THE Screen Actors Guild Awards were not so white.

    While the Academy Awards remain enveloped in a crisis over the diversity of its nominees, the 22nd annual SAG Awards on Saturday presented a stark antidote to the rancor that has overwhelmed Hollywood’s awards season. Awards were handed out to Queen Latifah, Uzo Aduba, Viola Davis and Idris Elba (twice), as the actors guild cast a loud vote in favor of diversity on big and small screens.

    “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV,” said Elba in his third trip on stage as a presenter. His first two were to accept awards for his supporting performance in the Netflix child soldier drama “Beasts of No Nation” and for his lead performance in the BBC miniseries “Luther.”

    The night’s top honor, best ensemble in a film, went to the newspaper drama “Spotlight.” The ensemble award had seemingly come down to “Spotlight” or Adam McKay’s high finance tale “The Big Short,” which took the Producers Guild’s top award.

    Accepting the most outstanding ensemble award, comedy series, for “Orange Is the New Black,” co-star Laura Prepon gestured to the cast of the prison comedy standing behind her.

    “Look at this stage,” said Prepon at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. “This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity.”

    Individual actor SAG winners the last three years have exactly corresponded with eventual Oscar winners, which meant that SAG winners Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Revenant”), Brie Larson (“Room”) and Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”) all appear to have cemented their status as favorites. Each won, as expected.

    But supporting actor will differ this year. The category’s perceived favorite is Sylvester Stallone for the Rocky sequel “Creed.” Stallone, though, wasn’t nominated by the screen actors.

    Actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which is why the SAG Awards are a closely watched harbinger of the Oscars. (SD-Agencies)