John Oliver Goes After Hollywood Amid #OscarsSoWhite Controversy

With the upcoming Academy Awards, Last Week Tonight tackled the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. The segment explained that many of the roles designed for people of all ethnicities have been “whitewashed.” Whitewashing, in this case, is when a white actor is cast in a role for another ethnicity.

This practice has been going on since the beginning of film history, including Mickey Rooney playing the role of Mr. Yunioshi in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Another example is Tom Cruise somehow being the lead actor in The Last Samurai.

Last Week gave more modern examples, like Gods of Egypt, which was described as “a guy from Australia and a guy from Britain pretending to be two guys from Egypt, a country in Africa.”

Despite these roles seeming out of place, several whitewashed roles have even received Academy Awards. Last Week ended the piece with “Hollywood whitewashing: How is this still a thing?”

Last Week Tonight airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.

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