According to lead actor David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the governing body of the Academy Awards, after the cast and crew of "Selma" wore T-shirts at the premiere honoring Eric Garner, a victim of police brutality, nominations actively tried to shut them out of the competition.

The film, which focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.'s (Oyelowo) march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, debuted in December 2014. In footage of him struggling with authorities, he repeatedly told officers that he "couldn't breathe," and it became a rallying cry in the "Black Lives" movement, as it is again six years later in the wake of George Floyd's police killing.

The "Selma" premiere took place a day after massive protests in Manhattan, where demonstrators denounced a Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict police officers involved in Garner's death, according to Buzzfeed News (opens in new tab). As a result, Oyelowo, DuVernay, and stars like Tessa Thompson, Stephen James, and Wendell Pierce wore black T-shirts that read "I CAN'T BREATHE" over their formal wear.

Speaking to Screen Daily (opens in new tab) this week, Oyelowo recalled the backlash from Academy voters at the time, saying Members of the Academy called the studios and producers and said, "How dare they do that?" and "Why are they stirring up S-H-I-T?" We are not going to vote for that film.

DuVernay confirmed the Academy's disapproval in a tweet. It's a true story," she said, posting an interview with Oyelowo, "and we're not going to vote for it.

The voter backlash, Oyelowo continued in the interview, "is part of the reason why that film didn't get everything people think it should have gotten, and gave rise to #OscarsSoWhite." Oyelowo continued in the interview, "They used their privilege to denigrate the film based on what they valued in the world." In fact, Oyelowo and DuVernay were snatched up the acting and directing awards in spectacular fashion at the 2015 ceremony. Selma won one Oscar that night: the power ballad "Glory" by John Legend and Common.

The Academy later apologized to DuVernay and Oyelowo in a short tweet: "Ava and David, we hear you. It is unacceptable. We promise to move forward."

But after years of #OscarsSoWhite controversy, we wonder what that progress actually looks like.

Selma is available for free rental on all digital platforms this month. Watch it now (opens in a new tab)