The 'Crazy Rich Asians' star had just made Golden Globe history
ET reports that Awkwafina has been snubbed from this year’s Oscars nominations.
The Crazy Rich Asians star had just made history by becoming the first Asian American actress to win a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category for her role in The Farewell.
Many were even expecting Awkwafina to be nominated in the Best Actress category, making the nomination a historic moment for the Oscars. She would have been the first Asian-American woman ever nominated in the category.
The Farewell is based on writer-director Lulu Wang’s life experiences. Awkwafina stars as a Chinese American woman named Billi who returns to China to visit her grandmother who is suffering from cancer. Billi clashes with her family who decide to keep her grandmother in the dark about her illness.
Social media users have since taken to Twitter to express their outrage regarding Awkwafina’s lack of nominations.
“The Oscars could nominate Scarlett Johansson twice but couldn’t nominate Lupita Nyong’o or Awkwafina or even any women for director,” wrote one person.
“In my mind, the biggest Oscar snub is Awkwafina and The Farewell in general,” wrote another.
“How does #Awkwafina and #JLo not get recognized for their work in #TheFarewell & #Hustlers but #ScarJo gets two noms?” Another asked.
Other actors who were sidelined in this year’s Oscar nominations include Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), Lupta Nyong’o (Us), Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency).
As these non-white actors were snubbed from the nominations, many are (once again) calling the Oscars out for its lack of diversity.
“Seeing overwhelmingly white acting categories in 2020 is frustrating, and frankly, unacceptable,” writes Refinery 29.
However, Asian representation in the 2020 Oscar nominations was not completely missing. Bong Joon-Ho’s thriller Parasite made Oscars history by being South Korea’s first movie to be nominated for Best International film. The film was nominated for a total of six Oscars.
Other Asian nominations include Kazu Hiro, who was the first Asian person to win Best Makeup and Hairstyling in 2018. Hiro is nominated this year for Bombshell.
Seung-jun Yi and Gary Kam’s film In the Absence is also nominated for Best Documentary Short and Siqi Song’s Sisters was is nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category.
In related news, The Farewell is expected to flop in China after just recently being released.
In my mind, the biggest Oscar snub is Awkwafina and The Farewell in general. #OscarNoms
— Taylor Kujawa ⚽️ (@TayKuj) January 13, 2020
The real biggest snub for the Oscars this year is @A24 NOTHING for my girl @awkwafina or @thumbelulu for The Farewell. Nothing for @AdamSandler for Uncut Gems. And nothing for RPatts or Dafoe for Lighthouse. AN ABSOLUTE SHAME. pic.twitter.com/nv1HJhIi2f
— Sean Monk (@PasteEatingYak) January 13, 2020
Awkwafina wins herself a Golden Globe and then receives no Oscar nomination. The absolute fuckery!
— ♀️ (@lumpy_dory) January 13, 2020
The Oscars could nominate Scarlett Johansson twice but couldn’t nominate Lupita Nyong’o or Awkwafina or even any women for director
— ℝ Lewis (@_LJWR) January 13, 2020
How does #Awkwafina and #JLo not get recognized for their work in #TheFarewell & #Hustlers but #ScarJo gets two noms? TWO! What is the deal with her? She doesn’t seem like a nice human being. She’s not that great an actress. I’ve never understood why she’s so popular. #oscars
— KL Knott (@klknott) January 13, 2020