"Ray" actress Regina King has blasted bosses of the Emmy Awards for leaving significant African-Americans off their 2010 shortlist, insisting officials are snubbing non-white stars every year. King has written an open letter questioning the selection process for the ceremonies, and pointing out that late Broadway star and children's TV presenter Alaina Reed Hall was left off the Emmys' memoriam honors.

In the message, published in The Huffington Post, she asks why only 53 non-white performers have been nominated in the awards' history "out of nearly 1,000 possible nominations in the top four acting categories for drama and comedy". She adds, "I've worked in television nearly all of my professional life, and that statistic is quite sobering to me."

In reference to Reed Hall, who died from breast cancer in December, King writes: "She was on Sesame Street for 12 years, a show that is an American institution. People of all ages and generations have seen and enjoyed this highly influential television show. You have to admit, to not recognize (sic) her contribution to television baffles the mind."

"Mistakes happen, right? Well after a few 'mistakes' of how people of color are portrayed in the Hollywood media, I decided it was important to say something about how things go down in Hollywood."