Helen Mirren was the recent recipient of the 2013 Best Actress award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her performance of Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience. Apparently, Mirren was originally tied with another nominee (Linda Bassett, Lesley Manville, Billie Piper or Kristin Scott Thomas) for the coveted award until movie critic Henry Hitchings changed his vote. This ordeal has caused much debate; however, many contend that the judging process was handled fairly. Judge Sarah Sands remains adamant that the voting process was not the result of any type of unethical favoring or rigging. “It would be absolutely wrong to suggest that there was anything untoward about the process,” Sands said.

A representative for the Evening Standard best explained the voting process as follows, “One judge’s first choice in the category in question was a winner in a different category, therefore his second choice became his first vote. The result of the transferred vote, without a clear winner in the category, gave us our best actress.”

In the midst of these allegations, three judges (Georgina Brown, Susannah Clapp, and Charles Spencer) have resigned from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Charles Spencer explained, “The suspicion must be that Mirren, a major star, was felt by the Standard to be a sexier winner with a greater appeal to the paper’s readership than the other leading contenders.” Spencer continued, “In the end awards are no more than the icing on the theatrical cake, but this year it left a bitter taste in the mouth.”

Sixty-eight-year-old Helen Mirren has become well-known for the feisty characters she portrays on the big screen such as Victoria in Red and Red 2. The talented actress thinks that females should also be taught to have independent minds. Mirren never had children; however, according to Now Daily, the star would have taught her children to learn how to first stand up for themselves. “If I’d had children and had a girl, the first words I would have taught her would have been ‘f*ck off’ because we weren’t brought up ever to say that to anyone, were we? And it’s quite valuable to have the courage and the confidence to say, ‘No, f*ck off, leave me alone, thank you very much,”‘ Mirren said.

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