Regina King attacks 'white Emmys'

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BAFFLED: Actress Regina King has hit out at the Emmy Awards judging panel.

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Veteran African-American actress Regina King has hit out at the Emmy Awards judging panel, accusing it of snubbing non-white performers.

The Jerry Maguire star, who has more than 20 film and television credits to her name, wrote an open letter of complaint following this month's awards ceremony, titled The Emmys: As White As Ever.

In it, she questioned why only 53 non-white actors had been nominated in the history of the awards "out of nearly 1,000 possible nominations in the top four acting categories for drama and comedy."

This year there were none.

"I've worked in television nearly all of my professional life, and that statistic is quite sobering to me," King, 39, wrote in her letter, published on US-based website HuffingtonPost.com.

"It is impossible for me to ignore the published statistics regarding the number of people of color mentioned, celebrated or honored in the history of the televised Emmys."

King said she generally avoided "uncomfortable situations regarding race" but found the snubbing of the late African-American Broadway star and children's television presenter Alaina Reed Hall from the Emmys' memoriam honor roll impossible to understand.

Reed Hall, 63, died from breast cancer in December but did not appear on the memoriam list.

"She was on Sesame Street for 12 years, a show that is an American institution," King said. "People of all ages and generations have seen and enjoyed this highly influential television show. You have to admit, to not recognize her contribution to television baffles the mind.

"Mistakes happen, right? Well after a few 'mistakes' of how people of color are portrayed in the Hollywood media, I decided it was important to say something about how things go down in Hollywood."

King currently stars in US TV drama Southland.

Most Outstanding Actor and Actress Emmys at this year's ceremony went to Edie Falco (comedy - Nurse Jackie); Jim Parsons (comedy - The Big Bang Theory); Bryan Cranton (drama - Breaking Bad); and Kyra Sedgwick (drama -The Closer).

- © Fairfax NZ News