In 2015, after all 20 acting nominations were given to white actors, activist April Reign created the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Her post went viral when the 2016 Oscars also reflected a lack of diversity, prompting the Academy to come under scrutiny. People globally pointed to the academy's lengthy history of racism, and its membership that was 92% white. The campaign gained further momentum when a broader look at the academy's racial and ethnic history showed that white nominees had outnumbered non-white nominees 17-to-1. Hattie McDaniel broke the barrier in 1940 as the first person of color to win an Oscar for her supporting turn in 'Gone With the Wind,' followed by Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and Halle Berry.

In 2023, USC released a study that found that only 8% of nominees between 2008 and 2015 were from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups. However, in the post "OscarsSoWhite" era between 2016 and 2023, that number increased to 17%.