Lupita Nyong’o: #OscarsSoWhite Is Really Asking for “a Diversity of Stories to Be Told”

On Wednesday, Lupita Nyong’o spoke with Today‘s Savannah Guthrie about #OscarsSoWhite while promoting her Broadway debut in Eclipsed.

The Oscar winner has previously voiced her support for those in the film industry speaking out against the lack of diversity in this year’s acting nominees.

“It’s a symptom of something else,” Nyong’o told Guthrie of the controversy around this year’s nominees. “What we are asking for is really for more stories to be told — for inclusion in the stories that are told.”

The actress won an Academy Award in 2013 for her role in 12 Years a Slave. She said it’s important to have diversity in Hollywood’s storytelling, in order to more accurately reflect the world.

“I think It’s good for all of us when we hear a diverse number of stories and are able to experience more diversity. It’s more reflective of the world we live in,” said Nyong’o. “And so I think that’s what we ultimately want — is for a diversity of stories to be told.

In January, Nyong’o said she was “disappointed by the lack of inclusion” in this year’s Oscar nominations. “It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “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.”

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