Frances McDormand honors female nominees with Best Actress win

Actress Frances McDormand led the charge for women at the 90th annual Academy Awards — the first in a post-Harvey Weinstein Hollywood — as she planted the flag for actresses and female filmmakers struggling in the movie business.

The “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” star got political Sunday night as she accepted her award for Best Actress and urged producers to stop turning a blind eye to the film world’s women.

“If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight,” McDormand said on the stage. “Meryl, if you do it, everybody else will, come on,” she added, referring to Streep.

She continued, “The filmmakers, the producers, the directors, the writers, the cinematographers, the composers, the songwriters, the designers, come on . . . Look around, look around . . .”

McDormand, who called on the men in the room to set up meetings with the women in the room, concluded with two words: “inclusion rider,” a clause in an actor’s contract that requires the cast and crew of a movie to be diverse in order for the film’s makers to retain that actor’s services.

Moments after McDormand’s victory, Guillermo del Toro’s monster fable “The Shape of Water” was named Best Picture.

Gary Oldman was named Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” And Jordan Peele won for his script for “Get Out,” becoming the first African-American to win for Best Original Screenplay.

The Oscars were poised to be the most political in history, but things stayed nonpartisan — in fact, rather dull — throughout most of the evening, with almost all of the attention going to the winners.

The show did, however, kick off with a no-holds-barred monologue by master of ceremonies Jimmy Kimmel, who delivered an array of verbal jabs at Hollywood’s elite.

His barbs were also aimed at President Trump and Weinstein — whose sex-abuse scandal has been looming over the film industry since last fall.

At one point, Kimmel used the design of the Oscar statue as a way to comment on the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

“Oscar is the most beloved and respected man in Hollywood,” Kimmel said. “And there’s a good reason why: He keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word and, most importantly, he has no penis at all. He is literally a statue of limitations.”

Joking about Jordan Peele being only the third person to be nominated for Best Director, Screenplay and Picture for a debut film, Kimmel said, “None other than President Trump called ‘Get Out’ the best first three-quarters of a movie this year.”

Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and Annabella Sciorra, three of the most vocal #MeToo leaders, introduced a segment about why diversity is important in the film industry.

Actors and actresses wore Time’s Up pins to honor the movement and orange American- flag pins to honor the 17 people killed in the Parkland, Fla., school massacre.

“Jimmy kimmel just mentioned the never again movement in his Oscars speech… ok wow,” tweeted Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Sarah Chadwick.

Rapper and actor Common also mentioned the Florida shooting — and blasted the NRA — as he performed the song “Stand Up For Something” with Andra Day.

“Tell the NRA they’re in God’s way, and to the people of Parkland, we say asé [or amen],” Common rapped.

Some of the night’s other big winners included del Toro for Best Director, Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”) for Best Supporting Actress, Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards”) for Best Supporting Actor and “Coco” for Best Animated Feature.