Award season is in the midst of stepping up a gear as nominations for movies and TV are revealed. The Golden Globes recently unveiled their nominees, and this week it was the turn of the SAG Awards.
In case you didn't know, the SAG Awards exclusively honours the actors who appear on screen rather than the crew who work behind it. Many think of the event as an important preface to the Academy Awards, with those winning on the night often going on to take home an Oscar the following month.
But after dropping their nominations yesterday, the SAG Awards are facing criticism for failing to nominate a single woman of colour in the movie categories, and only a small number for TV. Some considered this shocking, especially since Oscar tipped movies such as If Beale Street Could Talk and Widows all starred women of colour in strong performances that many thought would be a home run this award season.
My God, Black women and women of color did not do well with these SAG noms. A mess.
Regina King, who stunned in a supporting role for If Beale Street Could Talk, was thought to be a frontrunner by many, but her name was nowhere to be seen.
And people weren't happy when they realised.
I'm super confused as to why Regina King didn't get a #SAG nomination. Out of every show during this season, this is the one I figured would be the slam dunk.
Amy Adams (VICE, SHARP OBJECTS), Emma Stone (FAVOURITE, MANIAC) and Emily Blunt (MARY POPPINS, QUIET PLACE) were all nominated for multiple #SAG awards this morning. Biggest shocker: Where's Regina King? Where's #BealeStreet?
GIVE REGINA KING HER THINGS! https://t.co/7WEKu8sA4A
It was the same for Viola Davis and the cast of Widows, a movie which was applauded for its diverse cast, particularly the women of colour in lead and supporting roles.
SAG Awards nominations are out. Why is awards season disrespecting Widows like this? Stop sleeping on Viola Davis and this movie pls. Ugh.
And not sure why #Widows was not an awards favorite this year. The performances by Viola Davis and Michelle Rodriguez were phenomenal and raw. That scene with Rodriguez at the architect’s home was jaw-dropping and everything Viola Davis does is brilliant.
Others pointed out that in a year where there were many performances that shone, all of them were completely ignored.
No WOC nominated for Best Lead or Supporting Actress in a year where we had WIDOWS, ROMA, SHOPLIFTERS, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, and THE HATE U GIVE. Are you kidding me, #SAGAwards?
Although the individual acting nominations were cause for anger, the general ensemble category, honouring performances by a cast altogether, saw more diversity, with four of the five nominations having people of colour in lead roles. However, the majority of those leads were men.
On the television side of things, Sandra Oh and Penelope Cruz were the only women of colour to receive nominations. This means that out of 25 female nominees on the night, there will only be two women of colour up for awards.
