After Chris Rock called the Academy Awards the "White People's Choice Awards" amid the second consecutive #OscarsSoWhite controversy, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made steps to diversify its portfolio.
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement Wednesday, "We had been looking at this organization for a long time and we recognized changes need to be made; one of them was more inclusion."
That means the Academy sent out 683 new invitations — more than doubling the previous record of invites sent in one year. It's part of an initiative to double the number of women and minority members by 2020.
The recent invites include Idris Elba, John Boyega, America Ferrera and Emma Watson — making up a new class that's 46 percent female and 41 percent people of color.
Of the 6,261 voting members, approximately 92 percent are white and 75 percent are male.
A lack of diversity put the Academy at the center of controversy for the past two years after nominating all white actors in the acting categories.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
