Several Celebrities Speak Out Against Oscars
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After Jada Pinkett Smith uploaded videos on Instagram expressing her feelings towards the Oscars discrimination and demanding black actors boycott the award show, several other celebrities have decided to speak out and express their opinion on the lack of recognition on African-Americans in Hollywood.
Lupita Nyong
“I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year’s Academy Awards nominations. It has me thinking about conscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today. I stand with my peers who are calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them” the actress posted on her Instagram.
George Clooney
“I don’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films? I think that African-Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn’t representing them well enough. I think that’s absolutely true. There should be 20 or 30 or 40 films of the quality that people would consider for the Oscars. By the way, we’re talking about African-Americans. For Hispanics, it’s even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it.”
Chris Rock
Even the host of the 2015 & this year’s Academy Awards took to twitter to share what he calls the Oscars “The White BET Awards”.
Spike Lee
Legendary director and screen writer Spike Lee is no stranger to sharing his opinion on the discrimination in Hollywood. Before sharing his thoughts with several media outlets, Lee posted on his Instagram, “#OscarsSoWhite… Again, I Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November. I Am Most Appreciative. However My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let’s Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can’t Act?! WTF!!
Idris Elba
“We need to count up what everybody has, see the lay of the land, see who has which careers in TV, who makes TV, who’s allowed on TV. You have to ask the question, ‘Are black people always playing petty criminals? Are women always the love interest or always talking about men? Are gay people always stereotyped? Are disabled people ever seen at all?’ The reason I went to America is because the USA has the most famous diversity policy of all, and it’s called the American dream. The problem is the gap between the dream and the reality; to champion diversity is to champion the American dream. That’s the guarantee I want here in Britain. Where’s the British dream?”
David Oyelowo
“A year ago, I did a film called Selma, and after the Academy Awards, Cheryl Boone Isaacs invited me to her office to talk about what went wrong then. We had a deep and meaningful discussion. For 20 opportunities to celebrate actors of color, actresses of color, to be missed last year is one thing; for that to happen again this year is unforgivable.”
Snoop Dogg
Leave it up to “Uncle Snoop”, as some would call him, to hold no punches and tell you exactly how he feels. The rapper posted a video on Instagram expressing his anger when someone asked him would he be watching the 2016 Oscars. This is what he had to say:
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