2020 Oscar Nominations: Fans Blast ‘Biased’ Academy for Lack of Diversity

Five years after #OscarsSoWhite made headlines, the 2020 Academy Awards are once again being criticized as “biased” due to a lack of diversity in the overwhelmingly white and male nominees. Monday, after it was announced that only one person of color was nominated in the major acting categories and only men were up for Best Director, movie fans and critics alike were vocal about the performances from a more diverse group of artists that were snubbed by the Academy.

Representing the only person of color nominated in the major acting categories is Cynthia Erivo for her role in Harriet, but many who eagerly-awaited the nominations were shocked and disappointed to see Awkwafina, who just made her place in history as the first Asian American to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical for her role in The Farewell, was not nominated. Also snubbed from the nominations was Lupita Nyong’o for her critically-acclaimed performance in Jordan Peele’s Us and Park So-dam for her performance in Best Picture nominee Parasite.

The Best Supporting Actress category was even more disappointing in terms of diversity, with every nominee being a white woman, despite hopes that Jennifer Lopez and Zhao Shuzhen would be nominated for their celebrated roles in Hustlers and The Farewell, respectively.

Both major male acting categories were also dominated by white actors, excluding Parasite‘s Song Kang Ho, who was just named Best Supporting Actor at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and Eddie Murphy for Dolemite Is My Name.

When it comes to Best Director, despite a year filled with powerful films from women directors such as Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers, Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, the nominees were all male, with just Bong Joon Ho for Parasite representing as a person of color.

“In the past, the pushback against #OscarsSoWhite was, ‘There just weren’t enough performances to nominate.’ Well, that’s not the case this year,” activist and #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign told The Hollywood Reporter after nominations were released Monday. “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.”

Twitter was also quick to weigh in on the oversights:

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