BAFTAS criticized for all-white winners
Despite a diverse group of nominees up for the British Oscar, not one Black or brown person won an award during Sunday night's ceremony.
The organizers of the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Film Awards are in hot water again after every single award went to a white nominee during Sunday night’s ceremony.
Each year, the British Oscars honor “the very best in film” for the year and this year’s nominees included some of the biggest movies like “The Woman King” and “Til.” While the nominations seemed to signal a significant shift in diversifying the prestigious awards show, they resulted in wins for whites only, which was a disappointment to many.
Forty-nine winners across all BAFTA categories were white, according to the BBC. The backlash comes after the BAFTAs were under fire in 2020 for a slate of all-white nomineesation online, leading #BAFTASsowh.. At the time, organizers announced multiple steps, including a “groundbreaking diversity review” that ushered in numerous changes, according to Variety.
In the opening moments of the show, BAFTA Chair Krishnendu Majumdar even addressed the recent shifts, stating that the academy “responded to the lack of diversity in the film awards nominations and set about transforming BAFTA from within.”
Despite the remarks and inclusion of host Ariana DeBose and nominees like Angela Bassett, Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis, the lack of wins for actors of color sparked conversation online, leading #BAFTASsowhite to trend.
One user wrote in a tweet, “Sooo not a single person of colour nominated for BAFTA this year won. Wow, soo much change since 2020. They really said BAFTAs so white 2.0” Another user asked, “The BAFTAs weren’t ashamed to put on an awards show knowing all the winners were white?”
BAFTA has yet to publicly comment on the criticism.
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