The host of the upcoming 2016 Academy Awards calls out the lack of black nominees.
Chris Rock is joining in on the #OscarsSoWhite chatter.
When the nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, the lack of diversity was immediately called out on social media when, for the second year in a row, zero black actors earned nominations in any of the four major acting categories.
Now, a day later, the host of this year’s awards show took to Twitter to call the Oscars by a different name. “The White BET Awards,” Rock wrote in reference to the network’s annual awards show while sharing a promo for the Feb. 28 Oscars telecast.
In the video, the comedian teases three reasons why viewers should tune in: “Presenter cleavage,” “Check out who died this year” and “I might curse.”
This year, Will Smith (Concussion), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Idris Elba (Beasts), Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight), Straight Outta Compton and Beasts of No Nation were listed among the snubs for black actors and movies focused on black stories.
Immediately after Thursday’s nominations, last year’s protest hashtag got an update when #OscarsStillSoWhite began trending on Twitter.
Al Sharpton was also quick to criticize the Academy. “Hollywood has a fraudulent image of progressive and liberal politics and policies,” he wrote on Twitter. “We must take direct action to correct this.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter