Sigourney Weaver Says Kathryn Bigelow Won Oscar Because She Has Breasts

(AP)

Hollywood star Sigourney Weaver launched a blistering attack on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, saying James Cameron did not win the Oscar for Best Director because he "didn't have breasts," the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Outspoken "Avatar" star Weaver said she believed Cameron -- who lost out to his ex-wife, "The Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow -- did not win because the Academy wanted to make history by naming its first-ever female Best Director.

"Jim didn't have breasts, and I think that was the reason," Weaver told Brazilian news site Folha Online over the weekend. "He should have taken home that Oscar."

In a stunning rebuke hinting at frustration in the "Avatar" camp -- who applauded gracefully when "The Hurt Locker" also took the Best Picture award -- Weaver added: "In the past, 'Avatar' would have won because they (Oscar voters) loved to hand out awards to big productions, like 'Ben-Hur.' Today it's fashionable to give the Oscar to a small movie that nobody saw."

"Avatar" grossed $743.7 million in the U.S. and $2.7 billion worldwide, while "The Hurt Locker" took $16 million in the U.S. and just more than $40 million worldwide -- numbers that make it the least popular Best Picture winner of all time, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Reps for Weaver and Cameron did not respond to the Post's questions. The Academy and "Hurt Locker" producers Summit Entertainment had no comment.

"Avatar" was produced and funded by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., which also owns the New York Post and NewsCore.