Dear Gossips,

The Critics’ Choice Awards happened last night in Hollywood and the all-black mandate was lifted and we’ll get to that on the main page and on the LifeStyle page today. Let’s start though with Octavia Spencer who was at the event with The Shape Of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro, and named Best Picture by the critics. The Shape Of Water then may have moved into a slight lead in the Best Picture Race. Guillermo was also, yesterday, nominated by the Directors Guild as one of the five best directors of the year which means he’s got a really, really great chance at an Oscar nomination. Still, even though they’re seemingly frontrunners now, the Shape Of Water team certainly didn’t react that way. All of them looked genuinely surprised when the film won. Especially Octavia, who jumped up out of her seat, kept jumping up and down and clapping as everyone moved to the stage, and adorably could not stop beaming during the acceptance. 

And remember, it’s not like she’s new here. She’s been a winner before. She’s been part of winning teams before. Which, of course, is a testament to her quality of work. And still it feels fresh for her, which is why it feels fresh for us. 

Octavia, by the way, weighed in on the Michelle Williams/Mark Wahlberg pay inequality situation yesterday on Instagram and then pivoted to talk about women of colour who see even fewer opportunities. From there she promoted Taraji P Henson’s Proud Mary, a film featuring a black female lead that many believe has been undermarketed

 

A post shared by Octavia Spencer (@octaviaspencer) on

This is Octavia Spencer showing you who she is. 

Have a great weekend!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey