BAFTA bosses defend all-white nominees for best actress TV award despite backlash

The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) landed in hot waters for snubbing women from ethnic minorities in the Best Leading actress category.

BAFTA announced the complete list of nominees for this year’s awards on Wednesday. The award show bosses have defended the lack of diversity within this year’s Television Award nominations amid severe backlash.

This year’s leading actress category includes Imelda Staunton for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown, Kate Winslet, and Vicky McClure among others.

While fans pointed out that the nominees are all-white, BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip explained, “there is representation in that category in the fact that if you look at the age of the actresses and the roles written for them, it is extraordinary,” reported via Deadline.

“This is something that we’ve discussed for a long time in the television and film world: Are there roles written for women over the age of 40? That is a really impressive result.”

The statement further sparked mixed opinions from fans, with one person tweeting, “Technically, yes, older white women is a demographic, but they are still a part of the Anglo-Saxon voting base. Common sense dictates that diversity also applies to race and ethnicity, not just gender/age. Sigh. Do better.”

Another expressed, “BAFTA Says Older White Women Count As Diversity – what a ridiculous and completely ageist statement – nobody should be considered diverse because of age! Shame.”

The BAFTA TV Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 14 and will be aired on BBC One and iPlayer.