Celebrities like George Clooney, Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo have joined in the debate against the lack of diversity at the Oscars nominations this year.
Celebrities like George Clooney, Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo have joined in the debate against the lack of diversity at the Oscars nominations this year.
For the second consecutive year, no black actors were nominated in any of the four acting categories or for direction.
Clooney said films like Creed, Concussion, Beasts of No Nation and Straight Outta Compton should have got a nomination this year besides actors Will Smith and Idris Elba.
“...I don’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films ” he told Variety.
“I think we have a lot of points we need to come to terms with... I think that African-Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn’t representing them well enough. I think that’s absolutely true,” Clooney said.
Actor David Oyelowo, whose exclusion at the Oscars for playing Martin Luther King Jr in Selma besides director Ava DuVernay had created a controversy in 2015, too joined in the debate.
At an event to honour Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Oyelowo slammed the lack of inclusion.
“The Academy has a problem. It’s a problem that needs to be solved,” he said while revealing that Boone Isaacs had met him to discuss his omission from the nominations.
“For 20 opportunities to celebrate actors of colour, actresses of colour, to be missed last year is one thing; for that to happen again this year is unforgivable.”
