A’Ziah King, who wrote ‘Zola’ tweets, calls out A24
King, who is credited as an executive producer, wrote that her being excluded as a writer on the film is "hilarious"
A24’s Zola was one of the most acclaimed releases of 2021 and is now deep in competition for this year’s awards season. A’Ziah King, who wrote the Twitter thread on which the film is based, has some thoughts about the production company and how they are handling her involvement in the campaigning.
A dark comedy mixed with crime drama, Zola is based on King’s viral Twitter thread in which she details how she “fell out” with her friend and fellow stripper after a truly unbelievable sequence of events. Starring Taylour Paige in the titular role, the film has gone on to receive major success, leading the Spirit Awards with seven nominations.
Retweeting Film Independent, the organization that holds the Independent Spirit Awards, King referred to her exclusion from the writer’s categories as “hilarious.”
King wrote in her tweet, “I think it’s hilarious ZOLA is up for 7 awards & no one thought to invite me nor include me IN the writers award category.. As if there would’ve been a film or a script to write if I didn’t um…write it? The most of any film this year & any film @A24 has EVER made btw. A ki.” She added, “@A24 ya’ll full of sh-t. Honestly.”
She continued in a follow-up tweet, writing, “I think its HILARIOUS everyone else is on my Television promoting & speaking on my experience as if it’s their moment & not a moment I created for us all. I think its hilarious my intellect, trauma & talent is being overshadowed & hijaked. I AM the moment! Excuse me while I laugh.”
She went on to clarify that her issue is not with the creative team behind the film or other writers, but exclusively with A24, the production company.
“Let’s be clear: my beef is with A24 exclusively. Not the creators not the award shows. a24 is the OP rn. Nobody else,” she wrote.
“I HAVE been credited & I am VERY content with my EP credit! I am in awe of Janicza & Jeremy’s writing & directing. They deserve & have fought for me for YEARS. However not receiving a invite or even being thought of is the issue.”
After the tweets took off, it seems King may have received an invite to the Spirit Awards after all. She wrote in a follow-up tweet hours later, “The shade room post a tweet & suddenly I have 2 tickets coming I bet I do …. I’ll see y’all there.”
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