Another year, another exceptional batch of Academy Award-worthy performances. But while most of Hollywood is praising the fresh crop of talent both old and new, some are pointing out the shocking lack of minority recognition in this year’s ceremony. Every single one of the twenty nominees for acting are white, and the only “black” movie recognized by the Academy is Straight Outta Compton for Best Original Screenplay - which was penned by two white writers. So naturally, for the second year in a row, #OscarsSoWhite is trending all over social media.
The nominations are causing a stir on the likes of Twitter and Facebook, but much of the industry has remained tightlipped - at least publically. George Clooney, Rashida Jones, Emmy Rossum and Don Cheadle have all denounced the Academy’s nominations in some form of another. Will Packer, the producer of Straight Outta Compton, wrote a stirring letter on Facebook and Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith announced their intention to boycott the 2016 Academy Awards. But other than that, most of Hollywood’s biggest stars don’t seem to have much opinion on the issue. Some, like former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum Janet Hubert, have actually defended the actions of the voters, claiming that black actors and filmmakers need to step their game up with better movies.
In light of yet another shutout, many took to Twitter to express their thoughts on this year’s version of #OscarsSoWhite. Here are some of the best tweets we’ve seen: