Last year, Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris opened with, “Tonight we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest…I mean brightest,” a line aimed at the Academy’s not-so diverse list of nominees, and this year isn’t any different. Matt Damon. Jennifer Lawrence. Eddie Redmayne. All are highly respected, experienced actors and actresses that are nominated for an Oscar for their leading roles this year along with a handful of others. For the second year in a row, all twenty acting nominees up for the Academy Awards are white, which many were quick to notice and take a stance on.

This year’s nominees were announced live by Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Guillermo del Toro, John Krasinski, and Ang Lee on January 15th. Ever since the official list of nominees were released, thousands of people have noticed and spoken out about the lack of diversity for the second consecutive year. Social media erupted, with #OscarsStillSoWhite trending on Twitter and other platforms. Others spoke out against it as well, including George Clooney, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Spike Lee, the latter two choosing to boycott the awards show.

Actress Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2014 for her performance in 12 Years a Slave and is featured in the new Star Wars film, took to Instagram, posting a letter stating: “I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year’s Academy Awards nominations. It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today.”

Actor Mark Ruffalo, nominated for his supporting role in Spotlight–which also happens to be nominated for Best Picture–also proved a point in a BBC interview on the subject stating, “It isn’t just the Academy Awards. The entire American system is rife with white privilege racism. It goes into our justice system.”

On the contrary, some are saying the opposite. For example, actress Charlotte Rampling, nominated for her leading role in 45 Years,  did not put it lightly in an interview on French Radio Europe 1, claiming that the sudden talk of the all-white nominations on all kinds of media is “racist to whites,” later adding, “Perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list.” This of course ignited more talk.

In response, the Academy President released a statement on Twitter stating, “The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership,” and how the Academy recognizes the “very real concerns of our community.”

The announcement of the nominees brought us not only closer to arguably the largest awards show of the year, but also sparked controversy that continues to make headlines. The 88th Academy Awards show will air Sunday, February 28th at 7 P.M. on ABC with, some say ironically, comedian and actor Chris Rock as host.