Oscars have often been the center stage of controversies for several reasons. One of its prime reasons has been the representation of people of color. The cinephiles have often noticed White supremacy in the Oscar nominations and many actors have called it out as well. One of them was Eddie Murphy who nearly refused to attend the ceremony for its lack of Black representation.
The speech of Eddie Murphy at the Oscars in 1988 generated quite a buzz, especially after one of his unfortunate predictions came true. The comedian confidently stated that a Black actor wins an Oscar every 20 years, so another Black actor wouldn’t win one before 2004. Unfortunately, it became almost true as the next win for an actor of color came in 2002 with Denzel Washington.
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Eddie Murphy wasn’t wrong when he criticized the Academy in 1988
The Black representation in the Academy Awards has been a recurring topic of controversy for quite some time now. In 1988, Hollywood was shocked, when Eddie Murphy feared none and openly admitted how the Academy never cared about the people of color. He cleared it out in his speech that he didn’t even want to attend the event.
The Beverly Hills Cop star admitted that when his manager came to inform him about the event, he denied it without a second thought- “No, I ain’t goin’”. On being asked the reason (via Uproxx), he was quite clear that the Academy never thought about Black actors in the film industry. He mentioned some of the most famous Black people who have won the Oscars and showed how the numbers are drastically low.
“I’ll probably never win an Oscar for saying this, but what the hey, I gotta say it. Actually I may not get in trouble because the way it’s been going, every 20 years, so we’re not due for another until about 2004, so… by that time this will have all blown over.”
It is quite unfortunate how his prediction became almost true as the next Black actor to win an Oscar was Denzel Washington for his 2001 movie Training Day. Even Eddie Murphy himself had a hard time with the Academy Awards. He got his first and only Oscar nomination in 2007 for Dreamgirls.
Later many fans also complained about how Dolemite Is My Name didn’t get any recognition from the Academy even after being one of Murphy’s best. However, it went on to present the Candy Cane Lane actor with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
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Several other actors criticized the Oscars as well
Halle Berry gave a heartfelt speech when she became the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress in 2002’s Monster’s Ball. She acknowledged every Black actress who was nominated before her but couldn’t win an award. However, after 15 years, Berry rectified herself to Vox when she realized that no Black actress after her won an Oscar in the category-
“It meant nothing. I thought it meant something, but I think it meant nothing.”
Later, many comedians like Chris Rock and Kevin Hart also addressed the lack of Black representation at the Oscars. Fans also pointed out how Lupita Nyong’o and Jennifer Lopez were ignored for their performances in Us and Hustlers even after both movies were critically acclaimed.
