TORONTO -- As the stars prepare for Hollywood’s biggest night, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is once again facing backlash for the lack of diverse nominees in major categories.

Of the 20 actors recognized in the acting categories, 19 are white. Cynthia Erivo is the only person of colour nominated for her role as Harriet Tubman in “Harriet.”

Antonio Banderas, who was born and raised in Spain, is nominated for his leading role in “Pain and Glory,” but many people online were quick to question whether or not Banderas should be considered a diverse nominee.

On the day the nominations were announced, film critic Carlos Aguilar posted that he loves Banderas, but to “remember that people from Spain are not Latinos, they are Europeans.”

The Los Angeles Times recently wrote an article exploring the topic of whether a Banderas win would count as a victory for people of color. “It’s complicated,” the newspaper wrote in its headline.

The Academy is also getting heat for ignoring female directors this year. Only men were nominated in the directing category.

In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow won in the best director category for “The Hurt Locker,” marking the first and only time a woman took home an award in the category. And in the Oscars 92-year history, only five women – Sofia Coppola, Jane Campion, Lina Wertmuller, Greta Gerwig and Bigelow – have been nominated in the director category.

While “Little Women” received six nominations, many industry insiders believe Gerwig was snubbed in the director category. Entertainment Insider detailed why the film owes “a lot of its best picture nomination to the creative direction of Gerwig.”

UCLA sociology professor Darnell Hunt says this industry has been “fraught with lack of inclusion and diversity.” Hunt is the co-author of the annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report which looks at representation and diversity in the film industry.

During 2018 and 2019, the report found a glaring absence of women and people of colour in writing, directing and executive positions. However, the report says there was an overall increase in representation on screen.

Still, Hunt doesn’t believe that Hollywood reflects the reality we live in today.

“Our society has continually diversified to the point where we are over 40 per cent people of colour,” he told ABC News. “But Hollywood hasn’t reflected that.”

The Academy has worked to diversify their voting pool since the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2015. Advocate April Reign started the hashtag that turned into a social movement following years of Oscar nominations that didn’t feature people of colour in the main categories.

In a Variety column published in January, Reign said that most of this year’s nominations “reflect the experiences of straight white men.” And she knew that increasing the number of people of colour from eight to 16 per cent within the Academy was “not going to be sufficient.”

Film writers also questioned why actors like Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Lopez and the cast of Parasite were overlooked in the acting categories this year.

“I think the pattern over the last few decades has been a couple steps forward, a couple steps backward,” said Hunt.

While there is work to be done to level Hollywood’s playing field in the major categories, the Academy noted that a record 62 women got Oscar nominations this year. Four of the five feature documentaries nominated are directed or co-directed by women.

The awards will air on CTV on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.