Ice Cube responds to Straight Outta Compton Oscar snub

All the 20 lead and supporting actor and actress nominees were white as for the second straight year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences overlooked critically-acclaimed movies featuring black actors and directors. The only notable nomination at all for a non-white person was Mexicandirector Alejandro González Iñárritu’s nod for best director (an award he won a year ago for Birdman). After the revelation the awards hadn’t been so dominated by white nominees since 1998, with not a single non-white actor being nominated, Twitter joined together under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to express their dismay.

Among the actors and actresses nominated are Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, but many people asked why Will Smith wasn’t nominated for his role in “Concussion”, or why “Straight Outta Compton” and “Creed” got no recognition.

Oscar voters who are overwhelmingly white, male and over 60 – ignored some really outstanding performances.

One year after #OscarsSoWhite, little seems to have to changed. His supporting turn as an African warlord in the powerful drama “Beasts of No Nation” was on many pundits’ lists as a Supporting Actor contender. Straight Outta Compton, a film about legendary hip hop group N.W.A., earned a nomination for best original screenplay, but it was written by white people.

Carol ran out of gas on Thursday morning, losing out on a best picture nomination and a best director nomination for Todd Haynes. It’s so much harder to suggest “maybe the Academy just didn’t like it” when it applies to a whole swath of movies and performances. Now, at age 69, he could finally win for playing the same character albeit in a film about the son of his rival in the first film by up-and-coming director Ryan Coogler.

Social media users were quick to criticise Hollywood after pointing out white actors completely dominated the nominations.

“It’s actually worse than previous year”. Though some fans had hoped for a better showing, the box-office behemoth Star Wars: The Force Awakens also failed to land a Best Picture nomination.

Will Smith (“Concussion“), Idris Elba (“Beasts of No Nation”), and Michael B. Jordan (“Creed”) were among those thought to be in the running for a nomination but left out.