Oscar 2016 Nominations: All-White Nominees Make #OscarsSoWhite Trend

Fans are outraged that N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton was snubbed from the main categories in the 2016 Oscars nominations, but Ice Cube is taking a different view of the furore.

The best original screenplay nomination noted by Reign went to the co-writers of “Compton” – both of whom are white. Entertainment Weekly quipped, “This is the whitest Oscars since last year”, since every acting nominee this year – out of 20 open slots, 10 for women, 10 for men – is white. The film also failed to get nominated for Best Picture, which it was largely considered to be a lock for.

When yesterdays Academy Award nominations were announced, one film that was noticeable by its near absence was this summers hit Straight Outta Compton.

Whatever it is that Keaton has done that prompted the Academy to rob him of an Oscar last year for Birdman and ignore him this year for Spotlight – can everyone just get over it soon? The general consensus apparently being that these types of awards shows aren’t for “us” and “our kind” anyway, so it’s best not to keep complaining about them.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has faced criticism for years that its members, who vote on the Oscars, lack diversity and are aging and out of touch.

The rapper turned actor appeared yesterday morning on The Wendy Williams Show moments after the Oscar nominations were revealed. Still, a Los Angeles Times predicted in 2013, when diversity efforts first began to pick up steam, that the voters would still be 89% white and 72% male by 2023, with a median age of 61.

Comedian Chris Rock, who is black, is hosting the star-studded ceremony and many are predicting that he will have a “field day” poking fun at the all-white lineup of actors nominated. They said Hollywood remains racist as ever. “We have nothing to do with hiring”, she said.

“Even though people think a lot of strides have been made, we still have a long way to go”, local filmmaker Rel Dowdell told me Thursday. The Rev. Jesse Jackson led protests at the 1996 Academy Awards over perceptions of racism in Hollywood.

It was a factor in the Best Supporting Actor win previous year for the veteran J.K. Simmons, 61 (Whiplash, 2014).