‘Am I Racist?’ Snubbed From Oscar Shortlist Despite Record-Breaking Success. Walsh Reacts: ‘A Farce’

DailyWire+ documentary “Am I Racist?” has been snubbed from the Oscar shortlist, despite the film’s record-breaking box office success and massive cultural influence. 

“Am I Racist?”, which features Daily Wire author and podcast host Matt Walsh exposing the DEI grift, outperformed any other documentary this year. Additionally, “Am I Racist?” is one of only 15 documentaries ever to open in over 1,500 theaters and earned the third-highest opening day gross for a documentary in the last decade. The shortlist is determined by Academy Documentary Branch members, who later decide the five Oscar nominees. 

WATCH ‘AM I RACIST?’ ON DAILYWIRE+

“The Academy Awards announced the shortlist for documentaries,” Walsh posted to X on Tuesday. “These are their top 15 films in the genre that will be whittled down to 5 nominees. ‘Am I Racist?’ did not make the top 15 even though it is the highest grossing doc of the decade and easily the most talked about, most watched, and most influential documentary of this year.” 

“This is the outcome I expected, of course, but it doesn’t make it any less of a farce,” he added. 

The Academy Awards announced the shortlist for documentaries. These are their top 15 films in the genre that will be whittled down to 5 nominees. “Am I Racist?” did not make the top 15 even though it is the highest grossing doc of the decade and easily the most talked about, most…

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 17, 2024

Co-founder of The Daily Wire and “Am I Racist?” executive producer Jeremy Boreing, on the other hand, said the snub was shocking in light of the doc’s massive success. 

“I have to say, I am genuinely surprised by this result,” he wrote. “I truly thought they would have to acknowledge AIR, if only to save face.”

I have to say, I am genuinely surprised by this result. I truly thought they would have to acknowledge AIR, if only to save face. https://t.co/4AtXLlqRLW

— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) December 17, 2024

Walsh also highlighted the success of  “What is a Woman?”  – a Daily Wire documentary about gender that preceded “Am I Racist?” – and underscored how Hollywood believes they “own” filmmaking and resent the Right for their success. 

“If a conservative can make a documentary that crushes every other film in its genre that year and beats every film in its genre in the past 6 or 7 years, and yet still not even crack the top 15, that means that conservatives are simply excluded from having their work recognized,” he wrote. “Again, this is not a surprise. But that’s what it means.” 

“One thing I’ve learned after getting into filmmaking is that the Left truly believes it owns the art of filmmaking,” Walsh asserted. “Any conservative who makes a film is an intruder, a sinister usurper showing up in a place where he doesn’t belong.”

“The truth is that the success of my films — and they are both easily the most watched and influential documentaries of the decade — actually makes it LESS likely that they’ll be recognized by critics or awards,” the conservative added. “Our success is an affront to them. They hate us for it.”

“Deadline,” a prominent entertainment outlet, also deemed the omission of “Am I Racist?” from the Oscar shortlist a “snub,” noting that the film earned “more money at the box office than any other documentary this year, by far.”