Oscars 2015: Protest planned against this year's all-white nominations

The last time no non-white actors were nominated was in 1998

The last time no non-white actors were nominated was in 1998 (Getty Images)

Civil rights groups are planning to stage a protest outside the Oscars ceremony tonight at the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees. Out of a total of 20 acting nominees, all of them are white.

"The goal of the protest is to send a message to the Academy, send a message to Hollywood, send a message to the film industry," said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, head of the LA Urban Policy Roundtable group told AFP.

He continued, "And the message is very simple: you don't reflect America, your industry doesn't reflect America. Women, Hispanics, African-Americans, people of color (are) invisible in Hollywood."

Meanwhile, there have been hints that the Los Angeles chapter of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network will be joining the demonstrations, according to Deadline. Representatives from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference too are planning on taking part.

In a poll carried out earlier this week, thirty-four per cent of people have said they believe Hollywood has a general problem with minorities. The poll carried out by Reuters and Ipsos had nearly 2,000 respondents.

This year’s all-white nominations have faced fierce condemnation and are a marked contrast to 2014, which saw Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o win Best Actress for her performance in 12 Years A Slave. Her co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor was nominated in the Best Actor category, while Barkhad Abdi also earned a nomination for Captain Phillips.

British star David Oyelowo, who was hotly tipped for a nod for Selma, was snubbed despite rave reviews for the film.

The last time no non-white actors were nominated was in 1998.