Illustration by Bitch Media
Once again, the Academy Awards is white as ever, even as the ceremony is touted as the pinnacle of a production or an actor’s success. Winning an Oscar can transform someone’s career, opening new doors and presenting new opportunities, but how does the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ refusal to be inclusive reflect Hollywood’s broader exclusion of people from marginalized communities?
We are saying enough.
Having a single year (or two) where the nomination pool is more diverse doesn’t account for a long history of nominating white, straight people at the expense of people from oppressed communities, so why should we cover a ceremony that shuts out the communities we serve over and over again? Bitch is boycotting the Oscars. Other than a story about the nominations themselves and an alternative Oscars list that we’re creating, we will not be covering the Academy Awards. Instead, we will continue standing in solidarity with Black people and people of color, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, and others who are creating impactful art that’s rarely recognized by a career-making institution.
We hope you will join us. Please use the hashtag #ByeOscars to reflect your commitment to this boycott and follow our partner, the Mary Sue, as they join us in not giving coverage to a predominantly white awards ceremony.
