#OscarsSoWhite is having a major impact on Hollywood and The Academy is “heartbroken”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that gives out the Oscars, is in a middle of a PR crisis and on Monday the group admitted that they are “heartbroken” over the lack of diversity among this year’s acting nominees, and pledged to make “big changes.”
“I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of AMPAS.
This news came on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as the world recognized the man who fought and died for civil rights in America.
Hollywood has come under fire for the second year in a row for failing to nominate a single non-white actor of in any of the Academy Award acting categories. In fact, on Monday Spike Lee announced that he would not attend the Oscars, while Jada Pinkett Smith is leading the charge agains the Oscars.
This put Boone Isaacs, who is African-American in the hot seat. However, she pledged in her statement that the group is addressing the issue.
“The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership,” she said. “In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars is 94% Caucasian and 70% male, according to a 2012 study by the Los Angeles Times.
You can read the full statement by Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs:
I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year’s nominees. While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.
As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly.
This isn’t unprecedented for the Academy. In the ’60s and ’70s it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.
