12 Years a Slave Feud? Steve McQueen and John Ridley Seemingly Shade Each Other at the Oscars

Both director and screenwriter fail to acknowledge each other during Hollywood's biggest night

By Peter Gicas Mar 03, 2014 9:12 PMTags
Steve McQueen, John Ridley, Oscars WinnersKevin Winter/Getty Images

They say actions speak louder than words. But was that the case last night for Steve McQueen and John Ridley?

After all, many couldn't help but notice how the 12 Years a Slave director and the film's Oscar-winning screenwriter failed to acknowledge each other during the telecast as the movie was picking up awards.

For instance, when Ridley was walking to the stage to accept his Best Adapted Screenplay statuette, he and McQueen appeared to completely ignore each other. What's more, Ridley didn't even mention McQueen in his acceptance speech.

Later, when 12 Years a Slave nabbed Best Picture, McQueen, in turn, neglected to mention Ridley during his speech.

Needless to say, the behavior of both men during Hollywood's biggest night has created speculation that there's some sort of feud going on.

Adding fuel to the rumor fire is a tweet sent out by Deadline founder Nikki Finke, which reads, "My sources attributing John Ridley-Steve McQueen cold shoulder at Oscars tonight to dispute over screenplay credit."

Ridley also did not bring up McQueen's name the night before after his win at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Guess time will tell if these two really have a bit of a beef with each other.