In Hollywood, when you are the first of your kind to win an Oscar, your words resonate. What you say and what you do fills an extra space in the cultural conversation because you have already broken a barrier. Michelle Yeoh knows this truth viscerally. She has spoken her truth again, and once more it is direct, unfiltered and unapologetic.

This time she is standing up for the franchise she helped define. In a career defined by groundbreaking performances and genre-spanning roles, this moment is for Wicked: For Good, the film she believed deserved to stand in the Oscars conversation. 

In an exclusive interview with Variety, Michelle Yeoh did not mince words about the sequel’s absence from the 2026 Academy Awards nominations. Speaking on the shock of Wicked: For Good getting zero nominations, she said:

“I’m not surprised. I am in shock!"

"It’s such a beautiful, well-made movie… So I was truly, truly very disappointed.” Yeoh said to Variety. 

Yeoh’s disappointment is rooted in her creative investment. In Wicked: For Good, she reprised her role as Madame Morrible, starring opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The film, a continuation and expansion of the world that enthralled audiences first with Wicked in 2024, followed up a blockbuster that received 10 Oscar nominations and walked away with wins for costume design and production design. The reasons behind the sequel’s snub, whether voter fatigue or franchise overshadowing, remain speculative.

Will Oscars 2026 Stream on Netflix? Where and How Can You Watch the Academy Awards Live?

For Yeoh, the absence of trophies is familiar terrain. Not because her work has gone unseen, but because her career has always outrun the systems meant to reward it.

Michelle Yeoh’s journey is a blueprint for resilience. From Hong Kong action star to international icon. She is now being honored with the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival, an accolade shared with legends like Martin Scorsese and Tilda Swinton, underscoring her enduring impact on cinema. While in Berlin she also headlines Sandiwara, a creative collaboration with an Oscar-winning director, filmed in an astonishingly brief window yet rich in cinematic ambition.

Yeoh’s star is also set to shine on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a testament to her storied career spanning martial arts classics, mainstream blockbusters, and transformative roles across cultures and genres. Her story, full of firsts and never seconds, reflects a refusal to stop: to advocate, to evolve, and to fight for what she believes deserves its place on the world’s biggest stage.

Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar snub reaction is a statement about artistic recognition, equity and the evolving value of franchise films in awards culture. 

Neon Takes a Jab at Oscars With a Wicked Billboard After ‘No Other Choice’ Academy Awards Snub

What do you think about the Wicked: For Good snub? Share your thoughts.