By Gwen Aviles
This year’s Academy Award nominees were revealed Tuesday morning, and five of the eight Best Picture nominees — “A Star Is Born,” “Green Book,” “The Favourite,” “Vice” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” — include at least one LGBTQ character.
“Today’s list of Oscar nominees reflect a banner year for LGBTQ inclusion in film and a signal that the Academy and its members are rightfully prioritizing storytelling at a time when audiences and critics alike are calling for more,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD, said in a statement shared with NBC News.
While the five LGBTQ-inclusive Best Picture nominees racked up a combined 36 nominations, LGBTQ inclusion was not limited to those films. “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” a true crime drama featuring Melissa McCarthy as lesbian writer-turned-criminal Lee Israel, received three Oscar nominations. And “Marguerite,” an LGBTQ-inclusive short film, was nominated for Best Live Action Short. GLAAD also noted there were a number of behind-the-camera LGBTQ nominees, too.
While this year’s Academy Awards will see a record number of LGBTQ-inclusive Best Picture nominees, according to GLAAD, the past two winners in the category — ”Moonlight” and “The Shape of Water” — also highlighted LGBTQ stories. “Moonlight,” 2017’s winner, made history by becoming the first LGBTQ film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture.
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