The Hollywood Reporter Explains Why Their Best Actress Roundtable is 100% White

This is going to be an #OscarsSoWhite year where black actresses – or any actresses of color — are concerned. Men will fare slightly better, maybe, with Will Smith and potentially Idris Elba in the mix. Women, though? I saw one actress of color in a supporting role – that would be Gugu Mbatha Raw in Concussion. They might have had her on the cover, I suppose, but they’re also missing Saoirse Ronan. Either way, it’s a catch-22 because these things are set up by publicists who essentially help keep The Hollywood Reporter (and this site) in business. Thus, they take their lead from the publicists who are putting forth their best contenders. Helen Mirren is in for, I take it, Woman in Gold?

THR tried to clear up the shitstorm before it hit with this piece.

Yet even for me, a white man, it was impossible to ignore the fact that every one of these women was white — whether old or young, English, Australian or American. That was appalling. The awful truth is that there are no minority actresses in genuine contention for an Oscar this year. Straight Outta Compton, which has provided some great roles for African-American men (and whose success addsproof that studios ignore minority audiences at their peril) had no women leads. Furious 7? Not quite Oscar bait.

The problem is money. It comes down to money. The best way to get more diverse names in Hollywood is to help up the cred of writers, producers and actors of color in films out there right now. Star Wars will help. Ava DuVernay is trying to actually change the entire industry with her distribution company but remember, Beyond the Lights should have made a lot more money than it did last year. Oscar buzz would have helped, though it did get some. Celebrities drive the box office – and they drive traffic. You have to build celebrities up — they have to appeal to audiences across the board. Right now it’s near impossible to get any film made that isn’t directed by a white dude and/or starring a white dude. And even those are hard to get made.

So kudos to THR for going there. It’s a fucked up situation that doesn’t appear to be getting better.