LOOK: Natalie Portman pays tribute to snubbed female directors at 2020 Oscars red carpet

STATEMENT. Natalie Portman arrives for the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on February 9, 2020. Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP

MANILA, Philippines – Leave it to actress Natalie Portman to address the elephant in the room at the biggest night in Hollywood.

The Academy Award-winning actress hit the Oscars red carpet in a black and gold Dior number with a very important detail: her black cape was embroidered with the names of female directors who were not nominated for the directing plum at the 2020 Oscars.

TRIBUTE. Natalie Portman attends the 92nd annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 9, 2020, in Hollywood, California. Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images/AFP

"I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year in my subtle way," she told Amy Kaufman of the LA Times. The Oscars take place Monday morning, February 10 (Sunday evening, February 9 in the US) and honor movies released the previous year.

The 2020 awards season as a whole has been controversial for its non-inclusivity. The British Academy Film Awards drew flack for the lack of diversity – all 18 nominees for the acting categories were white. The Emmys and even the Oscars have also been criticized for snubbing the actors of Parasite – one of the most critically-acclaimed movies in 2019 – in acting categories. The Parasite cast won the top plum at the Screen Actors Guild.

But at the Oscars, it's the glaring lack of female directors in the Best Director category. Notably, Greta Gerwig, director of the critically-acclaimed adaptation of Little Women, was shortlisted but failed to make the cut. The film itself is nominated for Best Picture.

Issa Rae, host of the Oscar nominations announcement, perhaps put it best. "Congratulations to those men," she said, after reading out loud the nominees for Best Director. – Rappler.com