Hollywood’s biggest night has come under serious fire over the last few months. Ever since the monochromatic Oscar nominations were announced, a line has been drawn in the sand. As the ceremony gets closer and closer, the opinions get louder and the arguments more heated. The Oscar controversy seems to have officially reached a fever pitch, as a new rally has been planned in an attempt to fight the perceived racial injustices associated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

According to a report from EW, a protest will be held – led by Reverend Al Sharpton – to stand against the alleged racist, bigoted practices of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Despite numerous strong cinematic moments for African American actors and filmmakers this year, the Oscar nominations showcased the talents of primarily white actors, directors, and writers. Even films such as Straight Outta Compton and Creed, which focused their subject matter heavily on the experiences of black America, only garnered nominations for white people who contributed to the making of the film.

The planned protest will be held in Hollywood near the Dolby Theater, where the Oscar ceremony takes place. Al Sharpton issued as statement admonishing the Oscars and imploring audiences to join in on the boycott:

Hollywood is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher up you get, the whiter it gets, and this year’s Academy Awards will be yet another Rocky Mountain Oscars… Yet again, deserving black actors and directors were ignored by the academy — which reinforces the fact that there are few if any blacks with real power in Hollywood.

The Academy has drawn the ire of numerous Hollywood heavy hitters in recent weeks. From Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, to Spike Lee, numerous minority actors and filmmakers have begun to speak out against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lack of diversity. The Academy itself has come out and stated that it intends to address these issues by increasing levels of minority membership by 2020, and changing voting practices, but that doesn’t seem to be fast enough for some people.

This controversy has incited numerous opinions from people throughout the industry. Some have called for a boycott of the Oscars, while others have called for institutional changes that work within the systems the industry already has in place.

Nobody seems to have come to a consensus on the matter, and with the Oscars only a few days away, we feel safe in our assumption that this matter will only get more and more heated the closer we get. We will provide up to date coverage on anything and everything related to the Oscars as the news becomes available to us. The ceremony airs this Sunday and will be hosted by comedian Chris Rock. Will you be watching?