Oscars 2020: Leslie Jones reveals she 'abstained' from voting in most categories; cites 'no black people' as reason

Calling out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over the lack of diversity among the nominees, actor-comic Leslie Jones has revealed she skipped voting on most of the Oscar categories as there were “no black people” in them. The Saturday Night Live alum, who was invited to join the Academy in 2017, said it didn’t take her long to finish voting. “Welp I just finished voting for the Oscars. It didn’t take long cause there are no black people on it. So I voted for @CynthiaEriVo and abstained from the rest of the voting,” Jones tweeted on Saturday.

Welp I just finished voting for the Oscars. It didn’t take long cause there are no black people on it. So I voted for @CynthiaEriVo and abstained from the rest of the voting. #moreblackpeopleplease

— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) February 8, 2020

Cynthia Erivo, who is nominated for her performance in the biographical drama Harriet, is the only woman of colour competing for the best actress Oscar trophy. Jones, 52, also shared a hashtag “#moreblackpeopleplease”. Her tweet received a mix response with many on social media calling the Ghostbusters star “racist”. “I love you, but how is that not just as racist as if a white actor said they didn’t vote for any non-white actors? #becolorblind,” a user said. Another said Jones could have voted for Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. “Parasite is a huge deal with an all Asian cast, remember Asians and Latinos are less represented in the media than black folks even. 3 percent for Latinos and over half that is non-speaking roles.” Others noted that Hair Love filmmaker Matthew Cherry, who is African American, is nominated in the best animated short film category. To which Jones responded, “Ok geez yes I voted for @MatthewACherry to didn’t think I needed to say that! The post was obvious! No chill. His film was on before @AngryBirdsMovie #iswearimdonewithyall,” she tweeted. Both BAFTA and the Academy have been heavily criticised for the lack of representation and diversity after the nominations were announced. The acting categories had shut out people of colour while no women filmmakers were recognised in the directing segment. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)