#BAFTAsSoWhite: British Academy Faces Backlash Over Lack of Diverse Nominees

In the wake of the bombshell allegations included in the legal complaint from ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan — which includes allegations of sexual misconduct among many other improper practices — there’s more than a little sense of “Wasn’t all this supposed to be fixed two years ago?” After former Grammy chief Neil Portnow’s ill-spoken 2018 comment to a Variety reporter that female musicians and executives need to “step up” in order to advance in the industry, the Academy launched a

Eminem’s new album Music To Be Murdered By caught many fans by surprise with how dark and violent his rhymes are. He even referenced the deadly 2017 bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England in the song “Unaccomodating”, featuring Young M.A. He raps, “But I’m contemplating yelling ‘bombs away’ on the game/Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.” Now Slim Shady has put out a message to fans that this album is meant to “shock the conscience.”

Following the surprise drop of Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By LP Friday (Jan. 17), fans were outraged by a reference to the 2017 concert bombing at Ariana Grande's concert in Manchester on the track "Unaccommodating." 

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The “Hot Topic” segment on the Jan. 7 episode of The Wendy Williams Show took a bad turn when Wendy Williams, 55, began to poke fun at Joaquin Phoenix’s looks.

The British Academy is scrambling for answers after BAFTA Awards nominations, announced early last week, included no actors of color in the main categories and a selection of exclusively male director noms. As the hashtag #BaftasSoWhite gained traction, many members within the organization as well as those in the wider industry have suggested it is time for a change in the way nominees are chosen.

Margot Robbie has said that she will sometimes be overlooked as a producer and that people will talk to her male colleagues, rather than her.

Kate Hudson has been accused of overlooking the terrible human rights record of the United Arab Emirates by accepting a paid post to promote tourism in Dubai.

Stephen King has been criticised by director Ava DuVernay after saying that the issue of diversity should not be considered by Oscar voters.

WATCH ABOVE as Sun host Brad Hunter asks our Entertainment Editor Mark Daniell for insights into the Oscar nominations 2020 — and if Hollywood really is woke given the lack of diversity in the nominations. Is this #OscarSoWhite2.0?

Sir Sam Mendes, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Florence Pugh are among the British Oscar nominees but there is mounting anger over a lack of diversity among the contenders.

By Dino-Ray Ramos

A Dumfries boxer’s bid for a Scottish title fight taking place in his home town looks to have been dealt a knockout blow.

A man faces a retrial over the murder of his mother.

UPDATE (Jan. 8, 8:10pm ET): Moments after publishing our story, Jillian took to Twitter to clarify her comments.