Despite the major backlash that stemmed from the 2016 Oscars being “so white,” history has seemed to repeat itself with this year’s Emmys.
It’s led to major disappointment online and even more so once a jarring picture of a “mostly white” audience was released.
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Sadly, not much has changed since #OscarsSoWhite began trending in 2016.
That’s because the recent Emmy Awards, which took place last Sunday, got slapped with a similar hashtag: #EmmysSoWhite.
For those who don’t know, the controversy at the 2016 Oscars began over there being only all-white nominees in the lead and supporting acting categories for two years in a row.
Soon, #OscarsSoWhite began trending on social media, with people not being afraid to speak out about the lack of diversity.
This was especially the case due to the fantastic performances that year from Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation and Michael B. Jordan in Creed .
It even led some celebs to boycott the 2017 Oscars, beginning with Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee.
The actress tweeted: “At the Oscars . . . people of color are always welcomed to give out awards . . . even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments.”
Now, it appears as though history has repeated itself during this year’s Emmy Awards.
That’s because only three awards went to people of color.
Not surprisingly, it’s led to a ton of heated discussions online.
Beyoncés fans, for example, believe that the singer was snubbed for Outstanding Variety Special award for her Netflix collaboration called Homecoming .
The pivotal film documented a unique look to her Coachella performance, including behind-the-scenes footage.
The award ended up going to late-night TV host, James Corden, for his popular segment, Carpool Karaoke.
Even Beyoncé’s cameraman spoke out about the whole thing.
He also tweeted out images of himself walking backward so that he could capture everything.
“Grey’s Anatomy” Sandra Oh is another celeb who fans believe has been snubbed, time and time again.
The actress has been nominated for an Emmy eight times, yet she hasn’t won any of those times.
Last year, she even made history by becoming the first Asian-American woman to be nominated for a Drama Emmy for her work in “Killing Eve”.
This fact has led some people to associate that — and other alleged — snubs with this jarring image of a mostly white audience at this year’s Emmys.
It appears to not be just actors being snubbed, either.
Fans noticed that the big winners of the night went to shows that featured mainly white casts and crew.
This largely included Game of Thrones , Fleabag , and Chernobyl .
Even when RuPaul won an Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program, there was an all-white creative team behind him.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race host was asked about the lack of diversity behind the show in the press room afterward.
Before answering this question, he raised his eyebrows.
He said: “Well, first of all, most of our show is black, gay, and drag queens. So check, check, and check. But we’re pretty diverse. There are lots of different types of people here. Is it important? Absolutely.”
As for the wins that really made people celebrate, Billy Porter, who’s black and openly gay, took home an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama for “Pose.”
“Awards matter for this little black gay boy,” Porter had told Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year about the nomination.
Jharrel Jerome’s big win was another cause for celebration from fans.
Thanks to his role in When They See Us , he was awarded Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
This led to him becoming the first Afro Latino to win an Emmy for acting!
Despite these major wins for people of color, we still have to remember that it’s not enough. It’s only three.
Here’s to hoping for a major change next year.
Now that will really be something to celebrate.
