All eyes will be on Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, for the 94th Academy Awards. The annual broadcast marks the end of award season and the penultimate achievement for nominees who manage to leave the ceremony with a golden statue. The ratings for the annual telecast have dwindled in recent years, following an exhaustive three-hour broadcast, the #OscarsSoWhite backlash, and the Kevin Hart controversy, which led to the absence of an official host for years. The 2022 ceremony plans to check the diversity box with three female actors (Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes) slated to co-host along with a diverse list of nominees.
It’s no secret that LGBTQ+ people are a large part of the artistic community in Hollywood. But to date, not a single openly queer person of any color has won the evening’s top acting prizes, and if they have, they were not out at the time of their win. If the statistics look bleak for openly queer white Oscar nominees and winners, then the success rate for queer artists of color is abysmal.
This year, Best Supporting Actress nominee Ariana DeBose may make history as the first openly queer AfroLatina to win a top acting prize for her star turn as Anita in “West Side Story.” Paul Tazewell is also nominated for Best Costume Design for “West Side Story.”
On The Reckoning, we’d like to share what we believe are the top eight Black LGBTQ Oscar moments that may have gone unnoticed due to the social climate that existed during the time the awards were presented. While some of our picks may involve films primarily associated with or individuals assumed to be heterosexual, if you look closely, there’s always a queer subtext. Get into our picks here.