Ti West says Mia Goth deserved an Oscar nod for Pearl

Every now and then, a performance in a horror movie gets recognized as one of the best of the year, only to be later disregarded when awards season rolls around. The standout from 2022 was undoubtedly Mia Goth in Pearl, who was snubbed of an Oscar nomination despite a unique performance that challenged audience expectations.

Speaking with The Independent, director Ti West said he doesn’t anticipate Oscar nominations for his work, but does think Mia Goth was robbed. “It would be dishonest to say winning an Oscar wouldn’t be awesome. I’m sure it would be great, but if it matters all that much to you, inevitably that’s going to make your life a downer…In my opinion she deserved it, but at the same time, I don’t feel that it takes anything away from what she did. [An Oscar] would have just been a nice addition.” West also said he’s not even sure whether or not it matters if horror gets acknowledged by the Academy. “It depends on how seriously you take something like the Oscars. If you take it very seriously, then maybe you’ll notice that a certain kind of movie isn’t there as much, but also maybe the Oscars see themselves as more about movies that are representing a different message in a way. It’s hard to say.”

Mia Goth herself has said there is undoubtedly a bias against the horror genre at the Oscars. “I think that it’s very political…It’s not entirely based on the quality of a project per se…A change is necessary…A shift should take place if they wanted to engage with the wider public. I think it would be of benefit, really, [to nominate horror movies].”

Pearl, as its subtitle says, is the origin story to that same year’s X, the ‘70s slasher tribute in which Goth played the dual roles of Maxine and Pearl. (Pearl, on the other hand, often played as a sendup of Hollywood’s Golden Age.) Goth will help wrap up West’s trilogy with MaXXXine, which currently has no release date set. While Mia Goth will likely be dissed by the Oscars for that movie no matter how strong the performance, she has praised the screenplay as the best of the bunch.

What do you think? Should Mia Goth have been nominated for an Oscar for Pearl? Does horror get unjustly shunned by the Academy? Let us know below!