<\/a>This week in trending topics: the Academy Awards nominations cause controversy, ABC Family takes on a new name, and C\u00e9line Dion suffers a devastating loss.<\/p>\n

#OscarsSoWhite<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, aka The Oscars, were announced last Tuesday leaving the African-American community outraged. For the second year in a row, there has not been a single black person nominated for an Oscar.<\/p>\n

The year of 2015 was filled with African-American actors and actresses taking on ground-breaking roles in critically acclaimed movies such as \u201cCreed\u201d, \u201cStraight Outta Compton\u201d, and \u201cBeasts of No Nation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The African-American community, including Al Sharpton and Octavia Spencer took to Twitter to express their frustrations, creating the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought for sure #IdrisElba would get a nom for that brilliant performance in #BeastsofNoNation,\u201d tweeted Spencer.<\/p>\n

Sharpton followed with his own outrage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll white Oscar nominations are another example of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Like the Rocky Mts. The higher you climb, the whiter,\u201d tweeted Sharpton.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael B Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Samuel L Jackson, Mya Taylor, Teyonah Parris \u2013 no excuses. #OscarsSoWhite\u201d @Sam_McCosh<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no possible way that only white actors are good enough to get nominated. Don\u2019t say this isn\u2019t a racial issue. #OscarsSoWhite\u201d @culturedyouthco<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you\u2019re portraying a stereotypical role, chances are you won\u2019t get nominated. #OscarsSoWhite\u201d @urblacknan<\/p>\n

As a result of the outrage, Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs addressed the awards lack of diversity:<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I am disappointed, but is not to take away the greatness of the films nominated. This has been a great year in film, it really has across the board. You are never going to know what is going to appear on the sheet of paper until you see it,\u201d Isaacs said. \u201cWe have got to speed it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oscars, hosted by Chris Rock, will take place on Feb. 28, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.<\/p>\n

ABC Family renamed Freeform<\/strong><\/p>\n

Television network ABC Family was officially rebranded as Freeform on Jan. 12. The transition left many viewers confused and wondering what will happen next.<\/p>\n

Freeform President, Tom Ascheim, assured viewers that they had nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not recruiting a new audience, we\u2019re building on a really strong audience,\u201d Ascheim told TheWrap.com \u201cWe\u2019re not doing a new kind of content, we can draw upon the strengths of who we are and what we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeform is the home to successful shows such as \u201cPretty Little Liars\u201d and \u201cThe Fosters\u201d drawing an average of 1.087 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings. New shows will also be premiering this spring such as \u201cShadowhunters\u201d and \u201cRecovery Road.\u201d<\/p>\n

C\u00e9line Dion\u2019s husband passes away<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Ang\u00e9lil, 73, passed away on Jan. 14 after a long battle with throat cancer.<\/p>\n

Ang\u00e9lil was the manager-turned-husband to singer C\u00e9line Dion. He is credited for making Dion into the mega-star that she is today.<\/p>\n

Ang\u00e9lil was diagnosed with throat cancer 1998 and beat the illness twice. In September of 2015, Dion announced that Ang\u00e9lil had become extremely ill from cancer and only had months to live.<\/p>\n

He is survived by his wife, ex-wife, six children, and seven grandchildren. According to People Magazine, he was laid to rest on Jan. 22 at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. Further devastating the star, her brother passed two days after her husband.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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