Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs is "disappointed" at lack of diversity in Oscar nominees
The head of the Oscars has had her say on the lack of ethnic minorities represented in this year's major categories
Despite the Academy's efforts to bring greater diversity to the Oscars, this year's nominations were dominated by white actors and filmmakers – a result that has disappointed Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Speaking after yesterday's announcement, Boone Isaacs – who became the first African American to take over the presidency of the Academy in 2013 – said of the organisation's diversity attempts: "we have got to speed it up".
"Of course I am disappointed, but this is not to take away the greatness (of the films nominated)," she added.
There was always going to be a spotlight on this year's nominees – 2015 saw the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trending on social media after the nominations were announced – and yet the 2016 shortlist shows little progress.
The only films featuring African American protagonists up for awards in major categories are Creed and Straight Outta Compton, both picking up one nod apiece for supporting actor and original screenplay respectively. But even those nominations have attracted criticism:
Elsewhere the omission of Michael B Jordan for his leading role in Creed and Idris Elba for his supporting role in Beasts Of No Nation left Twitter unimpressed.
#OscarsSoWhite (made by me) pic.twitter.com/IyHwiqFw0P
— Andrew Maclean (@ajmaclean) January 14, 2016
Another white out at #OscarNoms ? What a surprise...... #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/qpdhgefMfC
— ✨Tai J.✨ (@mrsjerseybelle5) January 14, 2016
The Revenant leads this year's nominations with 12, including a nod for latino director Alejandro González Iñárritu, but after The Academy's drawn out attempts at diversity, #OscarsSoWhite continues to rumble on.
