Natalie Portman demonstrates how a proper feminist statement is done

Fully decked in Dior and without an inch of derrière in sight, Natalie Portman exemplified how to make a feminist statement that persuades instead of polarize. The actress showed up to the Academy Awards in a black cape from the French fashion house, embroidered with the names of female directors denied nominations in this year’s awards. That the show of solidarity was so subtle made it all the more powerful, standing in stark contrast with the tawdry theatrics that have hijacked displays of feminism today.

Some of the directors boasted by Portman simply made films, such as the stripper-centers Hustlers, that simply couldn’t compete with the stellar nominees of an unusually compelling year. But Greta Gerwig and Céline Sciamma were arguably snubbed, and Portman isn’t wrong for caring that Little Women, a film enjoyed by many but heavily about femininity, be represented alongside a tale such as Joker, a film enjoyed by many but heavily focused on masculinity.

Portman’s stunt recalls the equally talented and intelligent Julia Roberts, who protested the Cannes Film Festival’s mandate that women wear high heels by quietly taking off her own halfway down the red carpet. Such a move took offense to an actual rule unfairly holding women to a double standard and made a statement against it without appearing sanctimonious or self-indulgent. Portman similarly hit the right note, disagreeing with the Academy for obviously feminist purposes, but not browbeating the audience in a manner that reeks of virtue signaling or unearned moral superiority. As a past best actress winner herself, Portman knows she holds outsize public attention, and she used it to her advantage.

Portman would wow the crowds in sweatpants, but tasteful Dior with a thoughtful message isn’t half bad. Hopefully, other wannabe activists take note of how it’s done.