Oscars are moving in the wrong direction: Clooney attacks lack of diversity

George Clooney says the Oscars are “moving in the wrong direction” as he weighed into the row over the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees. The star, 54, hit out over the failure to nominate a single actor of color for the second year in a row and said Academy Awards organisers were doing a better job 10 years ago. “Think about how many more African Americans were nominated,” he said. “I would also make the argument, I don’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films?”

By the way, we’re talking about African Americans. For Hispanics, it’s even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it.

George Clooney

In an interview with Variety magazine, Clooney suggested Creed, Concussion, Beasts of No Nation and Straight Outta Compton were among four films this year that were snubbed for major nominations. He also mentioned Ava DuVernay’s director snub for Selma at last year’s ceremony. Star Wars actress Lupita Nyong'o also joined the debate, saying she was “disappointed by the lack of inclusion” in the nominations. Nyong'o, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave in 2014, wrote on Instagram that she stood with those “calling for change” and that the awards should be a “diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today”.

This institution doesn’t reflect its president … I am an Academy member and it doesn’t reflect me, and it doesn’t reflect this nation

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