2020 Oscars Nominations: Reason behind Issa Rae's savage banter during the announcement revealed

Actor Issa Rae gave her backhanded "Congratulations to those men" after announcing the all-male category nominees during the 2020 Oscars nominations announcement

During the 2020 Oscar Nominations announcement on January 14, there was one particular moment that caught the interest of the internet and now they are raving about the diversity issue at the Oscar nominations.

When both the actors, Issa Rae and John Cho, were introducing announcing this year's nominees for the Best Director category, Issa spontaneously delivered a hilarious quip about the lack of female representation.

Issa said, "Congratulations to those men," after announcing the all-male category nominees. This was instantly picked up by the internet and she was praised for her ad-lib whereas several people thought that was a bit harsh on those nominees.

Issa revealed the reason behind her banter

Issa Rae
Instagram/Issa Rae

Now, Issa has revealed exactly why she said what she said. "John Cho and I were told to just banter for five seconds as the teleprompter loaded, and that was my banter," she told reporters at HBO TCA following the panel for her show 'Insecure'.

However, she is very much aware of how little representation they are in Hollywood; for women and people of colour. The actress declared her disinterest in the conversation about the lack of diversity in the award nominations.

"I just think it's unfortunate. I think that the Academy needs to be better. I think I'm kind of tired of having the same conversation," Issa said. "Every year it's something, so for me, it's just pointing it out when I see it, but I just don't want to get too worked up about it. It is what it is at this point, and it's just the conversations happening behind the scenes that I'm most interested in. I don't want to say too much more. It's annoying," she concluded.

Twitter was raving about her quick wit

The 35-year-old actor has been an outspoken voice when it comes to the fight for equal representation, and this is not the first time she has gone viral for her candid comments about diversity.