Leslie Jones abstained from voting for the majority of Academy Awards due to a lack of diversity.
The 52-year-old comedy star has revealed via Twitter that she "didn’t take long" over who to back at this year’s Oscars, admitting she only voted for categories in which black filmmakers, composers and actors received nominations.
Leslie – who revealed she voted for fellow actress Cynthia Erivo – wrote on the micro-blogging platform: "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 (sic)"
Cynthia Erivo is the only black actress to have been nominated this year, and the lack of diversity among the nominees has once again become a source of controversy.
Meanwhile, Billy Crystal recently questioned the decision to stage a hostless Oscars, saying it’ll be like "having a trial without witnesses".
The veteran comedian – who has hosted the awards show on nine occasions – admitted he isn’t a fan of the hostless concept, revealing he loves the tradition of having one person helm the bash.
Asked about the arrangements for this year’s Oscars, Billy said: "[It is like] having a trial without witnesses. Moves faster, but not quite the result that you want."
Billy feels that having a host is important to the overall success of the show.
The comedy star – who first hosted the Academy Awards in 1990 – reflected: "I always loved being out there.
"I loved the, I guess, the trust, you know, that the movie Academy had in me to get me out there, and I felt like it was a great honour to do it. And I think that when you have a show that’s as long as it is, things are going to happen.
"And I think the problem with the no-host thing, perhaps, is that there’s not somebody out there to capitalise on that moment, like you had when the wrong best picture was nominated."
Leslie Jones abstains from Oscars voting
