“#EmmysSoWhite” is trending again! Variety is dubbing it “Emmys So White Part 2” as social media users begin recycling the hashtag five years after it first hit timelines. In 2026, ti appears several nominated actors of color were snubbed and shut out of the Emmy Awards again.
On Monday (September 14), the 78th Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles, California. However, by the end of the night, the lead and supporting categories for drama and comedy, and the lead actor and actress in a limited series races didn’t see any of its actors of color taking home a trophy.
According to Variety, all 10 actors who hit the stage were non-persons-of-color. Variety also noted that two other categories — supporting actor and supporting actress in a limited series — were removed from the main show this year and placed into the non-televised Creative Arts ceremonies. However, those two categories didn’t help the Emmys beat the ESW allegations.
Emmys So White Part 2: Nearly Two Dozen Actors Of Color Snubbed During 2026 Emmy Awards
Variety reported that there were only two performers of color to win an on-camera or voice Emmy this year. They’re listed as Ernest Harden Jr — who won guest actor in a drama for HBOX Max’s medical series ‘The Pitt’ — and Octavia Spencer — who won for narrating, ‘Lost Women of Alaska.’
Variety counted 17 performers of color who were nominated for the big prizes this year. This is 39% decline, with last year’s ceremonies boasting 28. The numbers peaked in 2021, when the Emmys had 49 performers of color, including a host and 48 nominees. That year also happened to birth the Emmys So White hashtag.
According to reports the handfuls of non-White talent nominated included:
- Quinta Brunson
- Ayo Edebiri
- Janelle James
- Colman Domingo
- Tyler James Williams
- Zendaya
- Chase Infiniti
- Sterling K. Brown
- Jessica Williams
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
- Sepideh Moafi
- Carlos-Manuel Vesga
- Oscar Issac
- Riz Ahmed
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