Stephen King: Oscars ‘Rigged In Favor of the White Folks’

King’s op-ed essay represents a retreat as well as an act of contrition following the public backlash the author received earlier this month when he tweeted that quality is more important than diversity when it comes to creating works of art.

His tweet earned him a social media lashing from prominent cultural figures including filmmaker Ava DuVernay and New York Times contributor Roxane Gay.

On Monday, King noted in the Post that women now account for 32 percent of Academy membership, up from 23 percent eight years ago.  Ethnic minorities now make up 16 percent, versus 6 percent eight years ago.

Later in the essay, King noted that, “judgements of creative excellence should be blind. But that would be the case in a perfect world, one where the game isn’t rigged in favor of the white folks.”