HALIFAX, N.S. — Following what many would deem “the snub of the century,” actress Paloma Diamond has chosen to exchange the palm trees of Los Angeles for the rain of Halifax. Just this month, the 20-time nominee left the 97th Academy Awards empty handed, to the disbelief of many fans and critics. Many believed this would be the year she would take home the Oscar, as her film Bluff received generous praise from audiences worldwide, particularly due to Diamond performing all her own stunts (a feat she had not previously accomplished in her decades long career).
“Bluff was otherworldly,” writes fan DiamondDaddy82. “This film is Paloma’s best performance yet! She captured the raw emotions of her character in a way she has never done before. Truly breathtaking.”
However, it was actress Jane Farroway who took home Best Actress for her film The Face in the Mirror at the Back of the Room, ultimately leading to Diamond’s 20th Oscar loss. This sparked outrage among fans across the globe, even Farroway herself stating that Diamond was more deserving.
“I am grateful to the Academy, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I can’t accept this award,” Farroway said in her acceptance speech, tearing up. “There’s only one person in this room who deserves this award more than I do, and that’s Paloma Diamond. I share this with you, Paloma. I share this with you. You deserve this more than I do.”
A similar outrage occurred last year, when viewers were certain Diamond would finally win for her performance in Breath, just for the award to go to Michelle Bradley-Spencer for Scorpio Hunter instead. The question many cinephiles and Letterboxd users are now asking is, will Diamond ever win an Oscar?
“Jane Farroway’s performance in The Face in the Mirror at the Back of the Room was mediocre at best,” writes X (formerly Twitter) user Palomaniac666. “The Academy is a complete joke. Paloma should’ve had her Oscar 15 years ago. I’m not sure if she will ever get it now. This shit is #rigged.”
While fans like Palomaniac666 have expressed their disappointment with the Academy overtly, others have left more composed, yet ominous messages.
“The Academy made their decision. Congratulations Jane,” posted infamous Paloma Diamond fan page ClubDiamond. Though tame, ClubDiamond’s well known erratic nature leads people to believe that if Diamond does not win for her next nomination, Academy voters may be in physical danger.
Despite speculation that the title of Oscar winner will never be hers, Diamond refuses to let these losses stop her from working towards the potential win. However, she has chosen to remove herself from the Hollywood spotlight and move to Halifax, a shocking yet hopeful change that her fans are wholeheartedly supporting.
“We’re so excited to have her join the theatre faculty,” writes Mac Beth, director of theatre at Dalhousie. “She’s certainly the most accomplished member of our staff now, the students will have a lot to learn from her.”
However, rumours swirl that the hiring of Diamond has contributed to Dalhousie’s hiring freeze and budget cuts.
“I was just about to solve cancer for my thesis project,” says medical sciences student Tony Margiello. “Now I’ve been told they can’t even afford to turn the lights on in the lab, all because they need to pay a flop actress with a fuck ass bob to teach theatre kids how to pretend they’re not losers.”
In spite of this backlash, Diamond’s fans and Dalhousie’s theatre students are excited to see what she brings to Dalhousies campus. In an exclusive interview with the Mackerel, Diamond’s publicist stated that the actress’s time as a professor is a part of a larger plan:
“Though Paloma is excited to join Dalhousie’s faculty and has a lot to teach Dal’s young actors about success, rejection and the entertainment industry, her dedication to her acting career will continue throughout her time in Halifax. Working as a professor will actually be a prolonged period of method acting for an upcoming role as a strung out professor at a lousy university. This movie takes place somewhere where the weather is terrible and there’s a huge housing crisis. Halifax will be the perfect place for Paloma to step into this new character.”
With Diamond’s upcoming move to the city to begin teaching in the fall semester, ClubDiamond expressed their plans to follow her to Halifax to show support for their favourite actress. Dalhousie students are being warned to avoid publicly expressing dissatisfaction with Diamond, as ClubDiamond is a known physical danger to critics of the actress.
By Lauren Sooksom