Kendrick Lamar, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith are among 928 new members to be invited to join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The ‘DNA’ rapper – who has been selected for his soundtrack work for the Marvel blockbuster ‘Black Panther’ – and the ‘Girls Trip’ stars join the likes of Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Timothée Chalamet and Daniel Kaluuya in receiving invitations to become part of the organisation that puts on the Oscars.
The Academy unveiled the long list of names on Monday (25.06.18), and set a record by adding the most number of stars ever in a bid to diversify its members following the outrage over the lack of African-American nominees in 2015 and 2016, which led to the #OscarsSoWhite movement.
In 2017, 774 new members were added, 683 inn 2016 and 322 the year before.
Last year, The Academy’s CEO Dawn Hudson revealed plans to increase it by 1,500 and 535 respectively by 2020.
And if all of this years chosen members accept their invites, the membership will rise to 9,226.
That will mean 38 per cent of the Oscars’ governing body will be comprised of people of colour, an increase from 13 per cent in 2017 to 16 per cent.
Actors make up about 20 per cent of the Academy’s membership, along with writers and musicians and other creatives.
Today’s editions come from 59 different countries, including South Korea, Algeria and India, whilst 49 per cent of the new members are female.
Jada was one of the leading voices behind the #OscarsSoWhite campaign.
However, she admitted "things are moving in a good direction" in Hollywood since the controversy surrounding the 2016 Academy Awards – where no black actors or actresses were nominated in the main categories – though she added there is still a way to go.
Asked if things are better, the ‘Girls Trip’ star said: "I definitely think so. I think things are moving in a good direction. We have a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do – a lot of work to do. Like, I did a movie like ‘Bad Moms’. ‘Bad Moms’ was majority white women. And just the way in which the studio handled that movie, in my opinion, was very different than this movie."
Other stars selected today for their work in film include Blake Lively, Dave Chappelle, Miles Teller, Daisy Ridley, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Lily James, Lily Collins, Chloe Grace Moretz, Olivia Munn and Gina Rodriguez.
A full list of the 928 members can be found by visiting www.app.oscars.org/newmembers2018
Kendrick Lamar and Tiffany Haddish among 928 stars asked to join The Academy
