Jennifer Lopez, Awkwafina, Lupita Nyong'o and Robert De Niro were the actors who were snubbed at the Oscar nominations this year. Though the Academy Awards nods announcement on Monday, coming close on the heels of Bafta awards which was criticised for its lack of diversity, somehow tried to balance the scales with Cythia Erivo's best actress nomination for Harriet, Antonio Banderas' best actor inclusion for Spanish film Pain and Glory and a best picture nomination for Greta Gerwig-directed Little Women.

However, Gerwig and other women directors were snubbed in the best director category. But the acting exclusions -- Lopez (Hustlers), Awkwafina (The Farewell, Nyong'o (Us) -- were glaring, with these three films registering zero nominations.