This week in trending topics: the Academy Awards nominations cause controversy, ABC Family takes on a new name, and Céline Dion suffers a devastating loss.
#OscarsSoWhite
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.
The year of 2015 was filled with African-American actors and actresses taking on ground-breaking roles in critically acclaimed movies such as “Creed”, “Straight Outta Compton”, and “Beasts of No Nation”.
The African-American community, including Al Sharpton and Octavia Spencer took to Twitter to express their frustrations, creating the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
“I thought for sure #IdrisElba would get a nom for that brilliant performance in #BeastsofNoNation,” tweeted Spencer.
Sharpton followed with his own outrage.
“All white Oscar nominations are another example of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Like the Rocky Mts. The higher you climb, the whiter,” tweeted Sharpton.
“Michael B Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Samuel L Jackson, Mya Taylor, Teyonah Parris – no excuses. #OscarsSoWhite” @Sam_McCosh
“There’s no possible way that only white actors are good enough to get nominated. Don’t say this isn’t a racial issue. #OscarsSoWhite” @culturedyouthco
“Unless you’re portraying a stereotypical role, chances are you won’t get nominated. #OscarsSoWhite” @urblacknan
As a result of the outrage, Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs addressed the awards lack of diversity:
“Of 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,” Isaacs said. “We have got to speed it up.”
The Oscars, hosted by Chris Rock, will take place on Feb. 28, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
ABC Family renamed Freeform
Television network ABC Family was officially rebranded as Freeform on Jan. 12. The transition left many viewers confused and wondering what will happen next.
Freeform President, Tom Ascheim, assured viewers that they had nothing to worry about.
“We’re not recruiting a new audience, we’re building on a really strong audience,” Ascheim told TheWrap.com “We’re not doing a new kind of content, we can draw upon the strengths of who we are and what we are.”
Freeform is the home to successful shows such as “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Fosters” drawing an average of 1.087 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings. New shows will also be premiering this spring such as “Shadowhunters” and “Recovery Road.”
Céline Dion’s husband passes away
René Angélil, 73, passed away on Jan. 14 after a long battle with throat cancer.
Angélil was the manager-turned-husband to singer Céline Dion. He is credited for making Dion into the mega-star that she is today.
Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer 1998 and beat the illness twice. In September of 2015, Dion announced that Angélil had become extremely ill from cancer and only had months to live.
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.
