March 28, 2024

Critics hit Academy for snubbing Black actors 8 years after diversity movement: #OscarsSoWhite

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Activist April Reign created the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in protest of the underwhelming diversity at the Academy Awards in 2015, sparking conversation across the web that trickled into the film industry. 

Eight years later, the hashtag is back again.

Snubs against Black actors and directors – including for films like “Till,” “Nope,” and “The Woman King” – are resurrecting the years-old hashtag ahead of the 2023 Academy Awards set for Sunday, March 12. 

Some critics of this year’s nominees blasted the Academy of Motion Pictures on Twitter, calling out the lack of Black representation in anticipation of the upcoming ceremony. 

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The Oscars statuette and logo

An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Oscars will not have a host for its annual awards show.  (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)

“#OscarsSoWhite I will not be watching. I hope Black people don’t give it any viewership,” one user tweeted.

Another wrote in part, “Why is it so hard for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize the achievements of people of color every year? I will not be watching the Oscars this year.”

Another blasted the famous red carpet’s new champagne-colored replacement, writing, “Who in the #OscarsSoWhite made the oblivious decision to change the color of the red carpet to, wait for it… white?”

The discussion about the Oscars’ alleged diversity problem peaked in January shortly after this year’s nominations went public. 

L.A. Times essayist Jamil Smith tweeted an article condemning the snub against Jordan Peele’s “Nope” in January, tagging on the hashtag by with the caption, “This, plus the “Till” and “Woman King” snubs. #OscarsSoWhite, redux.”

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Red Carpet of Till

Haley Bennett, Jayme Lawson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jalyn Hall, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith Beauchamp, Whoopi Goldberg, Chinonye Chukwu, and Tosin Cole pose with guests at the premiere of “Till” during the 60th New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on October 01, 2022 in New York City.  (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for FLC)

Music critic Britt Julious sounded off on the alleged diversity shortcoming in January, slamming the absence of actresses Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis from the lineup, tweeting, “Twice as hard, half as far. The #OscarsSoWhite playing out like always for Danielle and Viola. Shameful.”

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Oscar statue academy awards

A view of the Oscar statue is seen during the 95th Academy Award Nominations at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on January 24, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)

The British Film Academy received similar criticism last month after an all-White winner ensemble took heat from Twitter with the hashtag #BAFTAsSoWhite, three years after the academy’s own push to boost diversity by revamping its voting rules.

Both ceremonies have been used to create larger conversations about race and diversity in the film industry as well as the role of race in culture as a whole.

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Taylor Penley is a production assistant with Fox News.

This post originally appeared on and written by:
Tama Pepper
Fox News 2023-03-12 12:00:00

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