “makeup call” for his past snubs, and Lee believes that Washington’s powerful performance in “Malcolm X” was overlooked. Washington’s performance in “Malcolm X” is widely regarded as one of the greatest in film history, and many believe that he should have won the Oscar for that performance.

The Academy has a history of snubs, with many classic films being completely ignored. The snubs have various reasons, including internal politics and bias towards domestic Hollywood releases. The discussion of the snub is likely to continue as new stars make their way to the coveted ceremony.

Lee has long been a vocal critic of the Academy, and his grudge against Oscar voters may have seemed justified in 1992 when “Malcolm X” received only two nominations. The Academy has often been accused of racism, and many of those accusations are indeed warranted. However, even if racism played a part in the snub, there is still a sour grapes aspect to Lee’s Academy criticisms. Awards are subjective after all, and it may have been many voters’ opinion that Pacino’s performance outshone Washington’s work in “Malcolm X”.