Stars gathered in London for the 2023 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) awards Sunday for a star-studded night later doused by social media users who called out one glaring aspect of the event – every single winner was White.
“Don’t be surprised by #BaftasSoWhite 2023. Film & TV in particular, and the “creative industries” in general, are amongst the most systemically racist when it comes to employment practices. The awards merely reflect this,” film and TV professional Riaz Meer tweeted early Tuesday.
Another alleged that the ceremony attempted to gloss over the whiteness by having British TV personality Alison Hammond – a Black woman – present the awards, writing, “BAFTAs be like ‘All the winners were white, but it’s okay! At least we had a black woman (Alison Hammond) presenting the ceremony!'”
A general view of the stage and winners during the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at The Royal Festival Hall on February 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Iona Wolff/BAFTA via Getty Images)
#BaftasSoWhite dominated Twitter after not a single person of color claimed an award during the ceremony and, despite previous diversity pushes that included a reassessment of the academy’s voting rules and a verbal takedown by “Joker” actor Joaquin Phoenix who said the film industry’s exclusionary policies sent “a very clear message to people of color that: ‘You’re not welcome here.’”
The British film academy revamped its voting rules after outrage in 2020, introducing a “longlist” round of voting before the final nominee phase.
Members voting for best picture would watch all 15 films participating in the vote and select from that longlist.
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A general view of awards and winners envelopes ahead of the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at The Royal Festival Hall on February 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sarah Lee/BAFTA via Getty Images)
Despite the changes, viewers weren’t happy with the results at this year’s ceremony.
“Bringing this back because #BAFTAisRACIST,” tweeted one user who shared video from Phoenix’s speech.
Others shared articles from over a decade ago, lamenting the lack of progress in creating a more diverse and welcoming film industry.
“#BAFTA continues to perpetuate racism & White supremacy – #BaftasSoWhite A Black presenter, Black entertainers & no Black award winners,” another tweeted, tacking on the hashtag #RacistBritain.
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Bronze alloy masks lie in a foundry in West Drayton, Middlesex, ahead of the BAFTA awards ceremony. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
Others echoed the sentiment, arguing that the ceremony showcased not only a lack of diversity in the film industry, but the need for larger conversations about racism in Great Britain.
Among the winners from Sunday’s ceremony were Austin Butler who took home the Best Actor award for his stellar performance in the 2022 “Elvis” biopic and Cate Blanchett who took home the Best Actress award for “Tar.”
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Fox News’ Melissa Roberto and Frank Miles contributed to this report.