Elon Musk sparked controversy online last night as he criticised the Oscars for going "woke" prior to the awards.

The billionaire retweeted a message by TV presenter and author John Stossel who criticised the Academy Awards' new push for diversity.

He wrote: "The Oscars are tonight. I haven’t watched the orgy of celebrity worship for years, but now there’s another reason not to watch."

He argued the Awards show had become "political, race-obsessed ceremonies".

Giving his opinion, Musk added in a tweet of his own: "Winning an Oscar now just means you won the woke contest".

New diversity and inclusion standards were set for this year's awards.

In order for films to qualify for being shortlisted, studios needed to show they had met two of the four main categories of representation: onscreen (actors, plot), offscreen leadership (set designers, makeup artists), training programs and marketing.

Diversity in hiring was also considered as a factor when determining the winner.