Oscars’ Lack Of Diversity ‘Disappointing’ To Academy President

The Oscar nominations had one
unfortunate theme on Thursday morning – a serious lack of diversity.

It wasn’t long after the
nominations that #OscarsSoWhite (a
hashtag that first came about after the 2015 nominations) began trending on
social media for a second year.

https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/687632285382873088

The Academy nominated
only white actors in the four major acting categories with performances from
Idris Elba, Samuel L. Jackson and Will Smith all overlooked.

READ: Complete List: Oscar Nominations 2016

“Straight
Outta Compton” did get a nod, but it was for the film’s two white
screenwriters.

Mexican director
Alejandro G. Inarritu, who was nominated for Best Director, was the one note of
diversity in a major category, but Inarritu is one of five men nominated, as
the Academy continues to struggle with recognizing female directors. 

READ: The Revenant’ Leads Oscar Nominations

The last time a
female director was nominated was six years ago, when Kathryn Bigelow
scored a nod and won for “The Hurt Locker.” Bigelow is the first and
only female
director to win the Best Director trophy in
Academy history. 

Following the
nominations, Access Hollywood’s Liz Hernandez spoke to Academy President Cheryl
Boone Isaacs about yet another year with very little diversity amongst
the nominees.

“Well, it is disappointing, I
have to say. This is something that’s very important to the Academy and
important to me and we are going to continue this fight of the discussion and
the discussion is a good one,” she told Access.  “But, it is not
just about talking, it is about doing and we are very much still in that seat
to drive this issue, to have more inclusion of people of color and women to
participate in one of the greatest art forms there is.”

Oscars Sunday, with host Chris Rock, will be handed out live on Sunday, February 28
at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood at 7 PM ET on ABC.

Jesse Spero

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