Oscars Major Backlash
Thursday, January 14th the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced. Not soon after, it came to the attention of many that for the second year in a row, zero actors of color were nominated causing the #OscarsSoWhite tag to appear. “The Truth Is We Ain’t In Those Rooms And Until Minorities Are, The Oscar Nominees Will Remain Lilly White.” says Spike Lee who also did not receive any oscar nominees despite their critically high ratings. He also goes on to point out “How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White?”.
He was not the only influential person to speak on this issue. Jada Pinkett Smith contributed by posting a video on Facebook announcing that she would “boycott the year’s festivities.” George Clooney, too, gave a statement to Variety decrying how Hollywood and the Academy are “moving in the wrong direction.” Will Smith joined his wife in the boycott stating “We’re part of this community. But at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is okay… For my part, I think I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and make our Hollywood community great. So when I look at the series of nominations of the Academy, it’s not reflecting that beauty.”