Here's What Frances McDormand Meant by 'Inclusion Rider' in Her Oscars Speech
On Sunday night, Frances McDormand won the Oscar for Leading Actress at the 90th Academy Awards for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She gave a rousing speech, during which she asked all of the women nominated for Oscars Sunday night to stand up.
“Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed,” she announced. Then she added: “I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider.”
This final reference may have been opaque to viewers at home who have never laid eyes on a movie contract. But it’s likely McDormand was referring to a contract rider, which is an additional provision attached to a contract.
For the non-film contract fluent folks, Frances McDormand closed with “inclusion rider,” likely meaning put diversity requirements in your contract about the other crew/artist positions throughout a film you attach yourself to. #Oscars
— Emerson Collins (@ActuallyEmerson) March 5, 2018
Famous stories about unusual riders abound—Van Halen is said to have had a rider that no brown M&Ms be present in their candy bowls — but the meaning of McDormand’s request is the notion that a film contract include a provision that women or minorities be included in the production.
Several people familiar with the language took to Twitter Sunday night to clarify the meaning of “inclusion rider” following McDormand’s speech, and commend her for saying it on such a stage:
An “inclusion rider” is a clause in an actor’s contract that requires the cast and crew be diverse in order to retain the actor. That’s kind of a brave thing to say on such a big stage.
— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) March 5, 2018
FOR EVERYONE GOOGLING "INCLUSION RIDER" RIGHT NOW:
It's a part in one's contract that requires a minimum percentage of POC/women in all the other positions, above the line, below the line, working on the film. #Oscars #TheMoreYouKnow????— Alicia Lutes (@alicialutes) March 5, 2018
The inclusion rider is a solution from #DrStacySmith and Annenberg Inclusion Initiative that stipulates inclusion goals in an actor’s contract. Reach out to us if you want to know more @Inclusionists
— leah fischman (@lhf111) March 5, 2018
an inclusion rider is something actors put into their contracts to ensure gender and racial equality in hiring on movie sets. We should support this for a billion reasons, but if you can't find a reason to, here's one: it will make movies better.
— Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) March 5, 2018