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Here’s why people are tweeting #OscarsSoWhite

David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo.
David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo.
(Paramount Pictures)

When the Oscar nominations were announced earlier this morning, many were surprised that Selma, the Martin Luther King, Jr. docudrama, only earned two nominations: Best Picture and Best Original Song.

But even with its Picture nom, many people thought the film was snubbed.

Vox's Todd VanDerWerff offered an explanation for the snub, noting that "the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white man." Sure, as VanDerWerff noted, Selma's late release date might have worked against it. But regardless of how the film was rolled out, many people are blaming Hollywood's well-documented lack of diversity for the fact that neither Selma's director, Ava DuVernay, nor its leading man, David Oyelowo, earned a much-deserved nomination.

But the worst thing about that was that it essentially took all people of color out of contention in the acting categories. David Oyelowo didn't receive a nomination, meaning that the Oscars' roster looked awfully, awfully white.

All of that led to a Twitter hashtag: #OscarsSoWhite.

Here are some of the best tweets.

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