Paul Schrader is back from his Facebook hiatus, and he’s got some things to say. On Tuesday, the First Reformed writer-director shared a blunt assessment of his last few months on the Oscar campaign trail, confirming at the beginning of it that he was asked to leave social media after a post last November, in which he said he wanted industry pariah Kevin Spacey to star in a movie he would potentially direct.

“Last fall, after I admitted that I’d like to work with Kevin Spacey, A24 requested that I stay off from FB until award season was over,” he wrote, referring to the distribution company that released First Reformed. “It’s over and I’m out of FB jail.”

Representatives for A24 have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment. In November, Schrader courted controversy after writing on Facebook that he wanted Spacey to star in a movie he was considering directing—even though the actor has been accused of sexual misconduct and sexual assault by numerous men, and is currently facing a felony charge in Nantucket. (He has pleaded not guilty.) Schrader argued that, regardless, the actor would be a perfect fit for his next film. “There are crimes in life but no crimes in art,” he wrote then, a statement with the potential to derail his Oscar campaign. Schrader subsequently went mum on social media, and eventually landed his first best-original-screenplay nomination—but lost the award itself to the team behind Green Book.

In his new post, Schrader got blunt about the campaigning process, writing that over the last few months, he “got enmeshed in a process that made me care about awards I didn’t even respect . . . [and] learned anew never to underestimate the power of mediocrity.”

This is a line Schrader is apparently fond of: at the Oscars themselves, the writer-director was overheard chuckling and saying, “You can’t compete with mediocrity,” according to IndieWire.

This isn’t the first time Schrader has taken a swipe at the Academy, either. The writer, who has been snubbed in the past for films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, told the Los Angeles Times after earning his first nomination that it was hard to be wholly grateful, because “I have never really respected the Academy for their choices. On the other hand, I’m enormously gratified that they have selected me. So you live in a kind of conflicted world.” He also recalled a conversation he apparently had years ago with Martin Scorsese, who was also snubbed by the Oscars for decades until winning best director for The Departed. “I had a discussion with Scorsese some years ago, because Marty was very fixated on winning an Oscar,” Schrader said. “And I said, ‘Marty, look, if an Oscar is your priority, you need some new priorities.’”

Schrader’s latest Facebook post can be read in full below:

“Hello. Last fall, after I admitted that I’d like to work with Kevin Spacey, A24 requested that I stay off from FB until award season was over. It’s over and I’m out of FB jail. What happened while I was gone? (1) saw Phosphorescent and did a conversation with Matthew Houck(2) spent Christmas eve with Glenn Close and my family in Xmas costumes (3) Jeff Berg, my agent and friend of 45 years, gave me a reception in his Pacific Palisades home for the Hollywood 70s crowd (4) Dan Smith of Italian fashion firm Isaia gave me a fabulous tuxedo--thanks! (5) ran into Spike Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, Pavel Paveloski [sic], Bo Burnham and Barry Jenkins so often at so many ceremonies and events I never need to see them again (7) realized I didn’t really miss FB that much (8) got enmeshed in a process that made me care about awards I didn’t even respect (8) learned anew never to underestimate the power of mediocrity.”

More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

— “There’s no tragedy”: Selma Blair opens up about her M.S. diagnosis

— What Green Book’s best-picture win means about movie awards

— How Rami Malek went from underdog to best-actor winner

— Meghan Markle’s $200K baby shower: an in-depth analysis

— Look at these Oscar party photos!

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.