Fans Are Calling Out The Lack Of Diversity In The 2020 Oscar Nominations

Gettyimages | Frazer Harrison

The 2020 Oscar nominations were announced today, and as per usual, #OscarsSoWhite. Joker earned the most nominations of any film with 11, and regular nominees like Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, and Quentin Tarantino dominated. Despite the success and power of films like Us, The Farewell, and Parasite, the only person of color to snag an acting nomination was Cynthia Erivo with Best Actress for Harriet.

Activist and #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign spoke to The Hollywood Reporter after the nominations were announced and expressed her frustration.

"In the past, the pushback against #OscarsSoWhite was, 'There just weren’t enough performances to nominate.' Well, that’s not the case this year. There was a wealth of talent — and not just of black performers but of various marginalized communities — that was overlooked. And it’s really unfortunate. I’m interested in what Hollywood and the Academy are going to do to make the entertainment industry reflect those that support it."

Gettyimages | Frazer Harrison

There were a number of snubs that felt particularly egregious, like Jennifer Lopez being shut out of Best Supporting Actress for Hustlers, The Farewell getting snubbed in every category, Lupita Nyong'o not getting a nomination despite masterfully playing two very different characters in Us, and not a single woman was nominated for Best Director (Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang would like A WORD.)

The Academy is 84% white and 68% male, and that is seriously reflected in the films and performances that they chose to honor this year.

Gettyimages | Matt Winkelmeyer

Twitter has been aflame all day with hot takes surrounding the announcement, with fans and critics expressing their displeasure at the prevalence of white men in the nominations.

"LUPITA GAVE TWO EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES IN “US.” I guess the Academy just like her more when she played a slave."

"J Lo should move her halftime show to same night as the Oscars"

"so interesting to learn that Little Women directed itself and Parasite didn't have any actors in it"

"If Joaquin wins the Oscar, the character of the Joker will have more acting Oscars (2) than women have directing Oscars (1)."

Gettyimages | Dia Dipasupil

Ultimately, people are frustrated that despite strides to support inclusion and a wider variety of films, the Academy seems dedicated to the same old same old.

"Not surprised that Hustlers was totally shut out from the Oscars tbh. It stars two woc over 30, emphasizes their friendship and mutual respect, and passes the Bechdel test. It also treats men the way Oscar films usually treat women: as set dressing."

"Little Women is a perfect movie because it was DIRECTED THAT WAY"

"Lupita Nyong'o
Jennifer Lopez
Awkwafina

I saw more conversations about how good these 3 performances were than all of the Oscar nominees combined.

The Academy is dooming itself to irrelevancy. #OscarsSoWhite"

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